Applying for a Schengen Visa in German Embassy Philippines

I am not a visa officer nor a visa agent. This post comes from my own personal experience.

I have been granted two tourist Schengen Visas in the past 5 years. The difference this time is that I am a consultant (contract-based) instead of an employee. I have been a consultant for the past 2 years and 4 months. 

Applying for a Schengen Visa (a.k.a. Europe Visa)
Applying for a Schengen Visa in Spain Embassy Philippines 

For this trip, I have a 23-day itinerary spanning Central Europe. I'll post my itinerary and budget in another post. I am staying in Germany the longest so I lodged my application there. 

General steps:

1. Browse and read the website of the German Embassy here in the Philippines. This contains all the information and forms that you need when applying for a Schengen visa. 

2. Schedule your appointment online. You can apply for a Schengen visa at most 3 months before your departure date. You can start booking your appointment a month before your visa application date (not sure if you can book earlier than that). I had to cancel my first appointment because I wasn't sure if my passport will be returned in time for my Sri Lanka trip. I cancelled my appointment online and rebooked my appointment at a date after my Sri Lanka trip.

3. Gather your documents. You should do this piecemeal, in my opinion. After I finished gathering everything, I had documents as thick as half a ream of bond paper. Oh my trees.

4. Appear at the embassy on time. You will be asked to leave your huge bags in the lobby which electronic gadgets will be left at the lockers in the lobby of the embassy.

5. Wait for your passport to be delivered. Should you be out, leave an authorization letter with your valid ID to someone you trust to receive your passport. 

Here's copy of the cover letter that I submitted. This is not required in the checklist of documents but I submitted one anyway. I edited some parts. None of the documents I submitted were returned to me. 

========================

German Embassy Manila

25/F Tower 2, RCBC Plaza

6819 Ayala Ave (cor Sen. Gil Puyat Ave)

Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines

LIST OF SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS

Re       :           Tourist Schengen Visa Application

                        Applicant: XXX

                        Passport Number: XXX

Gentlemen:

With reference to the Schengen tourist visa application of the undersigned, attached are the following requirements for your consideration:

Identity as traveller and Visa application form
Duly filled-up application form with 2 photos
Signed copy of Information provided to applicants pursuant to Section 54 (2) No.  8 in conjunction with Section 53 of the Residence Act
Original passport with photocopy of first and last page

Purpose of travel
Itinerary for the duration of the trip
Confirmed booking of accommodations
Flight Itinerary via Emirates Airlines: Manila to Budapest (Hungary), Frankfurt (Germany) to Manila

Financial coverage of the cost of travel and stay
Bank certificate - original and photocopy
Statements of accounts for personal savings account and payroll account for the last 6 months
Certificate of Time Deposit with Bank of the Philippine Islands

Travel Health Insurance
Travel Insurance: Travel Master Global Policy obtained from Malayan Insurance

Rootedness in the Philippines
Certificate of consultancy -original and photocopy
Photocopy of contract with foundation
Approved leave of absence form – original and photocopy
Copy of Income Tax Returns from 2014 to 2015 with bank payment slip
Payslips for the last 6 months 
Photocopy of credit cards
Credit card statements for the past 6 months (October to March 2016)
Statement of Account with mutual fund – Philequity Fund Inc.
Supporting documents as student of Master in International Studies Program in University of the Philippines, Diliman (Student Profile, Acceptance letter from college, tuition fee payment form)

      Ledger of stocks

Travel History

2    Photocopy of Schengen visa issued in September 2011 and March 2013
      Photocopy of previously issued and used visas: 

d.    South Korean – 2012 (single entry) and 2013 (multiple-entry)

e.    Japan Visa - 2012 (single entry) and 2013 (multiple-entry)

f.     China – 2014 (single entry)

g.    United States of America (2014, multiple entry for 10 years)

h.    United Arab Emirates (2015)

Sincerely,

__________________________

Name

Contact Number

Email

=======================================================================

Duly filled-up application form with 2 photos. The application form can be accomplished online here. For the section on "reference", I just typed down the name of the first hostel I was staying in then attached a sheet containing the details of all my accommodations for the trip. 

Itinerary for the duration of the trip. Day to day overview of activities. 

Confirmed booking of accommodations. I've been consistently using Booking.com for booking the accommodation in my trips. I just chose the no prepayment and cancellable (is this really a word?) options. I summarized everything in an excel sheet. 

Flight Itinerary via Emirates Airlines. I paid before I applied for the visa. This is not required. Wag tularan! You can just secure a flight reservation from the airlines or travel agencies. I have no tips nor experience in securing flight reservations. 

Bank certificate. Secured mine from BPI for Php 100 and took my 30 mintues. They changed the format.They included the Average Daily Balance of the account and the date it opened. 

I wish they'll have an online feature of requesting a bank certificate then you'll just pick it up from the branch. Senorita lang no? XD I submited the  - original and photocopy.

Statements of accounts for personal savings account and payroll account for the last 6 months. Downloaded from BPIExpressonline. Very convenient.

Travel Insurance. I switched to Malayan Insurance for convenience. You can via credit card when you purchase your travel insurance and you can immediately download the insurance policy right after paying. You can download it again in case you lose it. Previously, I used Blue Cross because I can also pay online via BPI payments.  

Income Tax Returns. I am a consultant this time so I have to file and pay my own tax returns. I submitted my tax returns in the past two year (BIR Form 1701) and the corresponding receipt issued by the bank when I paid. 

Day of the visa application:

I selected a 9:00AM appointment. I was so scared of the MRT crowds that I really exerted effort to be at MRT North Avenue station the earliest I can: I was there by 5:55AM and I got off Buendia station by 6:20AM. I was in RCBC by 6:40. I spent time reading in Starbucks then headed to the German Embassy by 8:20 AM.

I lodged my name, then they asked me to leave my bag with laptop. In the embassy's floor, they asked for my passport then they gave me a number. I was asked to leave all gadgets. I waited for 5 minutes to be called, the interview lasted for another 5 minutes or so. The lady in my window (#3 I think) was very professional and asked direct questions. Over the course of the interview, she asked me 3x if I am married, was ever married, and if I had a child. I repeated 3x that I was not married, have never been married nor do I have children. She stamped a phrase in my application which is somewhat like "I have never been married or had a child" (the phrase is something like this) - then I was asked to sign. 

She asked how long I've had my current job(2 years and 4 months) and the nature of the company (I work for a non-profit project). She asked if I've been in Germany (yes, Cologne in 2011) and if I will be travelling alone (I am). I paid the Php 3,090/ 60 euros visa fee, then fingerprint scanning, then wrote my office address on the courier slip. She said 3-5 days processing. By 8:50, I was able to recover the bag I left. This was on a Thursday.

I was informed that the courier was looking for me at Tuesday, 5:10 PM  - I was already out by that time and I didn't leave any authorization letter. Wow, it took the embassy three working days only!

The courier came back the next day to deliver my passport. He came in around 4:30PM so I was able to receive the passport myself. I braced myself and opened the package. No white paper this time (a sign of denial when I applied in the Italian Embassy). I got a 30-day multiple entry. 

Hoorah!



Europe, here I come again!