Tourist Visa In Italy For Filipino
A tourist visa refers to the short-term visit visa that is usually valid for less than 3 months. If you want to take a break from your daily routine, explore the cultural and natural beauty of Italy, and possibly even meet a few Romans. A great chance to embrace the unspoilt historical landmarks of Europe, a vacation in Italy is something you will never regret. This article will show you how to get tourist visa in Italy as a Filipino.
The document below is a reference guide for you to learn about the basics of the tourist visa in Italy. It is important that you know and understand these as it would be used as guidelines whenever applying for said document.
The Philippines is a country that has been enjoying a growing interest from millions of tourists every year. This is due to its diverse culture, great weather conditions, and unique geographical features. There are many reasons why you should consider visiting the Philippines.
If you want to visit the Philippines on a short trip, then you will need to apply for a tourist visa in Italy. You can get it from one of the Italian embassies or consulates in your home country before leaving for Italy. Once you have obtained your visa, you will be able to enter into Italy without any problems.
How to obtain a tourist visa in Italy?
The first step is to contact an embassy or consulate office in your home country and ask them about their requirements and procedures for obtaining a tourist visa in Italy. They will provide you with all the necessary documents as well as tell you how much time it takes to process them so that they can issue one as soon as possible. Once they have received all required documents from you, they will send them back to your home address via post or courier service depending on whether you live near by or far away from their location so that there won’t be any delays later down the line when applying for other types of visas.
What are the requirements for the Italy Tourist Visa?
When you submit the application for a tourist visa for Italy, you must have several supporting documents. One of them is the Italy Visa Application Form.
The requirements for an Italy Tourist Visa are:
- Complete Travel itinerary. You must include a document detailing the dates of your travel (entry and exit) as well as flight numbers. You also have to specify what places you will be visiting in Italy or elsewhere in the Schengen Area. It does not necessarily have to be an actual flight ticket, only a flight reservation.
- Letter from your tour organizer. (If you are travelling with a tour agency)
- Proof of accomodation. Depending on where in Italy you will be staying, this could be a hotel/hostel booking, or a rental agreement.
- Proof of sufficient financial means to provide for the duration of your stay.
However, if you are planning on visiting a relative or friend in Italy, you should submit the following documents:
- Letter of invitation from your host. If you are visiting a family member/friend in Italy, then they serve as your Italian host. Your host can be an Italian citizen or residence permit holder (in which case they must include a copy of their residence permit with the letter). The invitation letter must state that you are their relative/friend and specify the dates that you will be visiting them.
- Proof of family relationship. If your host is a family member, such as a spouse, child, or parent, you must provide proof. This can be a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or a certificate of registered partnership. You must include this with the letter of invitation.
- Proof of sufficient financial means. Depending on how you will fund your trip, this can be through:
- Your own bank statements from the past six months (if you will fund the trip yourself).
- Letter of sponsorship from your host along with their bank statements (if your host will be funding your trip).
- Proof of accommodation. Depending on where you will be accommodated while you are in Italy, you could submit:
- The address of the house/apartment of your host.
- A hotel/hostel booking or home rental agreement. (If you do not intend to stay with your family member/friend, you may be asked to prove proof that you will actually visit them in an alternate way.)
In addition, there is a set of standard documents that everyone, regardless of travel purpose, must submit when applying for an Italy visa.
How Long is the Italy Tourist Visa Valid?
An Italy Tourist Visa is valid for the same amount of time that all Schengen visas are: a maximum of 90 days within a six month period.
In some cases, your visa can be issued for less than 90 days, depending on the type of Italy Schengen Visa you receive (single-, double-, or multiple-entry).
You cannot stay in Italy (or any other Schengen country) with a Schengen visa for more than 90 days. This is why it is called a short-stay visa.
When you receive your visa, the visa sticker on your passport informs you on how many days you can spend in the Schengen area. It also informs you when you can enter the Schengen area and what is the latest date you can leave.
If you want to stay with a family member in Italy for longer than 90 days, you will need to apply for an Italian Long-Stay Family Visa.
Applying for an Italy Schengen Visa from the Philippines
If you belong to any of the following categories, you can apply for an Italy Schengen visa from the Philippines:
- All Filipino citizens residing in the territory of the Republic of the Philippines, and all Filipino and Palauan citizens residing in the territory of Palau
- All nationals of other countries whose citizens who are legally residing in the Philippines with a visa
- All nationals of countries whose citizens are legally present in the Philippines on a temporary basis with a visa (if this applies, you need to justify why you are applying at the Embassy of Italy in Manila rather than your home country)
If you are a family member of a European citizen, you can submit your application to the Embassy of Italy in Manila. See the embassy’s website for more information.
All other applicants will submit their applications to the Visa Information and Application Center – VIA in Makati or Cebu. It is still the embassy’s job to process your application and make the decision about whether to grant your visa or not.
Applications are processed within 15 days for Schengen visas although it could take as long as 30 days. National visas are processed within 30 – 120 days depending on the type of visa you are applying for.
You should submit your application at least 15 days before departure. You may apply up to 6 months ahead, so don’t leave it too late!
Types of Schengen visas offered at the VIA Center/Embassy of Italy in Manila
There are different types of visas and the one you need to apply for will depend on your reason for going to Italy and how long you are going for.
If you are planning on visiting Italy for a maximum of 90 days, you will apply for a Schengen visa (C). For over 90 days, you will apply for a National visa (D). You may need a visa for any of the following reasons:
- Business
- EU relatives
- Religion
- Seaman transit
- Tourism
- Visiting friends/relatives
- Work
- Family reunion
- Study
- Other visas such as adoption or mission purposes
You can find more information about each of these visa categories, so do your research to make sure you apply for the correct one.
If you are simply planning on catching a connecting flight in the Philippines, you will need to apply for an Airport Transit visa. With this visa, you are not permitted to leave the international zone of the airport.
Conclusion
The Philippines is one of the largest English speaking countries in Asia. Many people from the United States speak English fluently and are looking for friends from other countries. If you want to learn more about them, you can jump on churchgist.com, a social network intended to put Filipinos with foreigners together in a safe and convenient way. Churchgist can be used to build friendships through browsing profiles, sending messages or simply by meeting new people in the chat room. You never know what you might get out of it!