Wednesday, February 3, 2021

DO I NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE TO APPLY FOR SCHENGEN VISA?

Europe is a culturally diverse country that is known for its rich architecture and overall appeal. Millions of tourist’s flocks to the European countries every year to get their taste of heritage and this number is only expected to rise each year. However, there are a few things one needs to be familiar with before embarking upon this beautiful journey.

The Schengen visa is the name of the visa that a person travelling to Europe from a country that is subject to visa requirements must hold, whether the visit is for business or recreational purpose. For citizens of these countries, having a visa is not enough, and they must have travel insurance while visiting the Schengen area as per the instructions of the European parliament.

Similarly, even if a student is travelling from one of these places to study in a German university, then it is mandatory to have travel insurance for German student visa. The plan can be obtained either through an online travel insurance (Schengen Visa Itinerary) company or through conventional methods from the company of your choice. 

While making the purchase for travel insurance that will cater to you when you are travelling internationally, it should be seen that it is accepted in the Schengen area. The company should be licensed and be accepted in the country falling under the Schengen area that is being visited.

They provide low-cost insurance that is accepted by the European Embassies. They cover visitors (visitor visa), business professionals travelling for the purpose of business (business visa), tourists (tourist visa) and group visitors (travel groups need visitor visa).  In case the insurance has been purchased but for some reason the visa has been rejected, then the policy can be cancelled free of charge upon showing the official rejection documents.

The travel insurance should cover all the member states of the Schengen area. These states are – Czech Republic, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Estonia, France, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Luxembourg, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

There is a list of countries whose nationals and passport holders must have travel insurance in order to be eligible to apply for a Schengen visa. Some of these countries are – Afghanistan, North Korea, Bahrain, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Egypt, Cuba, Thailand, Jamaica, Kuwait, Togo, Morocco, Nepal and Zimbabwe to name a few.

There are a total of 105 countries that feature in this list. For countries that are visa-free third world nationals as per the listing of the European Government, having travel insurance is not mandatory. Nevertheless, it is advised that they carry one as well while travelling (with the help of Flight Itinerary) to Schengen area as one cannot predict emergency situations that may arise in terms of health or otherwise.

It is always better to have something in place that is going to protect your finances and take care of you when you are in a foreign land.

Medical insurance is a mandate for your entire duration of visit to the area whether it is for studies, recreational or business purposes. This again is optional for the visa-free third world counties.

There are a number of factors that are included as well as excluded in the insurance policy and it is necessary to go through the fine print before an investment is made.

 



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