When applying for visa, be careful of who you listen to or where you get visa information from. Listening to anyone can mess up your visa application and cost you extra money and time.
These days, people circulate so many garbage about visa application that it may be difficult to find out which is true or false. However, we have gathered some of the popular visa application facts that are ‘not true’. The following are some of them:
“Apply at a specific branch of the embassy/submission centre for success”
You may have heard it before that submitting at a specific application centre will help improve your chances of getting a visa. This is entirely false. No branch of the embassy or visa application centre gives preferential treatment.
The visa department of the embassy ensures that all branch maintains the same standard when attending to visa applications.
“Buy flight ticket to guarantee visa success”
This is a very common ‘untrue visa application fact.’ Buying flight ticket would only help you blow your money fast. Visa is not guaranteed even when you pay for flight ticket. Embassies usually advise people to desist from buying actual flight ticket for the sake of visa application.
What you can do, instead, is to make a flight reservation. This reservation must be verifiable on platforms, such as the airline website or checkmytrip. So, you should consult with an agent to help you with this or get one here.
The most important part is that the reservation should show how you intend to enter the country whose visa you are applying for. Think about it, most airlines cancel the reservation after 48 hours. So the embassy does not even expect you to travel with the same airline whose reservation you have used.
However, they need to see if you an idea of how you want to travel. And if you have any intention of returning back to Nigeria after your visa expires.
– Instruction from BLS International, official partner of the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria for visa application collection.
“Book the national carrier to impress the visa officer and get a visa”
People also say that it is better to book the national carrier of the country that they are applying to. For example, Air France for France visa application, KLM for Netherlands visa application, British Airways for United Kingdom.
This is not only untrue, but also, as we have found out, negatively affect visa applications. By default, such national carriers are direct flight to the supposed destinations. And direct flight are usually more expensive.
So at the end of the day, using such airlines hikes up your proposed cost of trip. Then your monthly income has to commensurate with this cost. And your account balance must also reflect such an amount.
“Paying for a hotel accommodation will help you get a visa”
Next is paying for hotel accommodation when applying for visa. At the moment, you spend an average of $ 40 per night if you wish to stay in a moderate hotel anywhere abroad – besides Netherlands (which is much more expensive) and South Korea (which is far cheaper).
The point is: you do not improve your chances when you pay for the hotel you intend to stay at. The embassy only has to confirm that your reservation is valid as at the time they’re processing your application. And because the hotel reservation confirmation is not the only supporting documents to consider, the embassy may still find you undeserved of a visa based on other supporting documents.
“You can get away with a fake flight reservation”
It is not true that you can get away with a fake flight reservation. Your PNR cannot be fabricated and your itinerary must not be concocted. If you know someone who got away using such a document, you may be unlucky when you try doing same.
“Making a fake hotel reservation is harmless”
Embassies are fervently contacting hotels concerning applicants reservations. So if you were told that a fake hotel reservation (which cannot be verified) will not do you any harm, you have been lied to.
“Apply to ‘lesser’ European countries for better chances of securing your visa”
Many people think that applying at ‘lesser’ Schengen countries can help them get their visa easily. But this is not only unfactual but also very impossible.
Take Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Estonia for example, they are some of the weaker countries in Europe in terms of size, economy and influence. But they equally maintain very high application standards.
These countries have already sublet their visa application processes to the ‘bigger’ (France for Lithuania and Estonia, Italy for Malta, Sweden for Slovakia, etc.). So in any case, you are indirectly applying to the ‘bigger’ countries for visa.
Conclusion
Watch out for the false information when applying for visa. You can fact-check with the embassy or consult with a reputable travel agency to ensure that you follow the right path.
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