Schengen visa cover letter: a sample for Indian applicants

What the EU list for India asks for

Since 4 July 2025, every Schengen consulate in India works from the same harmonised list of supporting documents, set by Commission Implementing Decision C(2025) 4379. Item 2 of the “Documents to be submitted by all applicants” is a “Cover letter from the applicant stipulating the purpose of travel, duration, names of accompanying persons, transport and accommodation details.”

That sentence gives you five things to cover. Officers also read the letter for who pays and why you will come back, so most applicants add a short paragraph on work, funds and return. Everything the letter says should be backed by a document in the file.

What some country checklists add

National checklists published through VFS Global and BLS International repeat the EU wording or build on it. Download the one for your country, because a few ask for more than the core letter.

• Austria asks for a cover letter with “transport and accommodation details”, the same core as the EU list.
• Germany’s checklist pairs the two items as “Personal covering letter/ Proof of intended means of transport and itinerary”, and German missions accept documents in German or English.
• Portugal wants the letter to list accompanying travellers, with “their passport and ticket copies”.
• Norway’s online application portal generates a cover letter that you sign and add to the file; read its checklist to see whether it also wants a personal letter.
• Bulgaria’s tourist checklist asks for a letter “explaining the purpose of the trip with itinerary”, so include the day-by-day route.
• Croatia lists a separate “Travel Itinerary with well detailed activities/scheduled details mentioned.” It also asks for a “Letter of intention if not travelled on previous Schengen Visa”, and a “reason letter” if an earlier Croatian visa went unused.
• Where a checklist wants a detailed itinerary, attach it as a separate page after the letter rather than stretching the letter over several pages.

Sample cover letter for an Indian tourist

This sample fits a couple on a ten-day trip through France, Switzerland and Italy, applying to France as the main destination. Replace everything in [square brackets], delete any line that does not apply to you, and check that no bracket is left in the final letter.

[Your full name as in passport], [full address with PIN code], [mobile number], [email address]

Date: [date of writing]

To the Visa Section, [Embassy or Consulate General] of [France], [city]

Subject: Application for a short-stay Schengen visa for tourism, [arrival date] to [departure date]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I, [your full name], an Indian national holding passport number [passport number], am applying for a short-stay Schengen visa for tourism. I will travel with my [wife/husband], [full name as in passport], who is submitting an application with mine. We plan to be in the Schengen area from [arrival date] to [departure date], a total of [number] days.

We will spend [4] nights in [France], [3] nights in [Switzerland] and [3] nights in [Italy]. As [France] is where we will spend the most time, I am applying to your [Embassy or Consulate General].

Transport: we hold a flight reservation from [Delhi] to [Paris] on [date] with [airline], booking reference [PNR], and from [Rome] to [Delhi] on [date] with [airline], booking reference [PNR]. Between cities we will travel by train: [Paris] to [Interlaken] on [date] and [Interlaken] to [Rome] on [date].

Accommodation: [hotel name and address] in [Paris] from [date] to [date]; [hotel name and address] in [Interlaken] from [date] to [date]; [hotel name and address] in [Rome] from [date] to [date]. The reservations are enclosed.

I have worked as [designation] at [employer], [city], since [month and year]. My employer has approved my leave from [date] to [date], and I will resume work on [date], as the enclosed leave letter confirms.

I will pay for the trip myself. I enclose my bank statements for the last three months, stamped and signed by the bank, and my income tax return acknowledgments for the last two assessment years. [If someone else is paying, name them, give the relationship and enclose their documents.]

We both hold travel medical insurance from [insurer] covering [start date] to [end date], valid in all Schengen states with medical cover of at least €30,000. [Optional: I held Schengen visas in (year) and (year); copies are enclosed.]

We will return to India on [date], where [my job, family and home in city] are. I would be glad to provide any further document you need.

Enclosures: application form, passport, photographs, flight reservation, hotel reservations, travel insurance, bank statements, income tax return acknowledgments, leave letter, [other documents].

Yours faithfully, [signature], [your full name]

Variations for business, family visits and students

The structure stays the same. What changes is the purpose paragraph, who pays and which documents the letter points to.

• Business, sample line: I am travelling to [Frankfurt] from [date] to [date] for meetings with [company], as set out in their enclosed invitation. [My employer] will cover my travel and accommodation.
• Family visit, sample line: I will visit my [son], [full name], who lives at [address] in [city] as a [residence status]. I will stay with him for the whole trip, and his invitation and proof of accommodation are enclosed.
• Student, sample line: I am a [second-year B.Tech] student at [institution]. My college has approved leave from [date] to [date], and my father, [full name], is funding the trip; his letter and financial documents are enclosed.

Making the letter agree with the rest of the file

The letter is the summary an officer reads first, so any mismatch with the documents behind it stands out. Write it last, after the flight reservation, hotel vouchers and insurance are in hand, and copy the details from them rather than from memory.

• Arrival and departure dates identical to the application form and the flight reservation.
• Nights per city identical to the hotel vouchers, with no gap between one checkout and the next check-in.
• Booking references copied exactly from the itinerary and vouchers.
• Every accompanying person named the same way in every traveller’s file.
• Leave dates in the employer’s letter covering the whole trip.
• Insurance dates covering the flight dates.
• Signed and dated, on one A4 page, in plain English unless your checklist asks for another language.

Mistakes that weaken a cover letter

Every document the letter refers to must be genuine. A flight or hotel booking that has been fabricated or edited is document fraud, and a letter that cites it makes the problem worse.

• Copying a template word for word, including details that are not true for you. Generic wording tells the officer nothing about your trip.
• Calling a flight reservation a paid or confirmed ticket. Describe it as a reservation and give the booking reference; the EU list asks for proof of intended transport, not a purchased ticket.
• Leaving out the people travelling with you. The EU list names accompanying persons explicitly.
• Addressing the letter to a country where you spend fewer nights than another. The consulate must be your main destination.
• Mentioning a hotel, a tour or a sponsor that has no document in the file.
• Writing pages of emotional appeal. One factual page reads better.
• Forgetting to sign and date it, or leaving a placeholder in the text.

Questions people ask