Schengen Visa - Complicated Situation

[puranjay]

I'm an Indian citizen in the US on a f-1 visa.

I quit my college today, so as of now, I am no longer a valid student here. I will be going back to India soon.

But before going back to India, I want to travel through Europe for about a month, before heading back to Delhi from there.

I have a few questions and issues:

1.) Do I need to have a confirmed itinerary of my exact travel plans for the 30 days? I can provide an itinerary of my arrival and departure date, but not the time in between.

2.) Does my arrival and return port of entry have to be the same? If I enter Europe through Paris, can I leave Europe through Rome?

3.) Which is the easiest and fastest Schengen visa to get? I have no fixed travel plans, so they can be modified very easily according to ease.


I can't provide any letter of employment or support, though I can provide a bank statement (does it have to be bank statement or letter from the bank?) showing 20k USD in my account, which should be much more than enough.

Any help welcome here

[JAIHIND]

check this posted thread

Check this copied URL below might answer to some of your questions...This URL has some info specific to folks on H1 but not sure how it works for F1 students and that too who is no longer a student and not sure what type of supporting documents needs to be provided for "schengen visa"

If something works out good for you, be prepared to apply this visa at least in 3-4 weeks advance because sometimes they take more then 3 weeks to process your visa applications.

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35118

[knowledgeable]

Schengen visa application

1.) Do I need to have a confirmed itinerary of my exact travel plans for the 30 days? I can provide an itinerary of my arrival and departure date, but not the time in between.

--> Yes, you need a planned itinerary for the entire trip. You need to show hotel reservations/accommodations and travel confirmations for the entire trip.

2.) Does my arrival and return port of entry have to be the same? If I enter Europe through Paris, can I leave Europe through Rome?

--> No, you land in France and leave from The Netherlands or Rome, does not matter.

3.) Which is the easiest and fastest Schengen visa to get? I have no fixed travel plans, so they can be modified very easily according to ease.

--> There is no "easiest" or "fastest" visa here. There is only one visa which is a temporary stay and travel visa for Schengen countries. You can book your hotel reservations through American Express who will fax/e-mail you the entire itinerary and all the confirmations. These and other required documents will help you get the visa easily from French consulate (NYC?). Once you get the visa and you need to change or modify your hotel reservations, American Express can do it easily for you. If you find better deals elsewhere, you can even cancel the previous ones and make new ones, without incurring any charges. Make sure to cancel the hotel reservations well within the stipulated cancellation period.

You will need other documentation/proof like medical insurance, funds, credit cards etc.

Once you land in Paris @ CDG airport, you can use your US check card to withdraw Euros from a local ATM at the airport. Else, you can over pay your credit card in the US just before flying and then withdraw cash from a local CDG airport's ATM or one in Paris, using that credit card. This will be least painful and least expensive way to get your foreign exchange (Euros).

Enjoy!