Tourist Visa to the Netherlands

There's a little pressure about this entry. Pressure in the sense to give justice to how I applied for my first visa to the Netherlands three years ago. But I will give it a try and if any of you readers has questions, feel free to message me.

Yes, I started my introduction with a disclaimer but here it goes. If you ever plan to travel for a holiday or to visit friends or family members in Europe, one needs to secure a travel visa - the Schengen Visa. The first time I applied for a Schengen Visa was in 2009, when I visited my aunt and her family in Sweden. 

It was an invitation visa but I got denied because I didn't say my Swedish uncle's complete name but then I reapplied as an independent tourist and got approved. I was then approved a month long of stay but had the chance to extend my stay to six months but back then Sweden was not that strict with visa extensions, so you can also opt to extend for up to a year but I didn't. Now, here's a brief summary of my experience in applying for a Schengen Visa to The Netherlands. There are only two basic types of visas to the Netherlands. One allows you to stay for only 90 days and the other allows you to be a resident but with a condition to pass an exam. 

Types of Visa

Fast forward to today, my first application for a tourist visa to the Netherlands was in 2016. For Philippine passport holders, visa to the Netherlands could either be Short Stay Visa (tourist, airport transit, business, family members of EU/ Eea and Swiss nationals, visiting family or friends, Filipino Diplomatic and official passport holders, seafarer, return visa) and MVV (long term visa/ temporary residence permit). Most visa applications are tourist visa, this is for travelling in the Netherlands without a sponsor but we will focus on visiting family or friends since my application was with sponsor (my husband).

A short stay visa allows a Philippine passport holder 90 days of travel around Holland. Depending on your stamp, one can either have a multiple entry or single entry. A multiple entry allows one to travel within the Schengen states - in and out of Holland for 90 days while a single entry means, you can only travel to Holland once within the 90 days period. With this type of visa, an applicant can be given just 90 days visa validity or also 2 years or 3 years validity. My first application was just 90 days then the second time I applied, it was 90 days but with a visa validity of two years. Thus, I had the chance to travel to Holland, twice in a year. The short stay visa is applicable to those intending to travel as tourists, business and to visit family and friends.

An MVV or long term visa, is another type of visa which allows a Philippine and other passport holder a longer stay than 90 days and be a resident of the Netherlands, but with a condition of taking and passing the Basisexamen Inburgering in your country of origin before submitting applications and getting a visa. A Basisexamen Inburgering is a three part exam which tests one's knowledge on the Dutch language, reading / listening and Dutch Society. MVV is applicable to those are married to Dutch nationals and to those who wish to live in Holland permanently, for work, for study or to be with their partners (registered partner).

As of writing, VFS Global is the agent handling all tourist related visa application for the Netherlands. Below are links on where you can check about the visa information and requirements.

http://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines/visa_types.html

http://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines/pdf/Tourist-visa-check-list-1.pdf

http://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines/pdf/visiting-family-or-friends-visa-1.pdf

Please note that requirements vary on which visa type you are applying for. Since I applied for a Short Stay Visa to visit family or friends, this entry is more focused on visa application with a sponsor. Sponsors could either be family members (parents, children, spouse, relatives) or friends (boyfriends/ girlfriends). And unlike other Schengen states, Holland does not allow visa extensions not unless it is a matter of health and legal matters.

Short Term Visa (visiting a family or friend) requirements

The first time I applied for a Schengen Visa to the Netherlands was as a tourists with a purpose of visiting a family or friend. Friend, being Martijn my then boyfriend. Applying for an independent tourist visa without sponsor is also very much doable but since I was going to stay for 90 days with Martijn, an invitation from a sponsor was more convenient since I was also unemployed. Here are a lists of what I submitted for my application.

1. Filled out application form. Download form from link.

https://consular.mfaservices.nl/assets/documents/pdf/forms/schengen_visa_application_form_english.pdf

2. A Philippine Passport which is valid for 3-6 months from time of travel to and from a Schengen State.

-Photocopy of your Passport ID page.

-Photocopy of previously issued visas and stamps.

-Photocopy of personal details of previous passport with issued visas (old expired passport with previously issued visas.

What I did here was photocopy all my old passports with travel stamps and visas. But if this is not your first time to apply for a Schengen Visa to Holland, you only need to submit your current passport and the previous one for reference.

3. Evidence of legal residence. For this one, I submitted a photocopy of my Driver's Licensed ID and Postal ID, since both identity cards bear my physical home address.

4. Passport Photo that meets the Dutch standard.

https://www.government.nl/documents/leaflets/2015/01/21/photomatrix-guidelines-2007

Click on the link for reference. During my application, I had a total of 4 different studio passport photos because I was so conscious with how I looked on each and the OC in me always wants it to be close to perfect but let's admit it some of us are not photogenic. The only thing they want is for it to be a decent photo with white background and no teeth showing out.

5. Proof of travel.
-Travel itinerary, which is your travel ticket which is not yet purchased - just reserved. You can reserved tickets from travel agencies and just pay a certain amount. Click on the link below to purchase one online. This is where I purchased mine the time I applied for a visa. The second time I had it reserved from a travel agent.

http://www.dreameurotrip.com/how-to-book-roundtrip-flight-itinerary-flight-reservation-for-visa-application/

-A complete proof of sponsorship. Since, Martijn did the invitation, he had to fill up a sponsorship application form and had it stamped in his local city hall. Download form on link.

https://ind.nl/Formulieren/1310.pdf

-A copy of your sponsor's employment contract which is valid for 12 months from date of visa application.

-Your sponsor's recent payslips in the last 3 months or other proof of income (bank statements and the like). The payment slips you submit should be recent. Say you're submitting requirements this month January, payslips should be from December, November and October.

-Bank Statement (if you are paying for your accommodation and travel). I opted to submit this requirement to also back up my application - because I am OC like that.

-Documents proving that you will return to your home country. With this one, since I am not employed, I submitted a copy of a property that I own such as house, car and other properties you have. If you have a work, you can submit certificate of employment and if you have a child/ren, you can also submit their birth and school documents as proofs.

6. Proof of Relationship. One of the most important requirement when with a sponsor. What I did was submit documents such as photos of me and Martijn traveling. Stamps from his passport when he came to visit me in the Philippines. Photocopies of letters, cards and packages that he sent me amd vice versa. If you're married, you can submit your marriage contract and other paper documents proving your relationship, same goes if you're applying for this visa to visit relatives.

7. Proof of Health Insurance. You can purchase travel insurance from different travel agencies. You can also opt to purchase it online. I usually go for Standard Insurance. The insurance should cover 30,000 euro. Be specific when you get your travel insurance. Usually they know which one you have to get but state that it's for a Schengen Country. It costs around 6200 pesos for a 90 day travel health insurance. Click on link for more info.
https://my.standardinsuranceonline.com/products-travel.html

8. Payment. Visa Payment is 5190 pesos for tourist visa which is payable at the VFS Global upon submission of application.

Once you have gathered all your requirements, you can now schedule your appointment online to submit your application at the VFS Global in Makati. Click on link to schedule an appointment. Upon submission of requirements, you will be ask some questions about why you're applying and who you're staying with. You will then leave your passport and have your biometrics (finger scanning). When you have completed everything, you will be receiving an email from the agent stating that your visa has started its processing. 

http://www.vfsglobal.com/netherlands/philippines/schedule_an_appointment.html 

Processing Time

Processing time is 3-4 weeks but usually it only takes 2 weeks. Your visa will be processed in Malaysia. And passport with visa stamp is delivered to you or you can also pick it up. During requirement submission, they will ask if you will pick up the passport or have it delivered.

And that's about it, it is quite a long read and I don't know if I have covered everything but I am hoping that I was. There are some who prefers to know the process from someone who has already done it. This entry shows the lists of requirements that I submitted and the flow of what  I did for a Tourist Visa with a sponsor application. Every now and then websites for this processes may be updated, so it is important to visit only legit pages for reference. All the best with your visa applications and don't be shy to ask me questions about any thing visa related, I would gladly help.

Sharing a photo of a street from the village where my husband and I live. This was taken a few days after I arrived in Holland, to inspire you readers to explore and don't be scared to take chances.