Sponsorship Letter for Schengen Visa – Learn how to write a Sponsorship letter and download free sample
A Schengen visa might be the most exciting visa to get, since it gives you the chance to visit 26 countries with a single document, without having to present it each time you move from one country to the other or to pay extra fees. In addition, you get the chance to visit non-Schengen countries that permit travelers to enter their borders with a Schengen visa.
However, the process to getting a Schengen visa is not an easy cake. You will have to gather a lot of documents, for many of which you may have never heard of in your life, and try hard to submit them in their correct form, without making any mistake, since sometimes just a little thing may result in the rejection of your application. However, don’t worry about this because we have written down everything you need when applying for a Schengen visa.
Among other documents, you may as well have to submit a Sponsorship Letter, especially in case somebody else is going to financially fund your travel and stay in the Schengen Area, in absence of your personal means of subsistence.
This article explains shortly, but clearly everything you need to know about a Sponsorship Letter for a Schengen visa, giving you all of the information on how to write one, what documents you should submit alongside it and where to submit it.
What is a Sponsorship Letter for Schengen visa?
A Schengen visa sponsorship letter is a document you will have to submit at the embassy alongside with the other documents, when you go to attend a Schengen visa interview with the consular officer. The sponsorship letter is required in the cases when the applicant will not be covering his or her expenses to the Schengen, but instead a sponsor will be paying for their trip accommodation, food and more.
The letter is written by the sponsor, who explains their relationship with the applicant, and the costs they are going to cover. In order for the letter to be valid, it must be attached to documents that prove the availability of the funds and the identity of the sponsor.
How to Write a Letter of Sponsorship?
The process of writing a Schengen visa sponsorship letter is not hard at all. Especially if you already have experience in writing sponsorship letters, either for a Schengen visa or visa to any other country.
The letter should be short and clear, giving all the necessary information on sponsor’s identity as well as the expenses of the applicant that they will be covering, and their relationship. Do not give any information that you cannot support with documents, which you have to submit alongside with the letter of sponsorship.
Structure of a Sponsorship Letter
The letter should be addressed to the staff of the embassy with the opening salutation ‘Dear sir/madam’. Next, give your name and other personal details as where you live and what you work, the reason why you are writing the letter and for whom.
Give information on the expenses you are going to cover and how you will be doing that. Give the dates when the trip of the applicant will take place, and if he / she will be staying over at your place in one of the Schengen states, mention that, giving the address of the place.
If you will be spending time with the applicant, while in Schengen, it would be nice if you wrote just a few words on the places you are planning to visit together, kind of like a short one-paragraph travel itinerary.
Do not forget to mention that you “have attached supporting documents” to the letter of support you are sending. Sign the letter at the end, under your name. Do not leave out details like the date when you wrote the letter.
Tips on How to Write a Sponsorship Letter for Visa Application
From what is written above, it may seem very simple and quick thing to do. Actually, it is, if you already have a clear idea what the consular officer wants to know. However, many make small mistakes while writing a Schengen sponsor letter, which later cost them with the visa.
Despite of the guideline given above, you need to take into account some small advices when writing the letter. Below find the ultimate tips on how to write a sponsorship letter for a Schengen visa.
Do not make it too personal – it is one thing to explain in the letter your relationship with the applicant, and another to tell throughout the whole letter how much you have missed them, love them, and want to see them. The consular officer does not care about that, he just wants to make sure you will be paying the expenses of the applicant. Besides, such details will make the letter longer, which you are strongly advised not to do.
Do not give unnecessary details – above we advised you to explain why you are sponsoring the applicant, as well as to give details on the expenses you have to cover. However, do not go way too much into details giving unnecessary information as, where you will be eating breakfast each day and how much each breakfast will cost to you. The consular officer is not interested to hear that. Instead, just show the available amount of money that you are sponsoring the applicant with, and explain the expenses he or she will be able to cover with that money, i.e. accommodation and food.
Do not make it too long – as we said a few times now, try to avoid unnecessary information and keep your letter short and clear. The consular officers do not have the time, nor the wish to read a two pages letter, which could have instead been shortened in a few paragraphs.
Another important thing you shall not forget, aside of your name, occupation and home address, take care to also submit your phone number and email, so in case of need, the embassy will be able to contact you and you will have the chance to clarify any of the information, if needed.
Supporting Documents for Schengen Visa Sponsor Letter
Whatever you wrote and claimed in the Schengen visa sponsorship letter will be invalid if you do not support your statements with documents. You will have to submit the following documents:
- A scanned copy of your ID / passport
- Proof of financial funds, as bank statements or work contract and three last pay slips
- Proof of home / flat ownership or rental contract that shows the address
- A Travel Itinerary of the places planned to visit together (if applicable)
- If the sponsor has taken days off from work to be with the applicant during their period of stay in Schengen Area, then submitting a document that proves that would be a huge plus for the visa application
Differences Between a Schengen Invitation Letter and a Schengen Sponsorship Letter
To many it may sound like the same thing, but it is not. Though the differences may be few, when the embassy requires you to submit a sponsorship letter, by any means, do not submit an invitation letter instead. If you do not know the difference between both, the following paragraphs will shortly explain and help you to differ them from each other.
A Schengen visa invitation letter – is written by a person living in Schengen, who invites the applicant to stay over at their home in one of the Schengen countries. They do not have to pay the expenses of the applicant, accompany them in their visits or anything else, aside of offering them a place to stay. The letter should contain identity details on the host and the guest, name and surname, date of birth, occupation as well as information on their relationship. Documents should be submitted in support of statements given in the invitation letter.
A Schengen visa sponsor letter – is written by a sponsor who does not necessarily have to live in one of the Schengen countries or accompanying the traveler to their trip. This can be a person who lives in i.e. the US, and wishes to sponsor the trip of the visa applicant to Schengen Area. In this case, the sponsor will have to prove they have paid for the travel tickets, accommodation and daily expenses of the traveler.
Where to Submit Sponsorship Letter for Schengen Visa?
When the sponsor is done writing the letter for the applicant, he or she should sign it at the end and send it to the applicant alongside with the supporting documents. These documents can be submitted scanned, but it is better to submit them in original (aside of the ID / passport).
The applicant then, will submit these documents alongside with the the other Schengen visa required documents, on the day of their visa appointment.
Sample of Schengen Visa Letter of Sponsorship
Date:
Immigration Officer
[Embassy Name]
[Embassy Address]
[Embassy Phone Number]
Sponsorship Letter for [Applicant’s Name] with Passport No. __________________
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, [Sponsor’s Full Name] currently residing at [Sponsor’s Home Address], and a citizen/permanent citizen of [Country’s Name], am writing this letter in support of the visa application of my [parent/sibling/friend/other], [Applicant’s Name].
The purpose of the visit of my [parent/sibling/friend/other], [Applicant’s Name] in the country of [Name of Country] is to [give the reason behind the trip]. He/she will be here from [Provide starting date of visit in format DD/MM/YY] to [Provide ending date of visit in format DD/MM/YY].
During the specified trip dates above, [we/he/she] will be visiting [Specify city/place names]. In addition, [Applicant’s Name] will be staying at [Sponsor’s Address or Hotel Address]. I will be covering all of the expenses of the trip, through [Provide means of funding].
Attached to this letter, please find all of the required documents to support the given statements.
Kind regards
[Sponsor’s name]
[Sponsor’s home address]
[Sponsor’s phone number]
[Sponsor’s occupation]
[Sponsor’s signature]
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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