Schengen visa cover letter: what to write, with a sample
The cover letter explains your trip in one page: where you are going, why, who pays, and why you will come back. Consulates read it next to your documents, so it has to match them exactly.
What to include
- Your details: full name as in your passport, passport number, address, phone and email.
- Where you apply: the consulate or embassy of your main destination.
- The trip: destination, exact dates, number of days and the cities you will visit.
- The purpose: tourism, visiting family or friends, or business.
- Accommodation: hotels, or the host you will stay with.
- Who pays: you, or a sponsor, and which documents prove it.
- Ties to home: your job, family or studies, and the date you will return.
- A list of the documents you enclose.
Sample cover letter
Ananya Rao
14 MG Road, Bengaluru 560001, India
+91 98450 12345 · [email protected]
26 October 2026
The Visa Section
Consulate General of France in Bengaluru
Subject: Application for a short-stay Schengen visa (tourism)
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am applying for a short-stay Schengen visa to travel to France from 10 April 2027 to 21 April 2027 (12 days). The purpose of my trip is tourism. I plan to visit Paris and Nice.
During my stay I will stay at Hotel Lumière, Paris, and Hotel Azur, Nice. My day-by-day itinerary is enclosed.
I will pay for all costs of the trip myself. My bank statements are enclosed.
I work as a senior software engineer at Infosys Ltd. My parents live with me in Bengaluru. I will return home at the end of my trip, on 21 April 2027.
I enclose: visa application form, passport and copies of previous visas, two photos, travel medical insurance, flight reservation, hotel bookings, itinerary, bank statements for the last 3 months, salary slips and a leave letter from my employer.
Yours faithfully,
Ananya Rao
Passport number: Z1234567
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Common mistakes
- Dates that don't match. The dates in the letter, the flight reservation, the insurance and the employer's leave letter must be the same.
- A vague purpose. "Tourism" plus the cities and a short plan is clearer than "to see Europe".
- No ties to home. One or two true sentences about your job and family matter more than long explanations.
- Too long. One page is enough. The documents prove the details.
Requirements differ between consulates and change over time. Check the official checklist of the consulate you apply to.