One of my favourite things about living in the UK is the ease of travel, not just because of cheap airline fares or proximity to so many vacation destinations, but even more because of how relatively easier visa applications are for people like me who are Nigerian passport holders.

I spent the first 3 weeks of the year in France and I, of course needed a Schengen Visa to be able to visit France or any of the other 43 European countries. I must admit however that the process of getting this visa is way easier as a UK resident (applying from within the UK) compared to the daunting process from Nigeria and here is how you can apply for Schengen Visa from the UK.

The first step is to decide which of the countries you would be applying through. I chose the Netherlands because, firstly, they had available appointment dates that was close enough for me and secondly, I initially had plans to visit the Netherlands.

^{There are school of thoughts that say you don't need to visit the issuing country, however I did pass through Netherlands to stamp my passport just in case; my flight itinerary was London-Netherland-Paris-Bordeaux-London when in fact I was visiting just France (Paris and Bordeaux); so this decision is totally up to you.}

Required Documents

• Return flight itinerary /receipt
• Accommodation itinerary
• A Cover letter
• Your application form: Downloaded from the VFS website.
• Appointment confirmation email/letter; Downloaded from when you book your appointment.
• Relevant document checklist; Downloaded from the VFS website
• Annual multiple Travel Insurance.
• International Passport and BRP (British Residence Permit) card and photocopies
• 2 photograph passport
• 3 months UK Bank statement
• School Attendance Letter(Students)- Can be downloaded from your portal or from student central in your school.
• An introductory letter from your company (if employed)
• 3 months payslips (if employed)

As a UK resident, you probably have most of these documents and for the ones you don’t already have, here’s how to get them. Please note that you’d need to submit physical copies of all the documents listed here when you go for your appointment so all of these documents need to be printed out.

Return flight: If you are certain about the days you’d like to travel, then please go ahead and book your flights. You can get good deals by comparing prices on Skyscanner or Google flights. However, if you are like me and not very sure about what dates you’d like to travel then you can get dummy flight tickets on dummyticket.com. Yes, they are real travel tickets (I checked the booking reference on the airline website) and No, you cannot travel with them. The ticket cost me £15.

Accommodation itinerary: This can be done using bookings.com as it allows you to book for the number of days you want without paying ahead, however, you’d be required to add a valid debit card but you would not be debited till a day or two before your trip, so ensure to set a reminder to cancel the booking once you get your visa if you won’t be making actual use of it.

Cover Letter: You are required to write a letter to be addressed to the consulate telling them about your trip and why you want the visa (.. I know, I know). This should look something similar to this;

Your name,
Your home address + Postcode, United Kingdom.
Date

Embassy of the Netherlands, 38 Hyde Park Gate,
South Kensington, London SW7 5DP
United Kingdom.
(Please replace with the address of the consulate you're applying to)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for a Schengen Visa

I am writing to apply for a Schengen visa to visit the European Union (the Netherlands as my first
port of entry) as a tourist. I have attached all the necessary documents including my passport, travel itinerary, and financial statements.
I would also like to visit Amsterdam, Iceland and Germany after my visit to the Netherlands.
Also, I would like to request a multiple entry visa as this would be a great advantage to my travels as I intend to return for another holiday to the Netherlands.
I will be visiting various tourist destinations and experiencing the rich culture of the Netherlands .
I also assure you that I have no intention to stay in the Schengen areas beyond my
authorised stay, and I intend to comply with all the rules and regulations of the Schengen areas.
I hope that you will consider my application favourably and grant me the necessary Schengen visa to visit the European Union.
If you need any further information or documents, please let me know. Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Your name.

^{Please try to adapt the letter to suit your visit and tweak it so it's more personalised to you and your travel plans.}

Annual Multiple Travel Insurance: There are number of insurance companies that offer affordable annual multiple insurance. I got mine from coverwise and it cost just £9.85 for a year.

An Introductory Letter From Your Company: This only applies to you if you work full-time. It should come in form of a letter i.e with the company’s address and the consulate’s address (just like the letter above). Your company should indicate in the letter that you indeed work for them alongside information like your start date, number of hours per week(if that applies). It should be on the company’s letter head and should be signed (and maybe stamped if you want).

How to Apply for a Schengen Visa from the UK

You would apply on the website of the Schengen country you’re applying through, in my own case I applied via the Netherland VFS website . First step is to complete an online application form, which you also have to print out and sign. There is a relevant document checklist on the website as well that you need to download, fill appropriately and take along with you to the visa appointment. The visa fees as at the time this point was made cost £136.50 with an additional VFS service charge of £15.14 

After doing this, you then proceed to book an appointment. After booking your appointment, you will receive an e-mail confirming your appointment, with a confirmation letter attached, print this out as well and take along with all the other documents listed above for your appointment.

I hope you get your visa and have a nice holiday. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’d be happy to answer them for you.

Don’t forget to keep growing 🌱 and stay glowing ✨

With all my love,

TEE.