What is means of subsistence for schengen visa application?

Means of subsistence is also referred as proof of  financial sufficiency and is crucial for visa application approval. Traveling to the Schengen region means you need to provide information that you have enough resources to enjoy your trip to the region. Proof of financial sufficiency is the most important  Schengen visa requirement and should be fulfilled before applying for Schengen visa. The means of subsistence for a Schengen visa is simply the financial proof that you need to present at the embassy or consulate when you submit your visa application.

It is the way for the officials to know that you have enough money to cover your travel expenses, dining and food, accommodation, and other important stuff that you need while traveling to a completely new destination. It is also a way to get sure that you are going to come back to your country and not going to slip in the Schengen region.

The inability to show the means of subsistence eventually lead to the rejection of a Schengen visa application. Every document that you present should be up to date.

Documents needed by the embassy to prove means of subsistence:

• Your bank account statement that contains information of the last 3 months; it should not be more than three months old
• Many times online bank statements are not acceptable and you need to get the original statement from the bank along with their official seal
• Information of cash that is convertible
• Traveler’s check
• Credit card information
• Payslip if you are an employee of a company or any other document providing the information about your salary
• Proof of prepaid traveling expenses and accommodation like flight itinerary,
• hotel bookings, etc
• Income tax return certificate for the last two years
• If your trip is being sponsored then you need to provide a sponsorship letter mentioning that all your expenses will be covered; the letter must contain the bank statements of the sponsors that are of last 3 months at least
• Pension information if you are a pension holder
• Business documents if you own your business

How to know how much is enough for means of subsistence:

The daily amount that you need to spend in the Schengen region varies from country to country. Most of the countries have provided the reference or exact amount that is necessary for the applicant to have when applying for the Schengen visa. The means of subsistence could be calculated by using a simple formula:

Means of subsistence = cost per day x numbers of visiting day in the Schengen region

Here are the countries with their reference amount required as the means of subsistence: