I'm posting this to encourage everyone to confidently apply for visas on your own without using services.
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I submitted on the evening of December 31st, expecting to have to wait past the holiday to get my email checked.
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Got acknowledgment on January 22nd (I didn't follow up via email).
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Received visa on January 23rd.
I applied for myself and 2 kids (under 14 years old). So the financial section was entirely sponsored by mom for the 2 kids.
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Children's passports, ID cards, student cards (the travel history section has the destinations visited in the last 1 year - but no more than 3 countries - I only declared 3 countries, attached 3 photos taken per country, didn't even include visas from those countries).
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Salary confirmation with company stamp - no employment contract provided. And my salary is very low :))))
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Financial section: 3-month bank statement (high account balance) + bilingual savings book confirmation + property and car documents.... My financial section is quite strong. And I think getting visas for all 3 mother and kids was thanks to this section.
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No health insurance or social insurance provided, planned to supplement if asked but they didn't ask.
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Leave permission letter.
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Hotel booking, flight tickets up to the itinerary confirmation part, just screenshot and send.
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Itinerary: due to character limit, kept it simple.
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No explanation letter at all, thought I'd supplement if asked.
In the end, me and the youngest kid had no supplements needed, only the oldest kid was required to have a Power of Attorney from Dad for Mom to take them on the trip. I made a bilingual version myself, had husband sign it, and sent the supplement. The next day we got the visas.
Overall, my application was self-made, self-translated to bilingual (the Vietnamese version has company stamp but the translation doesn't). Preparing it was quick and easy.
Wishing everyone confidence to apply and soon receive your visas. Saves quite a lot, especially for the whole family.
