A cover letter for visa application or a personal covering letter for visa is an important document wherein the traveller states their purpose for travel along with other relevant details. The cover letter could be for business visa application or a covering letter for tourist visa; in any case, this is written to the Embassy to ensure that you have permission to enter the member state or states.
Your cover letter for visa application is a means of communication between you and the Embassy making it necessary for your covering letter for visa to be carefully written.
Essential components of a covering letter for visa
- Your personal covering letter for visa application must state your purpose for travel.
- The cover letter for visa application must give a clear outline of how you intend to fund your travel and stay. In the case of a sponsored travel, you must name your relationship to the sponsor and their cause for sponsoring you.
- Your covering letter for visa must contain a condensation of your itinerary, further labelling why you have applied at specific Embassy.
- The duration of stay and intention to return to the home country must be specified as well.
- If due to any challenge, you are unable to provide any of the above-mentioned details, you are expected to provide a written reason.
Also Read: How to get your Schengen visa from India?
It is essential to understand whether you are writing a covering letter for tourist visa or a cover letter for business visa application, the content must be to the point. This is because this is the only method for you to establish any communication with the Embassy officials.
How do you write a visa cover letter?
To provide you with some ease, a sample cover letter for visa application has been provided. It is a sample Schengen visa application form filled, and it gives an idea about how your covering letter for visa is to be formatted and written. While the covering letter for visa is often not mentioned in the list of required documents, it is essential and must be written under all circumstances.
Remember: There is no room for error. As the acceptance of your visa application depends on details you provide in your covering letter.
Suggested Read: 10 Amazing Countries That Offer Visa On Arrival For Indians
Sample cover letter for visa application
September 27, 2019
2nd & 3rd floor, Cash Pharmacy Building Corner St Marks,
Residency Rd,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025
India
Subject: Name XXXXXXX, Indian Passport No: XXXXXX, Schengen Visa for Tourist Travel
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to apply for a Schengen visa as I wish to travel to Germany from December 14, 2019, to December 28, 2019.
The primary purpose of my travel is to visit Germany and look around the country. I wish to learn about German culture and way of life while also gaining familiarity with the neighbouring country of Switzerland. During my stay, I wish to relax and sightsee as much as the time permits me to.
I am employed at *employer name* in *employer address* since XXXX, currently in the position of XXXX. This vacation has been approved by my employer for the period mentioned above.
Please find the following documents to support my visa application:
- Visa application form, duly dated and signed with attached passport-size pictures
- Passport, (with previous travel experience)
- Travel Insurance
- E-ticket reservation for my flight via LH Bangalore – Frankfurt – Zurich – Bangalore [December 14 2019 – December 28, 2019]
- Hotel reservations for my stays in Germany and Switzerland
- Employment & leave certificates showing approved leaves as well as the date I am expected to return to work
- ITR, Payslips, and Savings Account as proof of my income
- Do remember to add medical reports in relevance to any existing conditions and details about the health insurance valid in [name of country]
Planned Itinerary:
- December 14, 2019 – Flight from Bangalore to Frankfurt via *flight/airline name*
- December 16, 2019 – Travel from Frankfurt to Berlin and stay at XXX
- December 19, 2019 – Travel from Berlin to Dusseldorf and stay at XXX
- December 20, 2019 – Travel from Dusseldorf to Geneva and stay at XXX
- December 23, 2019 – Travel from Geneva to Bern and stay at XXX
- December 26, 2019 – Travel from Bern to Zurich and stay at XXX
- December 28, 2019 – Flight back to Zurich from Frankfurt via *Flight/airline name*
I hope that you will find everything in order. For any clarifications, do contact me.
Thanking you in advance for a favourable reply to my application.
Sincerely,
Your Complete Name
Your Address, India
Personal covering letter for visa
It is to be noted that, your personal covering letter for visa application must include the cause for travel in the subject (e.g: Business, Medical, Tourist, etc.) This will make your covering letter for visa appear to the point and concise. If you are traveling for medical purposes, you will be required to give the following documents:
- A specific diagnosis must be shown. This diagnosis must be approved by a licensed healthcare provider.
- The provider must also be able to give a specific duration and length of treatment. Lifelong treatments and indefinite periods will not be accepted.
- This letter must be written by the provider to vouch for the patient and their contact details must be given as well for the clarification of any doubts.
Those travelling for business purposes must, in the same manner, provide a cover letter for business visa application written by their employer. The employer must give the cause for travel and must state the duration of travel as well. They too will be needed to provide their contact details for the clarification of any doubts. You need not worry about this procedure. It is a formality set to establish communication among the passenger.
Note: As most Embassies operate digitally, it is near impossible to reach them personally. This makes the approval of the visa application dependent on the documents you provide.
To make this process faster, the covering letter for visa is provided. It ensures that your reason for travel is communicated to the officers without any hinderance, therefore it needs to be written convincingly.
All you need to be cautious of when writing your covering letter for visa is, be aware of the cause and gather the required approval and documents. As long as appropriate material is provided along with the cover letter, your application is unlikely to face any challenge.
If you can’t provide a complete itinerary, try to provide a rough idea about the places you intend to visit over your stay in the country. It might sound like a task, but it just makes your life simpler as you will enter the country with a plan in the case of tourism. When visiting for any other purpose, there will not be much room for adjustment and change in your plans, therefore the covering letter for visa will come with a structured itinerary.
However, do ensure that you format the letter correctly. The first paragraph after the subject must contain the details about you and your purpose for travel. The second paragraph is formatted in bullet points to provide an itinerary with the smaller details about your travel. Just like any letter is written, it must be formal and should be checked thoroughly for the minute parts.
Conclusion
We hope this article summed a covering letter for visa and visa applications for you. As you must have understood by now, it is not very complicated and is in fact quite simple. You need to ensure that you have the additional necessities attached when you send it.
So, write a convincing covering letter for visa with a summary of your travel and be free of concerns about the acceptance of your application. Just ensure that you know the address of the Embassy before you send it in. That should summarize covering letters for visa applications for you.
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