Question for a first-time traveller.

T

TimeTravelNinja

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Hello fellow Mybroadbanders(?)
I have a question for you all. My childhood friend moved to Italy 2 years ago, last year he was back in South Africa and we plans that I'd visit him when our schedules are free and he can show me around his new "home". As a person who has never travelled outside the country because I have a job that pays me enough to live and save. What are the Do's and Don'ts of making sure my visa application goes smoothly without any troubles. I'll be visiting him 3rd/4th quarter of 2021(hopefully) by the way.
 
Make sure you have more than enough money in your active bank account. Don't keep your Italy-money in a time deposit because it won't count when they check up on you.
 
R13... said:
I read time traveller.
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Actually watched an interesting video on time travelling today. You don't only have to consider when in time you'll be travelling to but, more importantly, where in space the earth was at that time: the earth moves, the solar system moves, as does the Milky Way. None of it is in the same spot it was 50 years ago, for example.
 
Jist follow the instructions on the visa portal and you will be fine.
 
For that Italian visa, make sure you have your buddy helps with a few things.

You will need a flight booking.
You will need to show some bank statements
You will need some accommodation proof if staying in a hotel
You will need to fill out a painful Schengen Application
You may need a Lettera D'Affari - a letter from your mate explaining who he is and that you are visiting (it may help) if you are staying with him.

Edit - you may need to have a credit card or some Forex.
Hasta la pasta
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
For that Italian visa, make sure you have your buddy helps with a few things.

You will need a flight booking.
You will need to show some bank statements
You will need some accommodation proof if staying in a hotel
You will need to fill out a painful Schengen Application
You may need a Lettera D'Affari - a letter from your mate explaining who he is and that you are visiting (it may help) if you are staying with him.

Edit - you may need to have a credit card or some Forex.
Hasta la pasta
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On the bank statement part, do they check how much I make or how much my balance is at that given period of time? Because if it's the latter then I won't have any problems there.

The Lettera D'Affari won't be a good idea since his girlfriend lives with him and I don't want to be that guy.
 
If the form asks for the purpose of your journey, state "vacation". If you are asked to write any more than that, state clearly that you will be taking leave from your ongoing employment in South Africa, where you live, where your family lives, and that at the end of your vacation in Italy, you will be returning to your home and job in South Africa. That's the main thing they want to know: that you're not trying to immigrate on the sly.
 
TimeTravelNinja said:
On the bank statement part, do they check how much I make or how much my balance is at that given period of time? Because if it's the latter then I won't have any problems there.

The Lettera D'Affari won't be a good idea since his girlfriend lives with him and I don't want to be that guy.
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Usually they ask for 3 months bank statements - I think its to see that you have income in SA. You dont need big dough in the account.
 
sandwitch said:
Make sure you have more than enough money in your active bank account.
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This. Most countries in the Schengen group have a per-day minimum. Find out what that is and make sure you have enough, and leave some room for currency fluctuation.

The other tip I can give you: If you have any suspicion or hope to travel twice (you never know, right?), tick the "multi entry" box, and get 1 year travel insurance that starts on the day you arrive. That greatly increases the chance of getting a multi-entry visa that's good for six months or a year. YMMV
 
sandwitch said:
Make sure you have more than enough money in your active bank account. Don't keep your Italy-money in a time deposit because it won't count when they check up on you.
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Let's say the the daily per-day minimum in Italy is 50€/R1K. If I'm planning to stay a week, I'll need to show I have at least R15k in my active bank account? Also taking into account that I'm not including return flights, accommodation and Visa application money in that balance.
 
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abzo said:
You don’t really need one. At least I didn’t.
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If you want to rent a car, you definitely need to. And for Italy, you probably do want to rent one so you can travel the countryside there, it's really quite nice.
 
Get a letter from your mate saying you're coming to visit

Book the plane tickets before hand (get cancellation insurance). They want to see that you are going to go back home at the end of the time

Make sure you have an itinerary of where you'll be staying every evening. Print outs of airbnb bookings are fine. This is just so they know where you are if they need to go looking for you for whatever reason.

Dont bother driving there. Just use an uber/lyft service

Have fun :)
 
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