A student and her mother from Shimla have successfully secured a Schengen tourist visa for their Europe trip through the Embassy of Switzerland, offering a detailed account of their application experience online. The post, which has gained attention on Reddit, is helping many others navigating the complex process of securing a Schengen visa from India.
The applicants — a student and her mother, a government school teacher — submitted their application through VFS New Delhi on June 13, 2025. Despite initial anxiety and delays attributed to VFS handling and courier services, their visa was approved within a week by the Swiss embassy. Their passports were delivered via courier on June 25.
They were granted a 3-month multiple-entry visa with a 30-day stay validity.
The Reddit post highlights the documentation that proved crucial in the application process. For the mother, the duo submitted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from her department, salary slips, three years of Income Tax Returns (ITRs), and bank statements. For the student, documents included an NOC from her university, credit card and bank statements, and her ITRs.
Additional financial backing came from the student’s brother-in-law, who resides in Switzerland, with his bank statements included in the submission. The applicants also provided dummy flight tickets, hotel bookings, and a comprehensive cover letter detailing their travel itinerary and financial transactions — including an explanation of large sums involved in an ongoing property purchase.
The post also shared practical tips for fellow applicants: invest time in drafting a clear, honest, and well-explained cover letter instead of spending money on flight reservations. Notably, they found VFS’s paid SMS and courier services unreliable and anxiety-inducing.