Known for its freshly-brewed beers, ornate castles, and rich history, the Czech Republic is one country that you’ll love to visit. Being so beautiful, the Czech Republic has visitors from every corner of the world. The number of people who applied for a Czech Schengen visa was at a whopping 489, 920 in 2016.
This number just keeps increasing with every year. Being busy, the embassy of the Czech Republic in London received close to 3,000 visa applications in the year 2016. Many got rejected as the right process wasn’t followed.
Here, in this article, I’ll tell you how I applied for my Czech Schengen visa and got it done. Follow the steps properly to increase the chances of your visa approval.
Steps to follow for a Czech Schengen visa
The steps you need to follow to initiate the process of Czech Schengen visa are:
- Get to know whether you need a visa to enter the Czech Republic for tourism purpose
- Make an appointment with the embassy of Czech Republic in London ( Get Schengen visa appointment for $ 10 )
- Get all the documents that you’ll need to show and submit to the embassy
- Visit the embassy for the appointment you made and so that the embassy can initiate the process of your Czech Schengen visa
Want temporary flight, hotel or insurance for your Schengen visa appointment?
Here’s everything that you need to do:
Know whether or not you need a visa to enter the Czech Republic?
To find this out, you’ll need to visit the official website of the embassy of the Czech Republic in London.
Click on ‘Visa and Consular‘ followed by ‘Do I need a visa or not‘? to know whether or not you need a visa to enter the Czech Republic.
You’ll get directed to a new page. This page tells who all need a visa to enter the Czech Republic and who doesn’t.
British passport holders don’t need a visa to travel to the Czech Republic for tourism purposes.
What about permanent UK residents? Do they need to apply for a visa?
Well…yes, if you’re a permanent resident in the UK, you’ll need to apply for a visa.
I’m one and I’ll tell you how I got my Czech Schengen visa request initiated.
First and foremost, you’ll need to schedule an appointment. Let’s take a look at how this process works.
How to get an appointment at the embassy of the Czech Republic in London?
Go back to the ‘Visa and Consular‘ page and click on ‘How to make an appointment for a Schengen visa?’.
Scroll down the page and click on ‘Czech Visa Application Centre website‘. You’ll now reach the VFS Global website. Click on ‘Schedule an appointment‘.
Now click on the ‘Appointment Link‘.
You’ll have to register on this website to be able to have access to the online appointment booking system.
Once you schedule the appointment, an email will be sent to you with the appointment letter in the PDF format. Make sure to take its printout and carry it on the day of your appointment.
Documents required for a Czech Schengen visa
You’ll need to show many documents on the day of your appointment. They are:
- Passport
- Schengen visa application form
- Photograph
- UK permanent residency proof
- Flight tickets
- Hotel reservations
- Cover letter
- Travel health insurance
- Proof of sustenance in the Czech Republic
- Employment documents
- Print out of your appointment letter
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Passport: You’ll have to bring your original passport on the day of the appointment. It should have two empty pages. The passport shouldn’t expire three months from the date you return back to the UK.
Schengen visa application form: You can find this on this website. Download it and fill it. Take its print-out. Check this sample for more details.
Download Schenvisa vis application form
Photograph: You need to paste a passport-sized on the visa application form. Make sure it’s not more than 6-months old. It should also have your neutral facial expression.
UK permanent residency proof: You’ll need to show all the documents that prove your legal stay in the UK. Bring the original and bring copies too. The validity of this document should also be 90 days from the day of expiry of your Czech Schengen visa.
Flight tickets: You’ll have to show proof of your transport to the embassy. This confirms you departure from the Czech Republic. I opted for temporary flight tickets and you should do the same. These are accepted by the Czech embassy.
What is flight itinerary? Is it accepted by the Schengen consulate ?
Of course, in fact all the embassies mention the same. We have added links to the official visa pages which you can verify.
France Consulate
Your travel itinerary : you MUST BOOK your airline ticket but do not purchase until the visa has been approved.
We recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets until your visa has been approved. On the other hand, you may provide us with a reservation, a planned itinerary or an online printout of a roundtrip ticket.
Travel reservation to and from schengen area, not a ticket. Note: Make travel reservation which you can cancel
Flight (roundtrip)/travel reservations and full itinerary (if several Schengen States will be visited or if the trip covers several Schengen States and non-Schengen countries) with the name of passenger and one copy
Round trip ticket/reservation, originating in this jurisdiction to Europe (and ultimately to Italy) and back, including internal entry and exit points of travel i.e. EURORAIL tickets, car rental, internal flights. The names on reservations have to reflect the names on passports.
We can provide you with flight itineraries which is accepted by not only for Schengen visa but for all visas. We have customers using the same flight itinerary for Malaysia visa, Singapore visa, India visa, UK visa etc.
In fact the European union visa requirements for visa states the same.
As per the official document,
Round trip reservation or itinerary with dates and flight numbers specifying entry and exit from Schengen state.Schengen authorities accept the itinerary when applying for the visa but request the original air ticket when visa is collected.
That is why we have 100% visa acceptance rate although some of our customer have been requested to provide “additional documents”,none of their visa has been rejected for providing fake documents.
With 80% of our customers being return customers or companies which process visas for their employees/clients, our approach is the best approach if you want to ensure the safety of your visa.
This is our orders screen for this month. Most of the orders have been placed by repeat customers.
The best part about our service is along with getting a flight reservation without payment, you can also get confirmed hotel bookings, personal cover letter, leave/no objection letter for your visa consulates.
Hotel accommodation proof: In this case as well, I opted for temporary hotel bookings. There are times when visas get rejected. If the same had happened with, I would have had to bear heavy cancellation charges. Avail the services of Travel Visa Bookings to get temporary hotel reservations for your trip to the Czech Republic.
Cover letter: You need to write a compelling cover letter. It should mention your travel itinerary. Also, make sure to give the name of the documents you’re submitting.
Travel medical insurance: This is also mandatory. It should cover any emergency expenses that you might incur while you’re in the Czech Republic. Travel Visa Bookings offers travel insurance schemes that are valid in the entire Schengen area.
Employment documents: This can be a letter from your employer mentioning your name, designation, and salary or business license, whichever is valid.
Financial sustenance: The embassy needs to know how you’re going to sustain in the Czech Republic. You can bring copies of your latest bank statements or travel cards to prove this.
What is the Czech Schengen visa fee?
The Schengen visa depends on the type of the visa—there are quite a few. Take a look at the table below to know the types and the visa fees:
As a tourist, you’ll need a short-stay visa. What I paid is clearly given in the table below:
Let’s answer few questions that people usually have.
Can I make the appointment through phone or mail?
No, you can’t. You can only do it through the VFS Global page in the way explained above.
Where should I take my temporary hotel and flight bookings from?
Travel Visa Bookings is a name that you can trust when it comes to temporary fight and hotel bookings for Schengen visa. They have processed more than 100000 orders till date and have been in the business for over 5 years. They offer insurance and custom-made cover letters as well.
How long will the processing of the visa take?
It usually takes 1-2 weeks. However, try and apply at least one month in advance.
Will the validity of the Czech Schengen visa be 90 days?
No, it won’t be for 90 days. The validity of your visa will for the days you mention in your cover letter or travel itinerary.
The embassy of the Czech Republic in London information
Address: 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens
Kensington
London W8 4QY, UK
Tel: +4420/72431115
Email: london@embassy.mzv.cz
Related Czech Schengen visa articles
Czech Schengen visa in 7 days (Updated 2018)