This is an account of my experience*[1] when applying for a tourist visa for my son who was to accompany me on holiday to Europe. I have tried to avoid bias so as to provide someone (you) with information that will help you in your own application.
To begin, I genuinely did want to go to Germany (and then France) on holiday with my 7 year old son, and then return to Kenya. I already had a visa (acquired at a different time) for this trip, so this was only an application for my son. What I had not anticipated (I should have) is how doubtful such a skiing, sightseeing, shopping trip could be perceived to be a fabrication to visa embassy staff.
My advice to you: Bear in mind that despite your real intentions to holiday and sightsee in those beautiful distant lands, many-a-Kenyan have gone before you on a tourist visa with the real intention of never returning aka the story of illegal immigrants in Europe and America as we know it. As a visa applicant therefore, you really must prove to the staff here (and do it as nicely as is earthly possible…) that you will return home (Maybe they have KPIs around successful applicants who didn’t return, I don’t know…)
Second, as soon as you are considering travelling, book your appointment, so that you have a clear chance of booking another appointment in time, in case you don’t have sufficient proof (and niceness) at your first appointment. For embassies that use VFS (eg Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Norway) I highly recommend you visit the place to enquire in detail about documents etc needed. The VFS staff there will give you all information that is required (especially information that may not be on the embassy website) avoiding last minute hiccups, panic, stress and heart attacks.
Thirdly, be clear about your trip: purpose, duration, activites etc. Basically, if you appear vague or unsure about what you are going to do in Germany/Europe, my friend you are not going. Pack your bags and go to Naivasha and be vague there!
So for my (my son’s) Schengen visa application, I chose Germany as this would be our country of entry into Schengen. The German Embassy in Nairobi itself/directly receives and processes visa applications (ie not through an agency like Danish or Swedish embassy for example) where your main destination (if not the only destination) is Germany. If, for example, you intend to travel to Germany then France, staying 3 days and 5 days respectively, your Schengen visa application should be to the French embassy as your stay is mostly (by simple majority) in France.
For my (our) appointment/interview, apart from completing the application form, printing it and carrying it with you for the appointment, these are the other documents/information I was required to carry/produce at my appointment/interview.
Below I list the documents, information and attitude (yes!) I came to learn (and my recommendations) were essential for us to obtain a visa for my minor son. Hopefully they help another applicant in similar heels shoes
- Child applicant must be present. I start with this because even though there is no information on the website about this, the child must be present. Children (not sure till what age) are not fingerprinted for Schengen visas, but the German embassy requires their presence for their visa appointments And no, it is not so obvious because a previous experience at the French embassy was that children are not allowed entry, and only I (parent) was interviewed.
- E-Passport only. Only the new light-blue covered East Africa passport is acceptable.
- 2 passport size pictures of child applicant. In the end they returned one pic to me, but carry two because this is what the information list on website states. Check specifications required of the pictures, and tell the cameraman when you go to have the picture taken that you need it for a Schengen visa
- Child’s original and copy of birth certificate. At the appointment/interview, interviewer checked the copy against original and give original back to you.
- Original signed letter from the un-accompanying parent- ie parent not going on the trip- which needs to be notarized. In my case, after he signed the letter (a simple letter we drafted together and have used for previous visas), as I am a notary, I notarized the document. Blunder! First, and probably as could be expected, I was told to get another signed letter notarized by a third party. Secondly, my interviewer asked where my son’s father was, and I said he was at work, and this appeared unsatisfactory to her. My recommendation to you if you are solo parent travelling with a child, have both parents appear at the visa interview/appointment to erase doubts and avoid searching looks from the interviewer. You still will need written consent from the un-accompanying parent as I believe this is part of documentation needed.
- Copies of child’s parents’ passport or Kenya ID. Names should match birth certificate
- An original letter from child’s school confirming that s/he is a student in that school, and stating when the school has holidays. I had carried a letter from the school confirming my son’s studentship at the school, but was asked to obtain another official letter stating when the holidays would be (presumably to tally with period of anticipated travel out of Kenya). Be wise and ask school early for this letter, and talk to the school secretary nicely.
- Visa and passport courier fee: I paid KES 260 for courier within Nairobi, and visa application fee (for minors) KES 5,000 This fee is among the lowest you will pay for any visa I believe because the German embassy doesn’t use VFS, a third party visa receiving/initial screening, and also Schengen visa fees are relatively low for children (compare with UK, Canada…). Courier fees is payable in cash or mpesa, while visa fees is paid in cash (Kenya shilling only) or by credit/debit card.
- 3 months personal bank statements certified by the bank. I’m uncertain what amounts these should ideally reflect, but have seen in some resources that this is about KES 200,000 and above monthly. Basically an amount that to you seems reasonable depending on your length of stay abroad. My recommendation is you prepare yourself if you plan to travel, by getting a job!
- 3 months business bank statements certified by the bank. In my case, as I am self employed, a sole proprietorship, I also needed to provide these.
- Original and copy of business registration documents, CR 12 etc. As I said, I am self employed, with a registered business name. I was not questioned about the business name copy that I gave, but (due to my experience below with Italy embassy on a different occasion) recommend any applicant carries original business registration document. If you registered your business in the electronic e-Citizen days where there is no original registration certificate, CR 12 etc, this is something you should be ready to explain.
- Travel insurance. This is the most straightforward document you need to have. A list of acceptable insurance covers is on the embassy’s website, so check it. In my experience, insurance was very easy to obtain, all electronic, so print for yourself and carry it with you to visa interview.
- Travel itinerary. Basically, a concrete day-to-day plan of events and activities This was not listed on the German embassy website , but I highly recommend that you type out, edit, think, re-edit, and finalise your itinerary, print and carry it with you to your appointment. It will avoid/prevent you drawing blanks when asked details about your trip by the interviewer, as I did. Basically, if you appear vague or unsure about what you are going to do in Germany/Europe, my friend you are not going. Pack your bags and go to Naivasha and be vague there!
- Booked/certain accommodation details including name (eg of hotel), address, phone and email. For us, our plan was to travel and spend some time in Germany (for my son to practice German language as she is learning) and then in France. My French partner was to drive from France, we would spend some days there (hoping to catch some snow still in the mountain region around Garmisch) and then drive to border town of Strasbourg and into France. So, we needed to show hotel confirmations for stay in Germany as well as letter from my partner confirming accommodation while in France. Kusema ukweli I believe hapa ndio niliblunder…sigh… I hadn’t booked the hotel stay before my interview day (planned to do a booking.com hotel stay after getting visa), and, notwithstanding the letter from my partner, I believe this, combined with not having a written itinerary, caused/raised doubts either about our travel plans or at least our travel plans (especially period of stay in Germany which is relevant in determining which Schengen country to apply for visa) ☹.
- Covid vaccination certificate. This is another item that is not listed as a requirement for visa purposes (of course you can have a visa then the country goes on lock down or stops receiving Kenyans if there is an outbreak etc). Anyway, my interviewer insisted that my son (7years old) was required to be vaccinated, never mind my protests that vaccination is not legally required of minors but only for accompanying adults. On this one, I would recommend printing out the link to the German foreign ministry website where it states clearly that minors are not required to be vaccinated for entry into Germany. My insistence did not get me far…literally.
- A submissive attitude (carry the large size). This is mandatory (like everything else above). When my interviewer (wrongly) told me that ‘frequent traveller’ appointments are only open to business travel applicants (we were applying for a tourist visa for holiday) I pointed out that this was not the case. And when she (wrongly) said, printed and highlighted for me a document that stated that unvaccinated (for covid) children are not allowed into Germany, I protested and told her that this is no longer the case, that the law currently provides that minors need not be vaccinated to enter Germany. And (probably straw that broke that female camel’s back) at the end of the interview, I left the interview box and she shouted ‘your welcome’, obviously incensed by my lack of ‘thank you’ and appreciation for … her work. While I don’t genuinely believe my attitude was the only reason for a visa refusal, I highly recommend that you basically attend the interview like an eager dog ready to please
mastermistress. Think of your interviewer as a watchie who decides if he will let you into a place or not…. A lot depends on how you talk to him, if you call him ‘boss’, wish him days of perpetual sunshine etc, Remember that it’s not the important business you have on the inside behind the gates that will get you in.
[1] Proper nouns have been changed to keep privacy