My Journey Applying for That Long Schengen Visa
First thing I did was panic. Seriously, visas sound super complicated. I Googled “long stay Schengen visa” and realized I had to pick one country – the one I’d spend the most time in or enter first. Picked France ’cause I like croissants. Simple.
Next, I hunted down the official French consulate website. Don’t trust random blogs, mate. Found their visa section and saw this massive document list. Grabbed a notepad and wrote down every single thing:
- Application form (printed)
- Passport photos (two identical ones)
- Old passports (they wanna see your travel history)
- Flight itinerary (bought a refundable ticket just in case)
- Proof of accommodation (booked free-cancellation hotels)
- Bank statements (three months, printed at the bank for stamps)
- Travel insurance (bought the cheapest online that met their €30K coverage rule)
- Proof of job or funds (showed my freelance contracts)
Took me two whole weekends to get all this crap together. Bank guy rolled his eyes when I asked for stamped statements. Hotel bookings were confusing – ended up using a booking site with free cancellation. Insurance took 10 minutes online, easiest part honestly.
Filled the application form online. Triple-checked everything. Misspelled my own birth city once – nearly cried. Printed it single-sided like their website screamed about. Signed it with black ink, exactly like they said. No creativity allowed here.
Now the real nightmare: Booking an appointment. Their visa center site looked like it was built in 1995. Slots disappeared like concert tickets. Woke up at 5 AM, chugged coffee, refreshed the page like a madman. Snagged a slot three weeks later. Paid the fee online – felt like winning the lottery.
Day of appointment? Showed up 30 minutes early with my fat folder of documents. Security guy checked my appointment paper twice. Lady at counter flipped through everything, scanned my fingers with a greasy machine. Asked why I wanted a long stay. Said “travel and exploring culture” – sounded legit. Whole thing took 20 minutes tops. They gave me a tracking number scribbled on a receipt.
Then came the worst part: waiting. Tracked online every freaking day for 3 weeks straight. Status just said “processing.” Started dreaming about rejection letters. Then one morning – BAM – “processed”! Dashed to collect it. Ripped the envelope open right there. Saw that sticker in my passport. Did a happy dance by the trash can outside. Felt like I beat the system.
What I Wish I Knew Earlier
Tip 1: Start stupid early. This ain’t a last-minute thing. Give yourself 2-3 months buffer.
Tip 2: Documents are kings. Missing one tiny paper? Rejection city.
Tip 3: Appointment slots suck. Just keep refreshing that garbage website at weird hours.
Tip 4: They care more about money than your plans. Show fat bank balances.
Final thought? Total pain in the ass, but feels amazing holding that visa. Like unlocking Europe cheat codes.
