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I am a 25 year old woman. I am single. Started working a decent job with a monthly salary of 380 euros 7 months ago. I travelled in developing countries 2-3 times but never in first world countries. This is my first time applying for a tourist visa. i don't have property under my name. What are my chances? Am i at risk of being rejected since it's my first timee?

Lisa
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    Welcome to TSE. They are happy to acknowledge that everyone must begin their European travel at some point, but we don't take bets because there's simply too many variables. One person says, 'hey, your chances are great' and the next person says, 'forget it', and you're back to square 1. Opinion-based. – Gayot Fow Jul 17 '17 at 02:13
  • You are immediately high risk simply because of your age and the fact that you have no established ties. – Burhan Khalid Jul 17 '17 at 05:05
  • My parents have a home and an apartment? – Lisa Jul 17 '17 at 17:51

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As Gayot wrote in his comment, I can't give you the odds. But consider this:

The Schengen area tries to give visa to genuine tourists and to deny visa to illegal immigrants. A tourist comes, looks at the culture and the scenic nature, and leaves again with fond memories. Tourism is a luxury. Can you reasonably afford the trip?

  • Take your salary, subtract taxes and insurance, and subtract a reasonable cost of living. How much do you have left each month? With a salary of €380, I would guess less than €100, perhaps much less.
  • Consider the cost of your planned trip. Flight or train, hotels, food. I would say it is difficult to travel in Europe at less than €50 per day, plus coming to Europe.
  • When one goes traveling, it always feels good to have money for unexpected circumstances. Say you have to take a taxi to the airport instead of the bus. Or the weather is unseasonally cold and you have to buy a coat.

Make a tentative plan. Don't book anything yet, just look at prices. Are you willing to stay in a cheap backpacker hostel, or do you want a hotel room? Do you still qualify for a cheap stay in a Youth Hostel? How much is the travel to and from Europe? How much to travel within Europe? Look at prices in restaurant menus. Calculate what the holiday will cost. My guess is several thousand €.

Look at the ratio between the cost of the trip and your monthly disposable income. If you have to save for a very long time, your chances for a visa go down. If you can afford it easily, your chances go up.

o.m.
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  • (-1) This answer seems entirely speculative. You do mention hostels and the like but seem unable to really consider anything else than your own travel habits. It's definitely possible to do a trip to Europe without spending several thousand euros. But that's not even relevant, consulates have guidelines and want rich people, period, no need to sugarcoat that. Also, where is this “one year of spending” threshold coming from? And how can you ignore the OP's personal situation (young, single), a major factor in visa decisions for applicants from a developing country? – Relaxed Jul 17 '17 at 06:07
  • @Relaxed, I did not want to suggest any thresholds, but a good ratio of disposable income to planned expenses helps. So does a realistic plan, which does not depend on couch-surfing or the like. To put it another way, if you really can afford the trip, without using up all your financial reserves, the likelihood of a visa goes up. Yes, that means rich people have it easier. – o.m. Jul 17 '17 at 16:21
  • And I am saying you did really suggest a threshold and a relationship to whether you can afford the trip (and should edit if that's not what you meant) whereas none of these things matter. Without going full wild camping/hitchhiking/couchsurfing (and what's unrealistic about that if that's your thing?), being able to afford hostels and fast food joints isn't enough, there are actually per diem published guidelines that match your thousands of euros estimates. But not because that's actually necessary. Rather, the rules just favour rich people as such. – Relaxed Jul 17 '17 at 20:36
  • @Relaxed, edited the last paragraph. – o.m. Jul 18 '17 at 04:33