First :
Check the categories of people residing in South Africa that are exempt from the visa requirement :
Internationals living in South Africa, coming from one of the Schengen member states
Internationals living in South Africa, coming from one of the countries that have established visa-free regime with the Schengen states (These people will have to travel with their Schengen-visa-exempt-country passport, but you will have to apply for an ETIAS prior to their travel towards Europe, in order to be allowed to enter the territory.)
South African passport holders, that hold dual citizenship – South African and of one of the Schengen member states (These persons will have to travel with their European passport)
South African passport holders, that hold dual citizenship – South African and of one of the countries that have a visa-free regime with the Schengen Zone (These people will have to travel with their Schengen-visa-exempt-country passport, but you will have to apply for an ETIAS prior to their travel towards Europe, in order to be allowed to enter the territory.)
If you are a citizen of an exempt country, you still need to calculate the length of your stay to make sure you don’t overstay the amount of time you are allowed to stay, that being said- safe travels!
If you will need to apply for a Schengen Visa, next would be to determine where you can apply:
If you have a Temporary Residence Visa or are a South African citizen, you will be able to apply in South Africa for a Tourist Schengen Visa, so start with Step One below.
If you do not have the correct type of Visa (Tourist Visa for South Africa), you will need to go back to your home country and apply there for a Schengen Visa (see tab to the left).
APPLYING FOR SCHENGEN VISA IN SOUTH AFRICA :
If you can apply in South Africa:
STEP ONE - FIGURE OUT WHAT TYPE OF VISA YOU WILL NEED
There are different Schengen visa types depending on your purpose of traveling from South Africa to Europe. The two most requested for our staff are :
Tourism – one of the most famous purposes for traveling to the Schengen Zone. People who are planning to visit any of the countries in this territory for sightseeing and experiencing their culture, architecture, foods and much more, should select this purpose of traveling in their application form.
Visiting Family or Friends – people who have family members or friends legally residing in the Schengen area, can apply for this visa, if they wish to visit them. There are some special requirements for this visa that the applicant must fulfill in order for the application to be successful, as i.e. a letter of invitation.
Incase you want to look into other Schengen visa types click here (visa for culture and sports, study or medical reasons)
STEP TWO - FIGURE OUT WHERE TO APPLY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Where you will apply for your visa makes a difference, you cannot just submit your documents at whichever embassy you wish to. According to these rules, depending on the number of countries you visit and the number of days you spend in each, you will have to apply as follows:
Visiting one Schengen country – apply at the appropriate location for that country (click link below, scroll until you see the name of the country)
Visiting more than one Schengen countries – then where you need to apply depends on the number of days you plan to spend in each:
When spending an equal amount of days in two or more countries – apply to the appropriate location for the first country you will be visiting (click link below, scroll until you see the name of the country)
When spending an unequal amount of days in two or more countries – apply to the appropriate location for the country where you will be spending the most amount of time (click link below, scroll until you see the name of the country)
STEP THREE - DECIDE WHEN TO APPLY
The earliest time you can lodge your Schengen visa application in South Africa is 3 months before your planned trip while the latest time to file your visa application is at least 15 working days before you intend to travel to Europe.
STEP FOUR - GATHER PAPERWORK & Finances
Note - it shouldn’t take too long to gather your documents, so its very possible to make your appointment prior to having all your paperwork finalized. First read over the checklist - then consult the tips below.
Here are some tips about the various paperwork required:
Proof of Financial Means —
They want to see that can can pay for your living expenses while in Europe. There are a couple of methods or items to include to prove your financial means:
Bank account statement – that shows you have enough money in your account for the trip. The statement shall be no older than 3 months.
Take your bank statements from your bank accounts from the last three months (your local South African Bank account if you have one and your international bank account), copy them on to a Word doc (or similar app), black out account numbers (to protect your information), and print them as a PDF.
Sponsorship Letter – by another person that confirms they will be financially supporting your trip to the Schengen. In order for this letter to be valid, it must be accompanied by a bank statement of the sponsor, no older than three months.
A combination of your bank account statement and a letter of sponsorship.
Or here are some other documents that can prove your financial means
Each country is looking for a different amount, so make sure to reference this page to see the relevant information for your application.
If you are in a tight financial position, here are some ways to do this :
Ask other people to loan you money to add to your account for the sake of proof, as soon as you paper work was accepted, transferred the money back to those people. Have them do this in different amounts on different days, so that when you print your statements there is not just one big amount that comes in (as this could be a red flag for them)
Have one or some people that can be a ‘garant’ for you— so they show that they have proof of sufficient financial means and a letter that states that they support you financially for the total amount of living costs here or something like that. Often people ask family members, friends or their church
Proof of Occupation from Our Visa Team —
This is a letter from YWAM for proof of occupation within our organization and attending any activity or event within YWAM. This information in below
We can send a Proof of Occupation Letter no sooner than two weeks prior to your visa appointment (as there are additional identification documents we send along that often have to be re-certified so it doesn’t make sense to send them any earlier). It’s best to just make your VFS appointment first, and then contact us to request this letter, more information is below on step three.
European Health Insurance —
An important financial cost to factor into your application is that you will need health insurance that works in Europe. For further information, read this website.
Payment Due at Visa Application Appointment —
Prior to the submission of your visa application at the embassy of the Schengen country in South Africa, you will have to pay a visa fee in order for your application to be processed. This will be for R995, so make sure to set aside money for this.
Cover Letter —
It is important to write a cover letter as a way of communication with the embassy officer that will/is going to process your visa application.
Especially, now that a lot of the Embassies use the VFS services to collect documents and deliver the applicant’s passport, you have no chances given to speak to the visa officers and explain your details. As the visa officers make their decisions based on the documents you provide, it is highly recommended to write a cover letter that would do the explaining for you.
You can find more details and a sample cover letter by clicking here
Step five - make your interview appointment
Depending on the country, you may make an appointment online, by phone, or in person. Click below to find more information for each embassy/consulate located in South Africa
STEP six - REQUEST proof of occupation FROM OUR VISA TEAM
As a part of your visa, the embassy will require a proof of occupation, and we are happy to help! You can send your request for these letters by emailing us this information (your answers should be whatever you have stated on your visa application so that everything syncs):
A copy of your passport and RSA ID
The start & end dates of the visa you are applying for
Your residential address (this will be the South African address where you stay - most staff use the YWAM Base, 19 Alexander Road Muizenberg, as this is their most consistent South African address - you can request for Personnel to write you a “Proof of Residence” for the Base as needed)
Type of Visa you are applying for (for example, Tourist Schengen Visa, Visiting Family and Friends Visa)
Your travel itinerary (if you will be just going to one, or multiple countries, and the estimated length of time for each) — this determines where you should apply, how many entries you will need (one, two or multiple) and therefore what we include in the letter for you
Personal details of your host (their full name, address, phone number and email)
STEP seven - PREPARE YOUR PAPERWORK
Make photos copies of everything you turn in, because you just never know what you’ll need to be prepared for, plus it helps you remember the whole process if applying again in the future.
Copies have to be legible and pictures on passport copies crisp and not too dark.
Any document (e.g. copy of your passport) that you can have someone put an “official stamp” on is good, especially if it is a photo-copy. You can also get everything certified by stopping by a local post office or police station - this is a free service, you just need to bring the original with you.
Optional: if you would like our Visa Team to meet with and review your documents before you submit them to double check for any possible errors, email our Visa Team and we can find a time to meet with you
STEP eight - PREPARE FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT
Show up on time and try not to be nervous. Remember that the interview is a crucial part of your visa application. Bring all your documents and have your passport on hand.
STEP nine - TRACK YOUR APPLICATION
After the interview, you will have to wait for at most 15 days, for a response on your application.
If your visa was processed at a VFS facility, make sure to regularly check the status of your application on the VFS account that you created.
STEP ten - OUTCOME RECEIVED!
First, double check what you have received. There are often errors in dates or names, which you would rather get corrected in person rather than be held back at the border when you next travel.
If your Schengen visa is approved
If you get your visa, make sure to understand carefully the labels attached to the visa sticker, including the period it permits you to remain in Europe, otherwise, overstaying in the Schengen Area might have consequences.
If your Schengen visa gets rejected
If your visa application gets denied, read the reason why didn’t grant you a visa and try to fulfill it the next time you apply for a Schengen visa in South Africa or if you think that your application was correct, and the decision on its refusal was a mistake, you can always appeal the visa rejection at the embassy/consulate of the Schengen country in South Africa.
STEP eleven - update our community about your next steps
Next update our Visa Team about the outcome of your application so we can update your information and be prepared to comply with government regulations. Also update your Circle and Ministry Leaders, and Personnel about the dates that you will be gone, so that we are aware of your status of being in South Africa.
STEP twelve - Confirm Schengen Visa Details
The visa can be a bit confusing around the number of days, so HERE is how to read your visa and HERE is how to calculate the number of days you are permitted to stay.
Note : If you are traveling outside of Schengen territories you may need additional visas (for example, many people will need a visa to England who is no longer a part of the EU), so make sure to confirm whether this is applicable to you HERE based on your passport country.
For further information or to research the most up to date information, click here - where you can find further clarification for accompanying minors, extensions, etc.