Clarification on VISA requirements

Hi Markenji,

the requirements for a tourist visa are listed on the website of the Maltese Foreign Affairs office:

http://www.foreign.gov.mt/Default.aspx?MDIS=536

There is also a 'Declaration of Proof' form that your Maltese friend can download,fill in and send you with the required documentation.

You are required to show that you have a return flight ticket when you apply and also you will be asked to show the valid ticket when you enter the Schengen area. No if's and when's stated and you are required to show 48 € for every day you intend to stay.

If your boyfriend is guaranteeing the amount he should give you the supporting documents that will be acceptable in the interview and on entry into the Schengen area.

I presume that there will be a personal interview involved in the process where you will have to show all required documentation.

When you are given a Schengen visa you can visit all Schengen countries within the 90 day period without further applications.

Cheers
Ricky

I assume you aren't an EU citizen ?

Hi georgeingozo,

I'm Filipina.

Hi Ricky,
So the original Declaration of Proof should be completely filled out by the inviting party and sent to me along with the other requirements?

Can I submit a scanned copy or should I submit originals?


Thanks for the help!

Hi markenji,

yes, and the inviting party ( boyfriend) has to have the Declaration of Proof certified and you have to present the document in original and within 6 months to the consular department processing your application.

The other supporting documents can be copies. So your boyfriend has a bit of paper work first .

Cheers
Ricky

Hi Ricky,
What do you exactly mean by certify? Do you mean notarized/sealed by the police authority?

Hi markenji,

I presume something like that. He should contact the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Malta and ask how and where he should present his documents with the form and which department will check them and stamp the form with an official stamp and signature.

I'm just quoting from the info given by the Ministry.

Cheers
Ricky

'When you are given a Schengen visa you can visit all Schengen countries within the 90 day period without further applications.'

That doesn't happen automatically. It depends on what the Maltese Embassy in the country you are applying in is prepared to do for you. Before we attained our British Citizenship (we had indefinite leave to remain in the UK,)we still had to apply for a Shengen visa to visit Malta. The Maltese Embassy in London refused to include other countries on our Schengen visa (the countries you want to visit have to be listed) Their excuse was that they 'are a very small embassy with only a handful of staff' and were not prepared to do the paperwork 'for multiple Schengen countries!' So make very sure when you are obtaining your visa from the Maltese Embassy in the Phillipines how far it will take you.

Thanks guys.

A few more questions:

What are the chances of getting approved if i declare that i will be staying with my boyfriend?  I read from other forums that if I state I will be visiting a friend and/or staying with a friend may risk my chances of approval because the consul might think that I am trying to migrate- which I'm not, well not yet coz I still have a job.   I might move in next year.

Would it be wiser to just book the hotel and provide proof of financial capabilities? I have a job, been paying my bills on time and have some bank accounts but my savings is just around 1000 euros (which should be enough as daily allowance).  My boyfriend will shoulder most of my expenses.  Can I declare shared expenses? or would it safer to just state that all costs will be shouldered by my bf?

Nice to meet to all of my friends...............

'Would it be wiser to just book the hotel and provide proof of financial capabilities?'

Yes it would. We have friends throughout Europe that we visited using a Schengen visa. It became such a hassle for them to get the 'invitation' certified (some countries need it authorised by a police station and in Spain our friends needed the signed consent of the residents in their apartment block! Some countries make the persons offering the invitation pay a fee to their local authority to have it authorised .... the list goes on..) The respective governments are dead scared that you will disappear once you are there - can't blame them because it happens.
Book a cheap hotel and pay the one-off deposit which you show as evidence with your application - somehow that makes it OK! You will lose the deposit when you don't pitch at the hotel - just make sure your booking doesn't state that you are responsible for the whole period booked - just responsible for a 'no-show'.

Hi markenji,

as rooikat says, it is all about countries trying to avoid letting visitors enter the Schengen area including Malta who they think will just overstay or apply for work and not return to their home countries.

I too would be cautious  mentioning your boyfriend in the interview and also that you are thinking of moving in the future.

As to the money required to cover expenses during your stay, the quote is 48 €/day . After what has been said about boyfriends you would have to give a good reason why someone else should be paying your expenses or even part of them.

If you can show that you have work contract commitments in your home country, a return flight ticket,have booked accomodation in Malta and can show health insurance for the stay, enough money to live from during the stay and give valid and reasonable answers to all questions asked in the interview it should work.

Cheers
Ricky

We were required to show all the Embassies original bank statements for the three months prior to our appointments. Not copies, not printed off the internet if you do internet banking. They also want to see a salary going into it each month. We were sent away from our first appointment and told to go to the bank and get certified bank statements! (We were fast learners, that didn't happen again!) The bank wouldn't certify them immediately so we had to make a new appointment for the embassy. Make sure all paperwork is original - it might even help if you go to the embassy and pick up the 'instructions' from them if you can't get through to them by phone. It's not much fun doing the visa thing. We were elated when we finally received our UK citizenship after 7 years of 'visa' holidays.

Thank you guys for the info.  It's really tough as other forums would say that copies are OK and different embassies would have different approaches to approvals. 

I guess I have to go to the bank and get certified original copies and have my boyfriend send me original copies too

I also found out that tourist VISA only grants you up to 90 days in a 6 month period. I also want to visit my bf again in Dec for holidays (Malta & Sweden).  Would it be better to apply for multiple entries to Malta or apply separately (Malta for July trip and Malta-Sweden for Dec trip)?

If I got approved for VISA starting July 1, does that mean I can go to Malta multiple times between July 1 and Jan 1 as long as the total days I'm travelling does not exceed 90 days? or would counting start from the first day I entered Malta?

Markenji - If you are having your financials checked by the embassy to allow you into the country as a tourist booking into a hotel then it's you that needs the original bank statements - not sure why you want to have your boyfriend's stuff checked as well?
Re your other questions regarding the multiple entries and time spans, I encourage you again to visit the Malta embassy in your country before your formal appointment to get the official guidelines from them - they are the ones making the final decisions, not the forum;)  I suspect you are going to have a problem with multiple entries with your first visa application. Once you have had your first single entry visa authorised by the embassy you are then 'on their records' as a trustworthy tourist - the next application(s)then go through very smoothly.

not sure why you want to have your boyfriend's stuff checked as well?
- I'm still torn between declaring full sponsorship from my bf vs paying for the trip on my own.  I just think that my bf needs to send me a lot of certified documents and it might be too much of a hassle.  I'm planning to seek help from an immigration lawyer, which is really expensive, but would give us peace of mind.

Thanks for all the input.