1

I am going to apply for a Schengen visa to visit Krakow, Budapest and Prague for a total of 12-13 days. I have some questions regarding showing the means of subsistance:

  1. Is it okay to get a loan from your credit card to show funds? I have a good income and have been paying my credit card bills regularly, which is also reflected in my account statements.

  2. If not, is it required to maintain the minimum balance required all the time? Or is it okay if I have that amount in my account while applying for the visa? Let's say I am traveling end of July, and I'm planning to save 30k every month from my salary. If I apply in June I'll have 2 months saving (60k) plus my salary around 75k = 135k.

Which of these will be a safe option?

P.S. I have already paid for my flight tickets.

Trrrrravellerrr
  • 21
  • 2
  • 2
    Please see this excellent answer for an overview of what your bank statement reveals about you. That answer is in context of UK visa but is also applicable for Schengen visa. – RedBaron Apr 01 '18 at 02:44
  • 1
    Credit cards are about the most expensive form of borrowing ever created. If you have to borrow from credit cards, it will really look like you are desperate. – Berwyn Apr 01 '18 at 07:24
  • I believe the answers may be missing the point. To visit the Schengen area, one has to make an application and reveal the general financial situation, and one has to bring sufficient money for subsistence during the trip. Two different requirements, one at the visa application, one at the border crossing. For the latter, a credit card should do fine, but some cash on hand is always advisable. – o.m. Apr 01 '18 at 07:48
  • @o.m. can you elaborate a little? Can you read the 2nd point in my question? Will that be enough? – Trrrrravellerrr Apr 01 '18 at 08:53
  • Never once have I been asked to show a credit card or funds at the border crossing; and I have had 3 separate Schengen visas. I guess I am lucky or its not a normal practice? – Burhan Khalid Apr 01 '18 at 10:04
  • What does 135k equate to in €? – Traveller Apr 01 '18 at 11:26
  • @Traveller around 1680 Euros and i will be applying through the poland embassy since i'll be in poland for the longest duration. Polish embassy states financial means required as 100 PLN/day i.e. 24 Euro/day – Trrrrravellerrr Apr 01 '18 at 12:33
  • So your general financial situation seems to show an income of 75k per month (around €840), from which so far you’ve not been regularly saving 30k but can now start to do so shortly before applying for a visit visa. On that level of income, and being unable to demonstrate a savings history, is the amount you expect to spend on this trip credible? If I were you, I’d postpone my trip until I’d saved more. – Traveller Apr 01 '18 at 13:14
  • @VaibhavBajpai, as I understand it you need to have enough money for subsistence when you cross the border. But it is really not much money by European costs of living. If €300 are going to break your budget, they might consider your financial history to shaky. (Personally, I wouldn't travel abroad if I could not afford a ticket for the next plane home, in case of a family emergency, but then I'm a bit risk-averse.) – o.m. Apr 01 '18 at 14:27
  • @Traveller I have my father and other relatives who can fund me in case of emergencies. And if nothing goes wrong I think i can easily manage the whole trip on my own (It is supposed to be a budget trip). I am also considering taking a sponsorship letter from them just to be safe. Can I have multiple people sponsoring me?(Like my father and my uncle and myself) P.S. Both of them have Very stable salaries, own properties and savings. – Trrrrravellerrr Apr 01 '18 at 18:53
  • @o.m. read the above comment – Trrrrravellerrr Apr 01 '18 at 18:54
  • @VaibhavBajpai The onus is on the applicant to show they have sufficient funds available. A sponsor may help (although I’d avoid multiple sponsors, it looks a little desperate and could weaken your application) however the sponsor would need to provide bank statements etc, & it could be hard to demonstrate that the funds were actually available to you without falling into the ‘funds parking’ trap. Om’s answer above is a good steer - use it to objectively review your general financial standing and your expected subsistence needs against the requirements and from the likely viewpoint of the ECO. – Traveller Apr 02 '18 at 08:57

2 Answers2

3

Do not - I repeat - do not bump up your balance for the application. This will surely get your application rejected for funds parking.

The reason they ask to see a banks statement because it is evidence of many things.

  1. It shows steady income that matches what you have mentioned in your application. So if you say your salary is 5000, there should be some regular payments of 5000 that show a salary.

  2. It shows that you are not borrowing for your trip or this trip is otherwise a financial burden on you. You don't want to see a bank balance of 500,000 if your salary is 5000 (unless you won some lotto, so in that case you would have to explain it).

The exact amount you would need to demonstrate that you can afford for this trip differs from one country to the next. Italy, for example, is very expensive vs. say the Netherlands or some other countries.

A cash advance from your credit card will not help - it may even hurt your application. You can say you have access to a credit card (there is a place to mark that on the application) and that is sufficient.

Again, keep in mind that the financial statement is just one part of the entire picture and they look at it for different purposes.

Burhan Khalid
  • 39,678
  • 4
  • 82
  • 157
  • Hi, Thanks for the answer. Can you also comment on the second point I wrote in my question? Also, I agree a bank balance of 5,00,000 is suspicious if my salary is 5000. But what if my salary is 75000 per month and i get an advance of say 25000-30000? – Trrrrravellerrr Apr 01 '18 at 06:03
  • If you have to borrow funds to finance your trip, chances are you are already at the limit of what you can comfortably spend. Don't borrow money because you think you need to show some minimum balance in your account. – Burhan Khalid Apr 01 '18 at 10:06
1

If you need a credit advance to make your application credible then you probably can’t afford the trip. ECOs are not gullible, they will see through it. Your general financial situation should show a regular surplus of income over expenditure and savings sufficient to cover the trip and some on top (personally I think it unlikely 2 months’ worth would be enough). You can work out how much subsistence money is ‘enough’ by looking at how much your accommodation will cost and adding in planned daily food costs (e.g. €50 per day), travel costs etc. It’s impossible to say with certainty what sum is ‘enough’, it depends on your itinerary, where you are planning to stay, which tourist attractions you plan to visit etc.

Traveller
  • 33,186
  • 3
  • 52
  • 127