On Mon, Dec 21, 2015 at 5:28 PM, Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.pro> wrote:
Can anybody comment on the visas and invitation letters for people who need such things? I hate having to waste time on such things instead of doing real development work but I've had some contact from developers in our community who need this assistance and there is a lot of pressure to do it quickly so they can make flight reservations before the prices shoot up.
FWIW, speaking from successful experience of obtaining Schengen visa several times in the past. I have travelled a few times to Eu on Schengen visa a few times in the past (though for about year or so, I'm living, and legally working, in Belgium). I attended (as a speaker) FOSDEM in 2012 (while I was not living here still), with a Schengen visa. Random notes recalling from my memory: - A letter of invitation explictly stating who will pay the expenses (flight, hotel, and meals for the duration of stay) of the attendee/speaker. (In my case, I had the advantage that a small branch of my parent company in Belgium wrote me the invitation letter.) - It greatly helps if the applicant is employed, has a steady stream of paychecks, and has income tax evidence for the past two years or more. - Having sufficient personal funds (e.g. ablity to fund by yourself for 2-3 months or so for stay+food expenses) in the bank also helps. Most of this information would be available in some form on Belgium embassy's website for respective countries. -- /kashyap