How to fill the Schengen visa application form, field by field (all 32 fields)

The form below is Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 as amended in 2020: the single harmonised application form used by every Schengen state. Field names are quoted from the Regulation; the reading after each is ours. Two rules sit at the top of the form itself: "This application form is free", and "Fields 1-3 shall be filled in in accordance with the data in the travel document". Family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens skip the starred fields 21, 22, 30, 31 and 32.

Identity: fields 1 to 11

1. Surname (Family name) and 3. First name(s) (Given name(s)): copy the passport character for character, including the order the passport uses. If your passport shows a single name in the surname line, reproduce that.

2. Surname at birth (Former family name(s)): the field married applicants most often leave blank. If your birth certificate, school records or bank account carry your maiden name and the form does not, the consulate has two identities to reconcile and no explanation. Fill it in.

4. Date of birth, 5. Place of birth, 6. Country of birth: as printed in the passport, day-month-year.

7. Current nationality, plus nationality at birth if different, plus other nationalities. Declare a second passport if you hold one; the VIS will show it eventually.

8. Sex. 9. Civil status: single, married, registered partnership, separated, divorced, widowed, other. This must agree with the certificates in the file; "married" here with no marriage certificate attached is an open question for the examiner.

10. Parental authority or legal guardian, for minors: name, address, telephone and e-mail, and nationality, when different from the applicant's.

11. National identity number, where applicable: in India, this is where an Aadhaar or PAN reference goes if the mission asks for one; several checklists ask for a PAN copy separately.

The travel document: fields 12 to 16

12. Type of travel document (ordinary, diplomatic, service, official, special, other), 13. Number, 14. Date of issue, 15. Valid until, 16. Issued by (country).

Field 15 is a silent eligibility test. Article 12 requires validity of at least three months after your intended departure from the Schengen area, at least two blank pages, and issue within the previous ten years. A passport that fails any of these fails before anyone reads your bank statements: see the passport requirements guide.

The EU family route: fields 17 and 18

17. Personal data of the family member who is an EU, EEA or CH citizen and 18. Family relationship (spouse, child, grandchild, dependent ascendant, registered partnership, other). Filling these correctly moves you to a different, more favourable regime: no fee, and the starred fields do not apply. Leaving them blank when they apply costs you money and speed.

Where you live and what you do: fields 19 to 22

19. Applicant's home address and e-mail address, telephone: this address determines which consulate is competent under Article 6, and several missions in India require six months of residence in the district. Use the address on the utility bill or lease you are attaching. Our state-coverage tool shows which consulate that address lands you in.

20. Residence in a country other than the country of current nationality: residence permit number and validity, for foreign nationals applying from India.

21. Current occupation (starred) and 22. Employer, address and telephone number; for students, the institution (starred). Field 22 is the number the consulate dials for verification. A switchboard that cannot confirm you, or a number nobody answers, is the shortest route to ground 12, "reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the supporting documents submitted or as to the veracity of their contents".

The trip: fields 23 to 29

23. Purpose(s) of the journey: tourism, business, visiting family or friends, cultural, sports, official visit, medical reasons, study, airport transit, other. Tick the purpose that matches the checklist you are filing under; a tourism tick with an invitation letter attached is a mismatch the examiner has to resolve.

24. Additional information on purpose of stay: the most wasted box on the form. Two lines that name the event, the city and the date, and match the cover letter, do more work here than a page of adjectives.

25. Member State of main destination (and other states of destination). This is the field that decides who may lawfully examine you, under Article 5: sole destination, otherwise the main destination by nights or purpose, otherwise the state of first entry. Get it wrong and the file is with the wrong consulate. The which-consulate tool applies the test to your itinerary.

26. Member State of first entry: the tie-breaker, and the airport your ticket shows.

27. Number of entries requested (single, two, multiple) and the intended dates of arrival and departure of the first stay. These three answers must agree with your flight reservation, your hotel booking and your insurance dates. They also frame the multiple-entry question: see the Article 24 cascade.

28. Fingerprints collected previously, with the date and visa sticker number if known. This is the 59-month rule of Article 13(3); prints entered in the VIS less than 59 months ago are copied to your new file.

29. Entry permit for the final country of destination, when Schengen is a transit leg: issuing authority and validity.

Who hosts and who pays: fields 30 to 32

30. Inviting person(s), or the hotel(s) or temporary accommodation with address, e-mail and telephone (starred). 31. Inviting company or organisation with a named contact person (starred). 32. Who covers the cost of travelling and living (starred): yourself or a sponsor, and by what means, cash, traveller's cheques, credit card, pre-paid accommodation, pre-paid transport, accommodation provided, all expenses covered, or other.

Field 32 must agree with fields 30 and 31 and with the money in the file. If a host pays, the host's documents must show they can; if you pay, your statements must show it. A sponsor named nowhere in 30 or 31, or a "self-funded" tick with a host's guarantee attached, is exactly the contradiction ground 11 exists for.

The declarations under the form

Three matter. That the visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. That a multiple-entry applicant is aware of the need to hold adequate travel medical insurance for the first stay and any subsequent visits (Article 15(2)). And consent to your data, photograph and fingerprints being entered in the VIS and stored for up to five years, where any Schengen consulate examining a later application will see them, along with the decision on this one.

The eight fields to check twice

Fields 2, 19, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30 and 32. Every one of them is cross-checked against a document you attached. A form that agrees with its own file is the cheapest credibility you can buy; the refusal grounds that punish disagreement, 10 and 11, are the two that most often decide otherwise complete applications. The full list of grounds is in the refusal reasons guide.

FAQ

Is the Schengen visa application form the same for every country?

Yes. Annex I of the Visa Code is a harmonised form used by all Schengen states, and the form itself states that it is free. Missions differ in how you submit it (some require an online portal such as VIDEX for Germany, France-Visas for France or VisaOnWeb for Belgium), not in the fields.

How many fields does the Schengen visa application form have?

32 numbered fields, followed by the declarations on fees, insurance and VIS data. Family members of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens leave fields 21, 22, 30, 31 and 32 blank.

Which field decides which consulate handles my application?

Field 25, the Member State of main destination, decides which country is competent (Article 5), and field 19, your home address, decides which of that country's consulates in India is competent (Article 6).

Can I fill the form by hand?

Several missions in India refuse handwritten forms and require the online form printed with its barcode (for example Germany's VIDEX and Spain's computerised form via BLS). Check your mission's checklist before writing anything by hand.

Printed from Schengen Odds (https://schengen-odds.pages.dev/guide/schengen-visa-application-form-fields/). Sources are listed below; rules change, so check the linked official pages on the day you apply.