No no, it's not fun applying for a visa to go anywhere in Europe. The thick dossier of papers one has to get ready to submit is enough to make a weaker person flounder.

First one has to get online to the Spain VFS application centre to see what are the requirements for a visa. If you have a formal letter ready it makes the visa procedure that much more easy as in this case the UN ( United Nations) was sponsoring us out to attend the World Water Day in Zarazoga in Spain. So the invite is important among a huge list of other requirements.
The Spain Visa office tries to make it easy by giving you a check list to tick of all the docs you have to submit.

Starting with a downloadable Application form of which you needs two copies by the way, there are passport details, photos, invitation letter, hotel booking, your trip itinerary , the list is long and it takes time to get everything together. Therefore give yourself a week to collect it all. An insurance too of over 30,000 Euros is needed for one to travel to Spain so get yours for at least 2 weeks to cover a weeks stay.

The conference is in January but way before that the organisers keep you posted on all the side events happening and require all your details to print in their brochure for the event. A whole questionnaire about what you plan to write on while one is there. Personally I go through the conference details and go through all the various events to gather enough material for several stories on my part.

I sit in at one side show after the other and collect enough data to write and write several stories on my return.

So as of now I need to get all my details organised to hand in my visa documents at the VFS counter in Bangalore. Hopefully with the Christmas season on, my visa documents go to be scrutinised before the embassy wraps up for the holiday season.

So off I go tomorrow with hopefully all the docs that I need and all the papers in order to hand in for my Spanish visa. And, after all the effort and money spent, I am able to travel and enjoy the conference that I have had the honour to be selected for.