How I Got My Schengen Visa (Private Invitation Visa)

Europe has always been a dream destination for me and I was lucky to visit the continent last year. I applied for a Schengen Visa twice got lucky on my second try and would like to share to you guys how I got mine.

I was invited by my then boyfriend to visit him in Belgium as he wasn't able to visit Philippines that time cause he doesn't have any vacation till summer so we decided that I will be the one to go to Belgium. The first thing we did was he went to his community center there he told them that he will be inviting me over. There he got the Annex3bis or better known as Affidavit of Support to proved that he is really sponsoring my stay and also another document he obtain from the center was the Family composition. Also he includes his 3 months payslips and a copy of his Belgian id card then he sent it to me via fedex. After I got his documents I gathered mine so what I prepared are my passport, visa photos, a roundtrip ticket reservation which I got from a travel agency for 1000php, travel insurance from Malayan insurance got it for 1800php also provided my COE (Certificate of Employment), bank certificate and my leave of absence from work after I gathered all the necessary documents I scheduled an appointment via VFS Belgium. After I submitted all the documents I recieved a call from the embassy its like an interview so they asked me things about my job and my sponsor it lasted for about 10 mins and that was it I never heard from them after that. Then after a month of waiting I recieved a sms from VFS Belgium that my passport is ready to be pick up. I was nervous on my way to the VFS office and then when I got there they gave me back my passport but there was no visa I was denied my world was shattered I was devastated. I didn't checked the paper that came with my passport till after a few days when I finally checked the reason why I was denied it says that I did not present enough evidence that I have a strong ties with my sponsor it means I did not submit photos of me and him together or email or other conversation.

Few weeks after I got my result my ex decided to visit me since it was summer and he got some time off from work he stayed for 15 days here in The Philippines. 2 months after he left we tried to apply again this time equipped with more documents especially photos together and a thousand pages of conversation I printed from whatsapp.

Documents from the sponsor

Affidavit of support/Annex3bis
Family Composition
Copy of passport or ID card
3 months payslips
and TAX documents

Documents from Applicant

Passport make sure it has 6 months validity
Application form you can get it here.
Roundtrip airline reservation you can get this in travel agencies
Travel insurance you can do this online try Malayan or Pacific Cross
Passport size photo
Bank certificate/bank statement its safe to have atleast 60 euros per day on your account
if you have a sponsor or try to budget atleast a 100 euros if you are on your own. there is no rule for this just my opinion.
COE if you are employed with leave of absence.
if you are being sponsor by a relative or a boyfriend/girlfriend/friend
please makesure that you will submit all evidence (Photos together,emails,or conversations on messenger,whatsapp or other messaging platforms,or any other documents that will prove you really do know each other. )

Schedule an appointment here.

After I submitted all the documents I got a phone call the next day same questions about my job and my sponsor this time I am more ready. Questions asked are How long I am working with the company, my salary, how many siblings I have? their jobs, questions about my parents, then she also asked how did I met my sponsor, how many hours do we talk everyday, what are our future plans and how much does he earns. she even asked me about my past relationships and what are the purpose of my past travels. All these questions I answered with all honesty don't try to lie just tell them the truth never ever lie. After 3 weeks I recieved another call that I got my visa I was so happy can't explain the feeling I was just so happy. The number of days that i was allowed in Europe was based on the number of days of the ticket reservation I requested it also comes with a condition that I will report back to the Belgian Embassy soon as I am back in The Philippines.

Just a tip be prepared ready all the documents Google any documents that you don't know joined forums like Pinoyexchange there are lots of people there that can help you and of course always submit real documents and never lie. Goodluck

Boracay

Boracay is definitely one of the best Island in the world. It is constantly changing and evolving though not sure if some of the changes is still good for the island but still Boracay has its powdery white sand and crystal blue water. Was in Boracay just last august we stayed at Boracay Suites in Angol a little after station 3 so its a nice and quiet place away from all the madness and a short few metres walk from the beach. April of course have the best weather if your going to boracay hot and sunny all day but the green algae at the beach is a turn off it always there during summer months while august weather is super unpredictable its sunny then next is rainy or rainy during daytime and raining all night but boracay is a place where you got something to do rain or shine.


Boracay Suite                                                                                                                                         

 

 Boracay Suite Pool                                                                                          

       

Boracay Suite is a pretty neat apartment we stayed at their Puka Suite first floor apartment 2 bedroom suite with complete amenities complete kitchen and a nice and quite air condition in the room they don't serve breakfast so you have to make your own or go to the nearby restaurant just a few minutes walk. Boracay Suite also have their own pool and gym facilities so if you wanna be in shape while on holiday you can use the gym here and also they have a sister resort located beach front but we didn't choose it as they don't have 2 bedroom suites there. 

                                        Station 3 White Beach

If you are tired of the usual white beach view you can check out other beaches of Boracay like Bolabog,Balinghay,Ilig-Iligan and Puka Beach we went to Ilig-Iligan and we did like it. Its kinda far from the main beach but its worth a visit we paid 250 pesos for thr tricycle to take us there when we get there there a few beach front hut that you can sit as long as you will order food or drinks we spent our whole afternoon in there people are nice and friendly not so many touts. 

                                      Ilig-Iligan Beach

The Places that we frequent while in Boracay are RosePike in station 3 its the former Blue mango Resort where they are famous for their Monkey Madness they are still serving it and we love their happy hour of course. The Treehouse restaurant in station 3 near angol plaza they have nice food and ambiance. And at night we normally have our drinks at Grumpy Bar and Aplaya Bar they both have great music great staff and the drinks are awsome.

Hong Kong

Its my first time in Hong Kong last December and it was great trip. The weather, the food  and the shopping is fantastic. its a four days and 3 nights trip with family and friends we stayed 2 nights in the city and then stayed at Disney Hotel on our last night. We left Manila at around 8 am via Philippine Airlines and arrive in HK around 10am. Immigration,baggage claim and everything we got to the hotel by 12 noon. We stayed at Hotel Benito in Tsim Tsa Tsui great location as it is  about a 2 minute walk to the MTR Station. I believe check in is at 2 pm so they did't let us check in to the room yet so what we did is to eat lunch and roam around and familiarized our self with the area went back arund 3 pm in the hotel and check in freshen up then its time to explore the city.

First order of business what else but shopping went mall hopping from nathan rd to canton road we started around 4 and finish off around 9 pm had our dinner at Cafe De Coral at Harbour City. Even though our hotel is just a walking distance we decided to just take a taxi because of all our shopping bags and the kids are also tired.

 
    Arrival at Hong Kong Airport

                             
                               Hotel Benito Area

                           

   Godiva Chocolates

   Around Hong Kong

Day 2
We left the hotel early and had our brakfast at a kfc nearby at about 9 am we decided to hop on a taxi and go to Victoria Peak and Madam Tussauds. So we got 2 taxis we instruct them to follow each other but because of the language barrier they got lost in translation and of course they didn't follow each other one went to the right way while ours took us to Nong Ping Cable Car its abut 40 mins taxi drive and abut 200 HKD fare and another 100 to get us back to Victoria Peak such a waste of time and shopping money. So finally we were able to get to The Peak there's a long line of people wanting to get up and we can't fall in line with the kids so they have a combo of The peak and The Madame Tussauds and you don't have to fall in line anymore there's like a quick access if you purchae that combo I believe it cost aroun 250HKD. We had our lunch there then after lunch went up to The Peak for a Fantastic Vew of Hong Kong. Cause of the long line of people at the tram going down we got down around 3 pm then took a bus to the harbour since we want to experience the ferry going back to Tsim Tsa Tsui. We did some more walking and shopping its Christmas season so there are lots of Xmas Exhibition and Pop up store in the streets. We had our dinner at Ichiran Ramen theres a long queue when we got there so we waited a little while but its worth the wait the best ramen ever. We got back at our hotel past 10 pm as we walk our way back and do some more shopping along the way.

   Madame Tussaud and Victoria Peak

    Victoria Harbour at Night

Day 3

Breakfast at Mcdonald check out then waited for our minivan to Disneyland. We stayed at Disney Hotel the one with maze at the back.after check in we rode the shuttle to the theme park. It is indeed The Happiest Place on Earth I was teary eyed seeing my childhood idols seeing the princesses in the flesh and the castle everything was just magical. We spend the entire day till the park closes with the obligatory fireworks at around 10 pm.

 
Disneyland Hotel

Day 4

our flight back to Manila is at 10 pm so we got plenty of time before departure and we spend the entire day at the outlet mall shopping and eating we left the outlet at around 6 pm its very near the airport so you can do last minnute shopping here before your flight lots of signature brand from coach to armani bally to juicy couture and many more. And if you have lots of baggage no need to worry as they have baggage locker on the groundfloor for 10HKD each locker it can fit 1 to 2 luggage depending on the size.

Hong Kong is among my favorite city in Asia next to Bangkok. Its for everyone if your shopaholic, foodie, art enthusiast or party animal there's a lot to do and its very convenient to reach different places either by taxi ferry or mtr. I suggest you pick a hotel near an MTR station so you can reach different places in the island its fast efficient and comfortable way to explore Hong Kong.