We know that booking a hotel and a flight not knowing if the visa will be granted can be confusing. That is why we want to provide you the reasons behind this requirement as well as give you the tips to book your flight and accommodation without stress of losing your money if visa is not granted.

Let’s start with frequently asked questions when it comes to travel bookings for visa application.

Do I need to purchase a flight ticket before applying for a visa? Will I lose a lot of money if I book a flight and hotel and my visa application is rejected or denied?

No. you DO NOT need to buy a full flight ticket or pay hotel reservations before applying for your visa.

Embassies and Consulate officials do not recommend that you make any full payments or payments at all before your visa is issued or granted.

Instead, officials will want a reservation/itinerary with dates and flights number specifying entry date and exit date from the country you plan to visit or the host country. Some embassies will accept flight itinerary when applying for a visa but may request the original air ticket when the visa is collected.

Why embassy or consulate ask for these documents while applying for visa?

These documents serve as proof that you will not be overstaying – why?  The main reason why the embassy or the consulate of your travel destination country asks you for proof of a round-trip flight reservation is that they want to make sure you will not overstay your visa and will get back to your home country before it expires.

Since a round-trip reservation shows the departure and arrival to your home country, this is a convincing document that you will return.

This means you have to book a round trip flight reservation because otherwise, your reservation would be meaningless.

Another reason embassy asks for this is to decide the length of your visa. The officials at the embassy or consulate where you are applying at will decide on the length of your visa based on the Itinerary Flight so that you can get granted with a visa that allows you to stay at your destination country for as long as you need to, and not for a shorter period.

1. WHAT IS A FLIGHT RESERVATION?

A flight reservation is a document of a detailed plan of your flight or travel journey to a specific country.

In fact, it is only a flight/travel timetable on the chosen flight airline, comprised of a flight name, traveler’s name, a valid flight reservation booking number, arrival, and departure date, and airport IATA codes.

2. WHAT IS A FLIGHT ITINERARY FOR VISA?

A flight itinerary for a visa is a detailed route of your flight. It includes information such as flight name, your full names,  departure/arrival timings along with dates, flight code, departure/arrival airport IATA

TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE FLIGHTS & HOTEL RESERVATIONS FOR VISA APPLICATION PURPOSE

FLIGHTS BOOKINGS

There are ways to make flight bookings for visa applications without payment and, no embassy expects you to purchase a flight or hotel bookings payment before you can apply for a visa. So, how can you make flight bookings without payment? We are going to explain the careful steps in the following below. 

NOTE: Should case, you follow the careful steps first on your own but still cannot book your flight bookings and hotel bookings then, don’t hesitate to send us an email or be in touch to our customer’s care department for further help or guides on how to complete the process.

INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDES FOR FLIGHTS BOOKINGS

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO BOOK A HOTEL WITHOUT PAYING

1. Go to Booking.com choose the city (in our case, let’s say London), pick the dates (approximately 2-3 weeks from the time of your arrival):

2. Choose a filter “Free cancellation” on the left

Reminder: Free cancellation usually has an end date which is stated on the website. If you forget to cancel your booking till that time you will have to cover the cost of the booking.

3. The choice is of the hotels is overwhelming to help you narrow your choices look at the following aspects:

• Price – you can select a price range which is affordable for you and also you can filter the price from lowest to highest. However you need to be aware of promoted facilities, they will appear on the top of every search even if they are not the cheapest. It doesn’t mean that the promoted facilities are not worth looking into, on the contrary, it is just important to be aware of the promotion mechanism. Websites are transparent on the promotions so if you are not sure just look at the info.

• Ratings and recommendations – ratings are guests opinions, you can learn from them if descriptions and pictures you find on the website corresponds with reality. Read this section carefully as it will give you many valuable information. TIP: if you like picture of the hotel very much but the ratings are very low – trust the ratings and look for another hotel.

• On the tab on the left you can choose the aspects of the hotel that is important for you and narrow your choice even more. Breakfast included? Pets allowed? Kids friendly? Fitness center in the building? The choice is yours.

4. Proceed to fill out the traveler’s personal details and book. You will receive an email confirmation with your booking, print it out, and take with you to the embassy.
5. Booking.com is the most popular however don’t hesitate to check offers on Agoda.com or other services.
6. Unfortunately some embassies do not accept bookings from booking website who is an intermediary they want to see the booking coming directly from the hotel. In that case you might use one of the big hotel chains.

Embassies that don’t accept booking intermediaries: 

Biggest and most popular hotel groups are:

• Intercontinental Hotel Group intercontinental.com/
• Wyndham Hotel Group wyndhamhotels.com
• Marriott International marriott.com
• Hilton Hotels www.hilton.com
• Accor Group Accorhotel.com
• Choice Hotels www.Choicehotel.com
• Best Western bestwestern.com
• Radisson radissonhotels.com
• Global Hyatt www.hyatt.com

7. Booking with the hotel directly similarly to booking.com and agoda.com it is important to select reserve now pay later option, which allows free cancellation till certain date.

If you have any further questions, please send a mail narrating what the issue is, we will be glad to help!

The thought of being interviewed by a government official can be overwhelming, but
keep in mind that the interview’s purpose is simply to determine whether or not you meet visa requirements. You can set yourself up for success by carefully following our tips below:

1. Schedule a convenient time for your visa interview appointment

Make sure that your schedule is clear for the appointment, but also take into consideration

your scheduled appointment time. Being late will increase your stress level and might affect your performance

2. Gather the required documents

To ensure you have every document needed prepare it day before the interview. Use our Checklist to double check.

3. Prepare for your interview with practice questions.

As you prepare for your visa interview, remember that there’s no reason to fret – all you have to do is answer the questions as truthfully as possible and provide documentation to support your responses. Preparing in advance is a great idea, as it can reveal whether there are additional documents, certificates, or records you would be wise to bring with you to your interview.

LIKELY COMMON VISA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is the purpose of your trip?

When you answer this question, it’s important to be honest, as the purpose of your trip determines the type of visa you need.  

How do you plan on financing your trip to the X country?

While there is no set amount of funds you are required to show, you want to prove that you can cover all costs associated with your trip. This may require you to estimate the cost of return travel tickets, lodging, boarding, domestic travel, and medical expenses.

To prove you have the financial resources to fund your trip, you may want to bring bank statements, credit cards, and/or payslips. A travel medical insurance policy could help demonstrate your ability to pay for medical expenses by showing that you have coverage for unexpected injury or illness.

Note that if you are unable to cover your entire trip cost yourself, you are allowed to provide evidence that another person will cover some or all of your costs. It is important you bring with you to the interview all the paper evidence in your sponsor’s names to demonstrate this claim or your sponsor’s documentation and thoroughly explained to the consular why your sponsor decides to finance your trip at this particular time as being indicated in your visa application.

Where are you going to stay during your trip?

As part of the visa application process, you should determine where you are going to stay while you are in the host country. The address should correspond to the one on your visa application. If you are going to be traveling around the country, then be prepared to provide a list of all the places you plan to visit as well as your planned accommodations.

Have you been to the X country before?

Answer this question with a simple yes or no. If yes, be ready to explain the purpose of any previous trips. You may also be asked where you went, what you did, and where you stayed.

Are you married? Is your spouse/partner traveling with you? Why/why not?

If you are married, mention the name and occupation of your spouse. If you are unmarried but have a partner, mention the name and occupation of your partner. If the spouse/partner is traveling with you, inform the interviewer of the same. If he/she isn’t, explain why that is so.

What guarantee is there that you will return home before your visa expires? 

This part is the most important factor in all visa applications. This is where most consulate officers will focus on whether you have ties to your home country that provide you an incentive to return. You can show this incentive by providing evidence of real estate that you own back home, family members you will want to return to (birth certificates and marriage certificates may apply here), or proof that a job is waiting for you upon your return to your home country.

4. Do not get nervous, be confident

It is easy to get nervous as a lot depends on this one meeting but let your confidence shine through!

Maintain a confident posture, and look the interview officer straight in the eyes throughout the interview as well as when you are answering questions .

Greet the visa officer with a smile as soon as they enter the interview booth. Being polite always makes a big difference.

5. Listen carefully and be confident in your answers

Take the time to think about your answer before you say it.

Make short, clear, and to -the -point replies in a loud and clear voice. 

6. Do not tell them anything that is irrelevant

By mistake, you could give some unnecessary information that may lead to your rejection

Be polite, do not argue, and do not ask unnecessary or unrelated questions. 

7. Do not unnecessary elaborate your responses

 This may not work in your favor it may make the things worse. Be specific and to the point.

8. Demonstrate respect

Even if you do not feel this is being reciprocated

9. Make sure you understand the questions

Often there may be times when you might not understand what the interviewing officer is saying because of his/her accent and/ or the microphone system.

If you do not understand one of their sentences do not feel afraid to say, ‘Beg your pardon: I did not understand you’ If he/she repeats the question, and you still do not understand, that is not a problem DO NOT PANIC. Calmly and confidently say ”sorry, sir/madam, I still did not understand you. Could you kindly repeat what you said?

10. Show your willingness to return

Always demonstrate to the interviewing officer that you have the intentions to return back to your home country after the end of your visit or studies

11. Be honest during the interview and whilst preparing the required documents

Always tell the truth and do not make stories up, even if they feel minor and irrelevant, as it’s sending a message that you can’t be trusted.

12. Know details of your travel

 If you are a student, make sure you know what your admissions study program is all about and, why the education could be beneficiaries to your personal growth, the society and your contributions back to your home country. They may ask you questions about this.

13. Dress formally

You should always dress formal for your scheduled appointment. However, your appearance should always convey who you claim of who you are in your visa application forms. If you claim to be student, dress like a student and if you claim to be an executive, behalf like one and dress like one.

If your purpose is for tourism, ensure you have a valid reason why you want to visit at this specific time, and ensure you convince the interviewing officer.

Everyone knows basic rules of filling the application form:

–       Make sure all your data is up to date
–       Make sure you filled all the necessary parts and that by mistake you are not leaving the blanks
–       Double check everything

But the crucial question is what visa officer would be looking for in your application form and supporting documents?

Make sure you mention  points below as for Visa officers these points are most important:

1. That you intend to leave the host country after your visit
2. That you are genuinely seeking entry as a visitor, student visitor, or genuine traveler on whatever is your purpose of travel
3. That you are able to afford your trip and take care of yourself while there and that even if you have a sponsor, should the sponsor not take care of you, you are able to take care of yourself.
4. That you will not exhaust all your savings on the trip hence have no motivation to return back home or be tempted to seek work opportunities.

We can also benefit form mistakes done by other people, learn from them and don’t replicate it in our applications. Before you start filling in the forms learn the reasons why your visa application may be rejected. We can divide the reasons into 3 sections:  Hosts and sponsors, Purpose of the travel, Documents and finance:

Hosts and sponsors:

1.    Introducing too many relationships/people into your application. Some embassies conduct background checks on each person you include in your application and if even one of them has an issue your visa application will most likely be denied.

2.    Using distant relatives as a sponsor for your trip. Immediate family increases your  chances – mother, father, spouse, brother, sister, child

3.    If there is a significant age gap between you and your girlfriend/boyfriend in the host country, making your relationship appear more like a business relationship rather than personal.

4.    Not providing enough proof of your relationship with your foreign host. Take screenshots, print out, and attach the evidence from WhatsApp, Facebook convos, e-mails, photos, etc. as applicable to your situation.
5.    Your application does not demonstrate that your host in the visiting country has invited you to the country for the stated purpose. Let your host clearly spell out the reason why they are inviting you and hosting you in the country.

6.    Not declaring that you have a partner/spouse even though your child’s birth certificate details indicate a biological father/mother has been registered. Declare. If you two are no longer together, let the other parent write a letter of no objection that the child can travel and that you two are not together. If deceased, attach death certificate.

7.    Lack of sufficient documentation from your sponsor. Include as much as is reasonable.

è Letter from your sponsor indicating their relationship with you, why they want you to visit them in the host country, and also undertaking that they will take care of your accommodation, food, and other related expenses while you are in the country 

è Your sponsor’s bank statements for the last 6 months (must indicate salary deposits and have no large unexplained deposits)
è Your sponsor’s residence permit or their foreign passport’s biodata page
è Document evidence of your sponsor’s relationship to you

Purpose of the travel

1.   No change in circumstances since your previous visa refusal.
If your previous refusal notice outlined concerns and the documentation provided with your current application does little to address those concerns, it undermines your intentions in traveling to the country. Write a detailed cover letter explaining the previous refusal reasons, and how your circumstances have changed since then for each reason the visa officer gave for refusing your visa application.

2.   No genuine intentions to come back

3.   Not having sufficient ties in your home country
Below are some ideas for documentation you could use to prove strong ties to your home country to a consular officer.

è You have a career/ a job provide:
ü  Letter from your employer stating duties, salary, and tenure duration
ü  Pay Stubs
ü  Permission Letter for Taking Paid Time Off

è You are a student / College Enrollment provide:
ü  Student ID Card
ü  Educational Transcripts from your school, showing courses passed or to be taken in the forthcoming terms
ü  Letter from your school, stating from what date to what date you will be absent from school and when you are expected back in school

è You own your business provide:
ü  Bank Statements Showing Revenue
ü  Articles of Incorporation

è You can also provide:

ü  Family documents (spouse & kids) – It’s very important you provide your marriage certificate, your wedding pictures, and every other detail of your marriage if married. If you have kids, it’s a good thing also to present to the visa consular, full names of your kids, their birth certificates, and every one of their details that might help you to demonstrate your strong home ties to the visa officer – please, provide birth certificates of your kids, their photos and also demonstrate to the consular what your kids are currently doing e.g., if they are in school, provide details of their school’s registrations.

ü  Other Dependents documents – sick parents, or your immediate family members e.g. please provide IDs of your parents, your brothers, and of your sisters, who all depend on you for their sustenance. Please, demonstrate the assistance you render them from time to time – you could do this by providing paper evidence or receipts of the financial transactions you make to them or evidence of any assistance you give them from time to time

ü  Affidavits – attaching an affidavit that clearly states that you are obliged to return home is another good document you could provide to demonstrate your strong home ties.

ü  Volunteer Work & Organization Memberships – such as Red cross or vigilante association or landlord’s association you belong to and, documents demonstrating that you actually belong to those acclaimed associations showing your position in the associations, your roles in the associations, and how much the associations depend on you.

ü  Assets – deeds of land you own, title to vehicles you own,
bank accounts with significant balances, paper evidence of all the properties you own with your names fully stated on all of them

4.    You have not attached a letter from a university/company/board from the host country saying that you have to visit for the purpose of the trip. Attach the relevant letter

5.    You didn’t indicate in your application what you intend to do in the host or where you intend to stay in the host country. Attach a detailed itinerary with your cover letter indicating dates, cities, and the day-to-day activities you plan to engage in for every day you will be in the country.

6.     Lack of international travel history. You have never traveled outside of your country before, especially outside your continent Having travel history is crucial in your visa application. To learn how to build your travel history read the tips with the corresponding title in My Visa House section.

7.    You have indicated a super lengthy duration of stay in the host country compared to your intended purpose of visit. For example, 3 weeks stay to do a 1-day board exam. You need to be realistic or change the main purpose of your travel.

8.    Failure to declare a previous visa refusal on your visa application form. It doesn’t matter which country denied you the visa. You must declare this in your application and give a reason why.

9.    Having too many intended purposes of travel – vacation, meeting friends, doing exams, work, all in one application doesn’t reflect well on your application. Choose one main purpose for your travel.

10. Missing police clearance certificate if it applies to you.

Documents and finance:

1.   Not submitting all supporting documents.

2.    Submitted bank statement shows a number of large deposits being deposited into your account. You must provide documented evidence to clearly demonstrate the origin of these funds and whether they are genuinely available for your exclusive use or spending. Make sure to have documented evidence for every deposit into your account. If you sold a house, attach a sale agreement. If it is rental income, attach rent lease. If it is a company bonus, attach the bonus letter from the employer. Etc

3.    Providing property documents with your application but these documents do not demonstrate that you generate an income from them. Attach rental income payment confirmations e.g. bank statement, rent lease agreements, etc.

4.    Stating that you have an online business but the documents you have provided do no demonstrate this business or that you receive and income from such a business. Register your online business, attach the registration certificate, and payment statements e.g. Flutterwave, M-PESA, PayPal, etc. You can also attach a screenshot of the business page e.g. if it is Etsy for instance, show sales, and payments page.

5.    The documents you have provided do not demonstrate how you support yourself in your home country and are not an accurate reflection of your financial circumstances back home. Attach employment letter, leave letter, payslips 6 months bank statements clearly indicating salary history, business registration certificate, etc.

6.    You mentioned in your application that you have X amount of money while the bank statement you submitted had X + Y amount. Be consistent and accurately fill in your application form.

7.    No official documents demonstrate how long you have been employed by the employer.  Attach an employment letter with details of how long you have been with the said employer.

8.    You fail to clearly demonstrate your income from your employment. Make sure to attach a bank statement with salary deposits every month into your account from the said employer.

9.    The salary is not consistent with your bank statement. Same as above.

10. Failure to demonstrate savings, properties, or income. Attach documented evidence of these and if there any sudden large deposits, give a documented explanation.

11. You provide only your savings account bank statement and not the one that you get your monthly salary on so the origins of the money and expenses, etc. are not demonstrated. Attach 6 months’ salary bank account statement.

12. Your application does not demonstrate that you receive a salary. See above.

13. Your application does not demonstrate that you have any income or funds available to you or how you will maintain yourself during your trip. See above.

14. Withdrawing all the money from your bank account. Try to live within your means to enable you to have some leftover savings in your account month on month. Clearing out your account is a bad sign.

15.  Amounts you intend to spend on your trip represent over half of your declared savings or several months over your monthly expenditure and you have not shown that you are able to spend such monies on holiday. We would propose the following cost estimation:
o   An average daily expense for your trip of about N60,000 per person per day

o   Total trip expenses not more than two times your monthly salary

o   Total trip expenses not more than half of the indicated savings

16.  No leave approval letter attached. Attach the letter or include in the employment letter that your employer has granted you leave of absence from work and that you will return to your current job after your trip. Leave approval can either be a separate document or leave details included in your employment letter

17.  Not providing evidence that the business you have indicated in the application is still operational. Attach recent tax return certificates, tax compliance certificates, current business accounts, sales transaction statements, etc.

18.  Providing too many bank statements from too many banks. Clearly indicate in the cover letter that you have included the said statements if you must include all many of them.

19.  You have provided a business bank statement (from your company) instead of a personal bank statement. Visa officer unable to conduct a meaningfull assessment of your financial circumstances based on a business account only. Provide both personal and business bank statements (if applicable).