This is a commercial presentation of the Visa Document Check service. Details of the operator are at the end of the article.
Checked against the consulates' own published lists on 29 October to 1 November 2026.
Travellers talk about "the Schengen visa" as if it were one thing. The visa is one thing. The application is not. Each of the 29 Schengen states runs its own consulates, and each consulate publishes its own list of documents and figures for applicants of each nationality. The lists agree on the basics the EU Visa Code fixes for everyone, and then diverge on the details that decide whether your file is accepted at the counter.
We compared the published lists for seven nationalities that account for a large share of short-stay applications (India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nigeria, Egypt, Vietnam and Türkiye) at seven of the most used consulates (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Greece). The pattern is the same everywhere: the law sets a floor, the consulate sets the rest.
What is the same everywhere
Three rules come from the Visa Code and no consulate changes them:
- Travel medical insurance of at least 30,000 EUR, valid in all Schengen states for every day of the trip, including repatriation. None of the 49 consulate lists we compared asks for more than 30,000 EUR for a tourist visa, and none accepts less.
- Application window: at the earliest 6 months before the trip, at the latest 15 days before.
- Passport validity: at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave the Schengen area, issued within the last 10 years, with two blank pages.
Two consulates tighten even these. Germany in Cairo asks Egyptian applicants to file at least 28 days before departure. Germany and Spain in Nigeria open their window only 3 months before the trip and want the passport valid 6 months after return, not 3. Switzerland asks the same 6 months from Filipino applicants.
What changes: bank statements
The single most common reason a file is sent back at the counter is the bank statement, and it is also the figure that differs most. The consulate decides how many months it wants to see.
| Nationality | 3 months | 6 months |
|---|---|---|
| Indian | France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece | Italy, Spain |
| Pakistani | Switzerland, Greece | France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands |
| Filipino | none | all seven |
| Nigerian | France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece | Spain |
| Egyptian | none | all seven |
| Vietnamese | all seven | none |
| Turkish | France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece | Spain |
Two further details apply almost everywhere: the statement must be issued no more than 30 days before the application, and the consulate reads it for a stable balance over the period rather than a single deposit the week before. Spain's visa centre in Istanbul goes further and accepts statements no older than 7 days from Turkish applicants; Greece in Türkiye says 15.
What changes: how much money per day
Each state publishes a "reference amount" for means of subsistence. The consulate uses it to judge whether your balance covers the trip. The spread between the cheapest and the most expensive destination is almost three to one.
| Destination | Reference amount per day | Minimum for the trip |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 44.93 EUR | 269.60 EUR for stays up to 5 days |
| Germany | 45 EUR | none published |
| Greece | 50 EUR | 300 EUR |
| Netherlands | 55 EUR | none published |
| France | 65 EUR with a hotel booking, 120 EUR without one | none published |
| Switzerland | 100 CHF | none published |
| Spain | 122.10 EUR | 1,098.90 EUR regardless of length |
These are minimums. The officer can ask for proof of more if the itinerary looks expensive for the balance shown. The amounts also say nothing about where to apply: the Visa Code requires you to apply at the consulate of your main destination, the country where you spend the most nights. Applying somewhere cheaper is a refusal ground in itself.
What changes: the length of the list
The number of mandatory documents for a plain tourist application ranges from 4 (Spain for Filipino applicants) to 8 (Spain for Vietnamese applicants). Italy in New Delhi lists 7, Germany in Delhi 5, both for Indian citizens. The extra items are usually the same few: a cover letter with a day-by-day itinerary, an employment letter with approved leave dates, a no-objection certificate for employees, income tax returns, or a business registration for the self-employed.
Missing one of these does not always mean refusal. It often means the visa centre refuses to accept the file, and you lose the appointment slot, which in peak season is the scarcer resource.
Why the forums get this wrong
Most advice online is one person's experience at one consulate in one year. "Three months of statements is enough" is true for an Indian citizen applying to France and false for the same person applying to Spain. The consulate lists are also edited without notice: the Swedish reference amount for means of subsistence is now 700 SEK per day, while many forum threads still repeat the old 450 SEK figure.
The only reliable method is the boring one: open the list published by the consulate you are applying to, check its date, and go through it line by line the week before the appointment.
Where to find the lists in one place
To save the hunting, we keep the published list for every nationality and consulate pair on Visa Document Check. Each checklist links to the consulate or visa centre page it was taken from and shows the date it was last checked; the lists are re-checked every month. The comparison tables for a single nationality, for example Indian citizens at all 29 consulates, show the bank statement period, the daily amount, the insurance figure, the application window and the passport rule side by side.
The checklists are free. For travellers who want a second pair of eyes before the appointment, the same site offers an automated document check for US$19: you upload your scans and get a pass, fix or missing verdict for each document, with the reason, against the rules of your specific consulate.
About the operator
Visa Document Check is operated by Pharmavita Bohemia s.r.o., Vratislavská 396/6, Bohnice, 180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic, company ID 235 54 240, VAT ID CZ23554240. Contact: [email protected]. More at visadocumentcheck.com.
Visa Document Check is a private service and is not affiliated with any consulate, visa centre or the European Union. The consulate's own page always has the final word; if it disagrees with any figure above, follow the consulate.
Figures in this article come from the consulate and visa centre pages linked on the checklist pages, checked between 29 October and 1 November 2026. Rules change; check the date on the page you use.