Any trip abroad in most cases involves obtaining permission to visit a foreign country at the embassy. For Europe, this is usually a passport and a visa (Schengen and regular).
But the type of trip will be important. For example, when crossing the border by bus, train, ship or aircraft, it is enough for customs officers to provide a standard package of documents. But if you plan to travel around the Schengen area by car, then get ready for the fact that the embassy will ask you for an itinerary for your entire trip. Moreover, the route within one’s own country is also included in the trip plan.
As Federal Law No. 77 “On Mandatory Deposit of Documents” says, ed. 07/03/2016, this document is a table filled out by the tourist along the entire route of the upcoming trip. In written form, the itinerary sheet, a sample for a visa can be downloaded from the Internet, acquires the status of an official document.
But still, many tourists just before the trip begin to wonder: what does it look like in real life? Essentially, it is a sheet of paper (usually A4 size) with a table printed on it. The latter must be filled in with your personal data and your route through the Schengen countries. Moreover, the route can run through the territory of only one country, or through several, or even throughout the entire Schengen area.
How to fill it out
Let us immediately make a reservation that the legislation does not provide for a single model. In addition, embassy staff pay little attention to the appearance of the table. They are more interested in something else, namely the reliability of the information provided and the absence of erasures. Everything must be filled out neatly and cleanly. Otherwise, your document will not be accepted.
The standard version should contain the following:
- Your full name.
- Full route. Here you need to indicate the starting point of the journey and the ending point from which you will begin your return journey. For example, Moscow - Monaco or others.
- Date of departure from Russia.
- The date of crossing the border with a foreign country.
- The address(es) where you will reside in Europe. Here we also indicate the date of arrival at this address and how many days you will stay there.
- Date of departure from the foreign country.
We indicate all dates exactly, no “approximately”. Remember, this is an official document and such assumptions are not welcome.
When filling out your itinerary on paper, it is recommended to keep the downloaded sample before your eyes. This will help you fill out your sample more accurately, because repeating is always easier than inventing something.
Don't worry if you need more than one sheet to show the entire route. Moreover, we want to reveal one secret - the employees of the consular departments may be interested in your route in detail, but they do not require it. You can simply indicate only basic information along your route, for example, what date you will be in Dresden, where you will stay (indicate the address) and for how many days. All. What you visit in the city itself is up to you. The main thing is that you must check in and check out on the date you specify.
If you plan to stay at a hotel for visitors on your trip, in this case you will need to receive a voucher from the hotel in advance, and it must be official, and not downloaded from the Internet. It must be provided along with the route sheet.
If the room is booked online, then the invitation must be downloaded and printed. To avoid mistakes, look online at what a sample reservation confirmation looks like.
Filling Features
The form for filling out this paper is arbitrary; this does not limit the imagination of the autotourist when filling out the document. As already noted, you can only indicate basic information, such as on such a date, we will arrive there, we will stay there, for so many days, departure on such a date. Or you can provide complete information, where you will indicate what you intend to visit, with addresses, etc. And accompany all this with graphic cards.
In addition to the basic data, we also add additional information to the route. They are no less important for embassy employees:
- Series and number of the international passport, indicating its validity period.
- Date, month and year of your birth.
- The make of the vehicle you are going to travel in and its registration number.
- Confirmation from the hotels you plan to stay at along the way.
- If others are traveling with you, then a list of names indicating the personal details of each.
Many, especially those who are traveling abroad in their car for the first time, are interested in how this route sheet for obtaining a visa is compiled so as not to be refused by embassy workers. Experienced travelers recommend indicating everything honestly. For example, why, when planning to, for example, Germany, indicate Belgium as your final destination? They simply won't understand you. If you are going to go to Belgium, then indicate that from this date to this you are planning to visit Belgium.
What do we include in the description?
There will be no problems if you fill out your sheet according to the standard template. It is a summary table that shows the entire travel plan. It must indicate the personal data of all tourists, the final route, dates and addresses of stay in European countries.
It is welcome if you translate everything indicated into the language of the country where you are going. In addition, unlike many official documents, the translation does not have to be certified by a notary; it is recognized as such. Remember that in the English version we do not indicate our patronymic - they simply do not have it in our understanding.
Features of filling out a visa form
This paper is filled out in any form. It is better to fill it out using the standard form so as not to miss out on basic data. The best presentation of information in the route sheet is in the form of a summary table. It must indicate the personal data of all travelers, route, travel dates, addresses of stay in the countries. If traveling by car, please indicate the vehicle make and registration number. You can fill out the route sheet according to the sample attached above.
List of main documents
Depends on the purpose of the trip (tourism, education, work).
Passport requirements
The passport must have several blank pages and be valid for at least three months from the date of return from the trip. Must not be damaged, spoiled or dirty.
Insurance
With coverage of at least 30,000 euros for the entire duration of the intended trip (or the first trip in case of applying for a multiple visa). You can do this at every major insurance company in your city.
Accommodation
For a visitor visa, you must provide an invitation from the host country. Tourist trip - hotel reservation. Student - a document from the educational institution confirming enrollment.
Confirmation of solvency
To obtain a Schengen visa, you must confirm the availability of funds for the trip.
Please note that the statement is provided with information about the semi-annual status of the account.
Additional documents depending on the type of visa
The applicant provides a package of documents according to the purpose of the trip. The rules mentioned above are mandatory, but nuances should be taken into account.
Transit
To obtain such a visa, it is important for the consulate to make sure that you will stay in the country for only a few hours before departure to your destination.
You will need to present two-way plane, train, and bus tickets.
Tourist
It is in greatest demand and is needed to visit several or one state in the Schengen area. A short-term visa in some cases will require a certificate from work (to make sure that you are visiting the country not to look for a place to earn money, but to get acquainted with local attractions).
Confirmation of the purpose of the trip is indicated in the application form. An example is available on the consulate website or visa application center.
Guestbook
In this case, it is important to provide documents regarding your place of residence. The receiving party, for example a relative, must obtain a special certificate from the migration department, which will be presented by the applicant for a Schengen visa.
Working
Only those who have received an invitation with stamps and signatures from possible management can count on it. Registration is not easy, since it will require confirmed and compelling reasons.
Student
Russian schoolchildren dream of studying at a foreign university, academy, college in Austria, Germany, France. But it’s not so easy to do, and you’ll have to pay quite impressive sums for training, which not everyone can afford.
In addition to money and desire, you need to know a foreign language and a set of documents.
A long-term visa for students is issued for one calendar year and then extended.
Confirmation that a minor or has already reached the age of 18, who wants to master a profession and gain new knowledge, has been accepted for training and is provided with a place to live, guaranteed by a specialized institution, or he will provide himself with housing on his own.
Long-term national
It is one of the most popular and sought-after visas among citizens of the Russian Federation. Its validity period is from 1 to 5 years. Unlimited number of visits during the entire validity period. It is difficult to obtain such a visa; you will have to collect an impressive package of documents and repeatedly stand in tiresome queues.
It should also be noted that a national multiple visa is issued only to citizens who have already visited European countries several times, who have demonstrated their financial solvency and who have confirmed the need to travel frequently.
Multiple visa
This type can be obtained if you have made multiple trips to Europe. For a multiple visa, a package of documents is submitted to the consulate, including a certificate from work, a bank account statement on the movement of funds over the last six months, etc.
Ordinary short-term mainly becomes the best option for applicants who are not confident in their abilities.
Minors
Minors travel with parental permission. A child cannot obtain a Schengen visa on his own; an application from the father or mother (guardians) will be required. It is allowed to include children in the parents' passport if the trip occurs with them. With third parties, the child’s international passport is required. Documents for a child visa are submitted with a birth certificate.
A power of attorney with notarized consent of both parents will be required for the child to travel accompanied by third parties.
Additionally for unemployed and pensioners
For pensioners, you must provide a copy of your ID. If a person is sent for treatment, a certificate from a health care facility or hospital.
Unemployed people must prove their financial solvency (some countries will require proof of ownership of living space or vehicle).
What is a route sheet for a Schengen visa
As a rule, when traveling abroad on a ship, airbus, train or bus, a foreign citizen presents only a foreign passport and a visa. If you plan to travel by personal vehicle, then to obtain a Schengen visa you must present an itinerary sheet. It is necessary for persons traveling by car.
Definition
In fact, a route sheet is one of the varieties of an official document in accordance with the instructions of the Federal Law “On the Mandatory Deposit of Documents”. The act was issued on December 29, 1994 under number 77-FZ. His instructions note that the official document is of a legislative, regulatory, directive or informational nature.
According to generally accepted rules, the route sheet contains information regarding the movement of a foreign citizen through the territory of one or more countries in the Schengen area. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that no country in the Schengen zone has any special requirements for its registration. But it must be written correctly, without any spelling errors, corrections or blots.
When required
To travel by vehicle, a detailed travel plan is provided to the consulate of the destination country. It should be divided into separate days of stay in each locality. In addition, a reservation for a room in a hostel or hotel is required.
If the trip is made in a vehicle suitable for living, then you can only stop at a special parking lot.
As a rule, car camping sites do not provide reservations and do not have an email address. In addition, there are no places for setting up a tent on its territory.
Circumstances cause some difficulties when obtaining a Schengen visa intended for traveling by car . The phenomenon is directly related to the fact that the route sheet must indicate the name of the campsite, its location, the date of arrival and departure.
What does the form contain?
Consulates and visa centers are interested in directions of movement within the host country. The countdown begins from the moment the motor tourist crosses the border of the Schengen zone, which is the day the visa is issued. He must have a hotel reservation for that day.
In the route sheet, you must describe the route in detail, indicate settlements and arrival times.
The measure will avoid problems associated with document checks in the host country.
As a rule, when compiling it, the following is taken as a basis:
- the route of the autotourist;
- countries, settlements where he stops for an overnight stay or stay for a certain period of time;
- calendar dates of movement around the country, entry and exit from the country or locality.
The best form of form for drawing up an itinerary sheet is a tabular one. It can clearly differentiate the information required by the consulate about the implementation of a foreign trip.
Sample route sheet
It should be noted that the legislator did not provide a unified form of route sheet for motorists traveling abroad in a personal vehicle. As a rule, it is compiled in any form in compliance with certain rules on content.
Sample: Itinerary sheet for Schengen visa (sample)
Note: it is planned to return to the city of Moscow through the Republic of Belarus, the date of departure from its territory is July 21, 2019. Stay on the territory of the Schengen countries from year to year.
Additional information that must be included in the route sheet :
- year of birth;
- series and number of the foreign passport;
- car brand “—”, registration number —;
- evidence of registration for the intended route;
- a list of persons accompanying the autotourist, indicating their personal data, number and validity period of foreign passports.
What to pay attention to
The route sheet can be drawn up in any form with free placement of information. But it is mandatory to indicate the name of the locality, the date of stay at a particular hotel, its name, postal address and telephone number.
One of the important indicators is the expiration date of the Schengen visa. It must coincide with the date of crossing the border of the Russian state, so it would not be superfluous to indicate it on the route sheet.
Read how to get a Schengen visa for 5 years.
What is a category D visa? Find out now.
How much does a Finnish visa cost? See here.
What documents are needed in case of refusal to appeal?
The countries of the Schengen area traditionally dismantle the disappointing statistics of refusals to issue visas.
Countries such as France, Germany or Italy can ban entry for up to several years if, during previous visits, the traveler has even slightly violated the law, such as traffic rules and has not paid a fine. But most often the reason for refusals are violations of norms and rules of conduct, as well as insufficient monthly salary (the consulate will have doubts that a Russian earning about 20 thousand rubles a month can afford a month-long trip around Europe, while renting an expensive room in a class hotel lux).
It is not recommended to argue with justified reasons for refusal, but no one has canceled the human factor, so there is a possibility that the consulate could simply have made a mistake when processing the application form. If you are completely sure that you are right, you need to file an appeal. The processing time is about a month, although it may be less. There are special specialized authorities in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The consulate that refused departure notifies the reason for the decision through a covering letter.
The applicant has the right to submit a complaint or a new package of documents according to the standard scheme the next day. Issues regarding the consideration of the appeal are solely under the jurisdiction of the embassy (do not believe that they are resolved by intermediary firms that promise to do all the work in one or two days without your presence).
You must write an application to the consul, translated into two languages, in which you must indicate your full name, date and place of birth, registration, contact and passport details, and email address. The letter must also state why you consider the refusal to be essentially unfounded, based on the facts. It is also necessary to indicate the reasons why a visa is needed (for example, for the purpose of treatment, tourism, visiting relatives). Next, attach additional documents collected in advance that will not allow you to doubt the argument.
Documents for traveling by car
Initially, you need to draw up a clear itinerary and provide confirmation of your hotel reservation with partial or full prepayment.
When traveling abroad in your own car, the consulate provides you with:
- vehicle registration certificate, driver's license (original and copy),
- international insurance “Green Card” (analogous to MTPL, valid in all European countries).
Some travelers prefer to have their trip organized by a travel agency. Others like to organize their own trip in their own car along their own route. Of course, this type of tourism is accompanied by additional hassle when processing documents.
To travel to European countries such as France or Italy, you will need a Schengen visa, and to obtain it, you need an itinerary with a detailed description of the planned trip. We will tell you what a sample route sheet looks like and how to compose it in our article.
Route sheet
A route sheet is only required when traveling by car. This document is not regulated in any way and is drawn up in free form.
Considering that you will have to travel through several countries, the consulate needs to understand how competent it is to apply for a visa to them.
From the presented route sheet
it becomes clear how many days you will spend in each country. It must cover the entire period of stay in the Schengen area.
What should be indicated in the itinerary:
1. Dates of stay at the hotel (indicated from which date to which date) 2. Country and city of location of this hotel 3. Name of the hotel, including its full address and telephone number
This list is optional. You can add other fields as you see fit, or remove any of the existing ones. We have been using this route sheet format for more than 5 years, and it has never raised any questions.
We consider the table to be the most convenient form of presenting data in the route sheet as it is the most visual. But this is also not necessary, you can use any other one.
Below is a sample itinerary.
route sheet in Word format (18 Kb).
What is a visa route sheet?
Usually, when traveling abroad by plane, bus or train, you will need a passport and visa at the border. But if you plan to travel by personal car, then at the time of Schengen registration, the Consulate staff will ask for a route sheet. It is necessary for persons who travel by private car.
Route sheet
– an official document that is legislative, regulatory, directive or informational in nature.
According to generally accepted standards, the route sheet reflects data on the movements of a foreigner across the territory of one or more Schengen states. It should be noted that the Schengen countries do not put forward any special requirements for the execution of this document. The main condition is proper formatting, no spelling errors, notes, or corrections.
For travel by road, a detailed travel plan must be submitted to the consulates of the destination countries. It should be divided into specific days of stay at each specific point. In addition, you will need to make a reservation in a hostel or hotel room.
Important! When traveling by transport that involves living in a car, you should stop exclusively at special parking lots.
And in such situations, it is necessary to write down the name of the campsite, its address, entry and exit dates in the route sheet.
What to include in your visa itinerary
A route sheet is one type of document developed on the basis and in full compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation. The rules regulated for the Schengen territory state that a citizen has the right to travel regardless of the country.
Schengen visa countries do not have strict requirements for filling out the form, but the document must be filled out correctly and cleanly, without marks.
To obtain a form, you will need to visit the consulate of the country to which the Russian intends to travel and present a number of documents:
- a route around the country where the citizen is traveling, with an exact schedule of periods of stay and periods of stay at each point;
- provide information about the hotel where the Russian will be staying; reservation details, check-in and check-out dates must be indicated here;
- if a tourist will spend the night in a car, then he indicates special parking areas;
- When a citizen stops at a campsite, his name is written down.
Camping makes it very difficult to write an itinerary, since you need to indicate the dates of departure and arrival at the place, and the date when registration will be carried out.
Basic information
It should be noted that the legislation does not establish a single form:
- FULL NAME.
It is required to indicate the personal data of the leaving citizen: last name, first name and patronymic. - Route.
Write down a complete movement plan. You must indicate the starting and ending point of the trip. - Date of departure from the Russian Federation.
Please indicate the exact date of departure from Russia. - Date of crossing the border with a European country.
Date, month and year of entry into the Schengen territory. It is important to provide accurate data; approximate data is not allowed. When filling out your own form, it is recommended to focus on the sample. - Address of residence in Europe, with number of days and dates.
Consulate employees do not require a detailed report. It is enough to indicate the date of entry, for example, into Dresden, the place of stay (the address is indicated) and how many days you will stay in the city and when you will leave it. There is no point in indicating the places you plan to visit. If you plan to stay at a hotel for visitors, then get a voucher from there, it is important that it is official. When a room is booked online, you should print out the invitation. Pre-check online for the appearance of the invitation that should be attached. - The exact date of departure from the country.
This date must fall on the date of crossing the Russian border, that is, the day following the last address in Europe
Features and rules for designing the route sheet form
Drawing up a route sheet according to the standard form will not cause problems. This form is a summary table that contains all the trip planning. It should contain personal information about all tourists who make the trip, the final route, periods and places of stay.
It would be good if all this was translated into the official language of the country where you are going. It should be noted that the translated route sheet, unlike many other documents, does not need to be certified by a notary; it will be recognized as such.
Attention! English translations should not include patronymics, as they simply do not have one.
When it is not clear exactly how to draw up this document, it is better to take forms from the Internet as a sample. This will help you fill out the form so as not to be refused acceptance of the document by the embassy.
A sample itinerary for Schengen looks like this:
- List of cities (settlements, regions) that are planned to be visited during the trip.
- List of hotels (hotels, hostels) that will be used for overnight stays.
- A printed map (A4 format will be sufficient) with schematic hand-written route signs.
This document in itself is not a basis for a visit. The justification may be:
- Tourist voucher.
- Agreement to receive medical services.
- Employment contract.
- Hotel reservation.
Drawing up an itinerary implies independent planning of the trip, which means the tourist is obliged to attach a reservation at each hotel that is planned to be used during the trip.
Filling out an itinerary for a visa
There are no clear rules for the model, but when writing a document, they adhere to a business style. Information that a tourist provides about himself:
- year of birth;
- information about the international passport, namely the number and series;
- the exact name of the car brand, its registration plate;
- certificate certifying movement along the route;
- a list of persons who accompany the citizen, the expiration dates of their passports and personal information.
The route sheet form, and specifically the parts to be filled out, must contain the following data:
- The itinerary for a Russian to travel around the country with a detailed description of the route by car.
- States, places, villages and other populated areas that the traveler will visit. Here they indicate the exact periods of time during which the citizen will live there.
- A complete description of all days of stay in the country with a detailed explanation of all routes and trips. They also show stopping places.
Consular services and authorities of the countries monitor the movements of the citizen. The date is counted from the moment a person crosses the borders of the country. A citizen must have a document that confirms his place of residence for the period that he will be in the state. The travel route must be described strictly point by point with all information provided. It is recommended to use a tabular form to fill out.
Let's look at an example of writing an itinerary when traveling to Spain.
Travel days | Dates | Destination | The name of the hotel |
1 | 05. 06.2019 | Spain, Barcelona | Travelodge Barcelona Poblenou 1* |
2 | 06.06.2019 | Valencia | Hotel Boutique Balandret |
3,4 | 07.06.2019-08.06.2019 | Costa Brava, Blanes | Petit Palau – Adults Only |
5 | 09.06.2019 | Canary Islands | La Laguna Gran Hotel (Hotel) |
6,7 | 10.06.2019-11.06.2019 | Madrid | Hyatt Centric Gran Via Madrid |
8 | 12.06.2019 | Crossing the country border |