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Review of Spanish Consulate in Los Angel...

Tips for applying Schengen Visa:

Tips for applying Schengen Visa:

They accept both exact cash amount or money order. This is said on the Schengen Visa website but on the check list pdf document at the end of that website, it only mention money order. A little confusing. I can confirm that they accept both.

Usually the first appointment available is 2 months away. But sometimes there are people cancel appointment, so you need to check their appointment website frequently if you need one sooner. I checked almost every day to snap an appointment happen to be a week away. It's also handy if you have all the documents ready so you can goto a next day appointment if there's one pop up.

If you show up earlier than your appointment time and the staff at the visa window is free, just walk up to the window. They will process your visa documents.

My appointment was at 10am, they emailed me at 3pm on the same day the Visa was ready to pickup. Unexpectedly speedy service.

After calling different companies for comparison, Travel Guard insurance provides the cheapest travel medical plan that meets the requirements for Schengen Visa. They have medical only package without covering trip cancellation, which is around $48(as of 2019) for a senior comes with $50k medical coverage (over the $30k requirement from the embassy) and zero deductible. They can email you a letter spelling out zero deductible besides the plan summary. I print out that letter and the plan summary for the application. No problem at all. All the other places I called are $100-200 per plan.

The consulate staff also asked me for a copy of the driver license, which is not mentioned in their Schengen Visa website. It's used for verifying the applicant's address. If you miss copying some documents, there's a notary store across the street near the Starbuck has copy service for 25cents per copy.

If you need to submit notarized letter from sponsor, the letter doesn't have to be notarized by the Consulate notary office. You can get notary service elsewhere. Some bank offer free notary service to their customer. There are 2 different types of notary, make sure it's the kind for a swore statement.

The Consulate office is on the 8th floor of the building. Parking is like $10 for the 1 hr or so I parked there. Even the upper floor parking says monthly parking, you can still park as a visitor.

You need an appointment to submit the application. The applicant must show up in person cuz they will capture your finger print there. You don't need an appointment to pick up the visa.