Schengen Visa Application (Netherlands Embassy)

The highlight of my 2014 was my European Tour. I never imagined in my life that I would have the opportunity to set foot in Europe. Well, as a typical Pinoy, my dream destination is the US; then when I started working for an Australian company, I added that country to my list as well.

You see, I have a friend who had her heart broken about 10 years ago. Little that she knew that it will be the reason for her to stay away and find herself in Europe. Fast forward to the future... she’s now found her love, got married and settled there. She came home with her hubby 2 years ago and while catching up with what have beens she asked if I wanna visit them. Without much thought (well, took me 5 seconds to see if I could save up for my plane fare) I said yes!

Well, my trip to Europe wouldn’t be possible without a visa. I only applied for Schengen visa since I didn’t plan to go outside Schengen area (maybe I’ll see UK or Ireland some other time). I filed my application at Netherlands Embassy since my friend lives in Amsterdam. Here’s how it went...

First I had to set an appointment thru VFS Global (www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines). My plan was to leave in May (2014) so by March I should already be applying. My friend sent me an invitation package that includes the Declaration of Guarantee ("Formulier Garantstelling/Logiesverstrekking") - notarized at their city hall, payslips, income tax return, copy of passports, job contact before booking an appointment date for the visa interview. I realized that should've called VFS Global earlier since there was a 3-week wait for an appointment. What happened was my friend sent the docs on March11 and I received it on March14 (a Friday). I called VFS Global to verify the process and was informed that I need to pay the visa and processing fee at Union Bank first then I could book an appointment online the next day (their system needed a day for transactions to be uploaded). I asked the VFS customer rep what was the earliest possible date and I was told that It would be March 31. Que horror! So I made the payment the same day so I could book an appointment the following Monday. But that Sunday (March16) I tried booking online and got through, but the sad thing was my appointment was set on April 3! I couldn't finalize my flight bookings without my visa I was expecting to pay more for the air fare since I will only have less than 2 months to book.

Then came April 3. The appointment slip said that I should be at the Netherlands embassy no more than 10minutes before the my slot. I arrived to early and had to wait at a nearby fastfood so I could review my docs. So basically since my purpose of travel is to "Visit Family/Friend" I have the following documents ready:
- My passport
- Declaration of Guarantee ("Formulier Garantstelling/Logiesverstrekking")
- copy of my friend and her hubby's passports
- their salary statements for the past 6 months (although only 3 is  required)
- Application form with passport picture
- My Certificate of Employment with Compensation
- Proof of Leave from my company (I only had email messages from my manager and client stating that my leave was approved)
- Travel/Medical Insurance (I got one from BPI/MS since it was the cheapest and easy to obtain since anyone could get it thru any BPI branch)
- Flight reservation - NOT PAID (I printed a reservation from Emirates Airlines since they have an option to pay to their Manila office)

These documents were on standby and were not submitted:
- my bank statements & credit card statements
- my friend and her hubby's income tax returns
- my friend and her hubby's job contracts
- pictures of me and my friend from way way back, and pictures of me, my friend and her hubby taken last year from their visit as proof that I know them personally
- post card from my friend inviting me to visit

When I got to the embassy, the guard asked me for my name to verify on his list. I saw my name and pointed it to him then he told me to turn off my mobile phone, have a seat inside and wait for my name to be called. There were 3 windows, all manned by Pinays working for the embassy. I watched them as they talked to the others and found them nice.

I waited for like 10minutes before my name got called. When I went to the processing window. I greeted the Pinay staff a good morning and she replied back. She said to give passport then she immediately scanned and stamped something on it. Then she asked for the Schengen visa application form and instructed me to have my fingerprints scanned. She asked my purpose of travel and I said I'm visiting a friend then she asked for the notarized Declaration of Guarantee. She read it for a minute, returned it and asked for a copy. She asked who will be covering the expenses and I said my friend will and asked for proof of financial means and I gave her the copy of their salary statements. She said to give my Certificate of Employment and Leave of Absence then asked what company I worked for, my position and my salary. Then she asked how long I intended to visit and I said 14 days only told her that I'll be leaving on May 24 and I should be back here by June 8. She checked the application form and encircled 14 days then returned my original COE and asked for a copy of it, as well as my flight reservation. She asked for a copy of my travel insurance. I gave her all the pages but she only got the first page. Finally she asked how I got to know my friend, what she does for a living, as well as what her husband does and if they have any kids. My answers were short, almost in phrases only. Then she told me that processing may take up to 15 days and I just check in online thru VFS Global website and then just ask the guard if there are any public service announcement.

So I left the window with mixed emotions... confused, kinakabahan, excited, etc. I was thinking if I should've submitted the other docs but I was told that I shouldn't submit anything that wasn't asked. I went to the guard to ask if I was done and he said that I should just wait for 2 weeks. He asked what window I went to, I said window 3 then he smiled. Yung nakakalokong smile at nakakaasar kasi hindi mo alam kung may meaning na sanay bang magpadeny yung asa window or ok na yung application ko.

The next day I checked my application status online and it said that my passport has been dispatch to the embassy for evaluation. That was the status from April 4-9. I even called VFS Global several times and I was given the same answer. On the night of April 9, I checked the status and to my surprise it said that it has been sent to the courier (2Go). I called VFS Global the next day and confirmed that my passport was en route to my address but they don't know if my visa was approved or denied. Nakakaasar kasi suspense pa rin! April 11, 2 days after my passport was sent to the courier I still don't have my passport. I should've been an overnight delivery so I called VFS and I was given 2Go customer service number. I called 2Go and was shocked that they couldn't see the delivery status at first and I had to be transferred to several people before 1 of them confirmed that it as already at the office near me. They said that they will call the local office to follow up since I should've received it the day before. I asked for local number as well but when I was writing the number, the courier came. I opened the package and was so glad to find out that my visa was approved.

Unlike most of the people here who got a visa and more days on their intended stay, mine was only for the dates I planned to be there: May 24-June8. Anyway, I'm still ecstatic that I finally have a visa!

Things also started to fall into place as air fares went down. I booked Singapore Airlines since my friend had a good experience with them. I was too afraid to book Malaysian Airlines and some Chinese airlines. Other airlines like Etihad and Emirates have long layovers and some like Cathay/KLM are pang mayaman.