Applying for a visa for visiting your friend or relative in a different country ? You will need to submit an invitation letter for travel visa purposes, written by the host confirming that they are inviting you to stay with him or her . The format for a business invitation letter would be different , but this article is written for those visa applicants who are applying for tourist or visitor visa.
This article will show you the structure of an invitation letter that we have by over 50,000 visa applicants to get their visa approved including samples of the invitation letter and the details to add in your invitation letter.
If you are in a hurry and want to get your invitation letter, then you can download FlightGen App, where you can answer 10 simple questions about your trip and download a well formatted PDF .
What is an invitation letter for travel visa application ? Is it the same as sponsorhip letter ?
An invitation letter (also known as sponsorship letter or visa invitation letter) is a document that is written in the host’s perspective addressing the consulate to grant the visa on behalf of the invitee . A well written invitation letter will provide the facts of the trip such as trip dates, the reason for travel ,address of the host, relationship between the host and the invitee, travel itinerary and expense bearer for the entire trip.
Note: An invitation letter for travel visa must be written in the perspective of the host, that is as if the host is talking to the consulate on behalf of the visa applicant.
An invitation letter can also be your sponsorship letter, provided you mention clearly who is responsible for the trip expenses such as flight, hotel, accommodation & other expenses of the trip.
FlightGen invitation letters can be used as sponsorship letters on your own.
The host must fullfill the following requirements in order for the letter of invitation to be valid:
- must be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the country you plan on visiting
- must be your friend, boyfriend / girlfriend or family member / relative
- must have a registered place (home, flat)
- must have enough room for the applicant
- If he is responsible for the expenses of your trip, then he must provide proof of sufficient balance
How to make an invitation letter for travel visa application ?
Note that we are talking about making an invitation letter not writing one . This is because we are using FlightGen App to make our letter instead of manually typing out one.
If you want to manually do it yourself, we have samples at the end which can be gladly used for your own visa process.
Download FlightGen App
The first step is downloading the app. You can click below to download the app based on your phone type.
After installation is complete, create a login account as this will allow you to save the progress of your invitation letter and complete it whenever you like.
Select Create invitation letter option
With FlightGen, you can create several types of visa documents such as flight itinerary, hotel bookings, cover letter and invitation letter (with new features to be added soon). To make an invitation letter, click on “create Invitation Letter” option.
Pick Invitation for tourist/visitor visa option
An invitation letter can be of two types,
- Invitation letter for business visa
- Invitation letter for travel visa (also known as visitor visa)
Since we will be creating invitation letter for tourist visa here, pick that option in the app. See screenshot to know more.
Click on Create visitor invitation letter
Since you have not created any invitation letters this section is empty. Now click on create visitor invitation letter. You will be taken to the letter wizard where you will need to answer the questions and click on next.
Add personal information
Added in your invitation letter for travel visa in case the consulate wants to contact you. This information is secure and will not be used for any other reason. You will need to add data such as name as in passport, passport number, email id, phone number and your nationality.
Once done click on next.
Add consulate information
The next step, is adding the consulate with whom you are applying for your visa. For example, if you are applying for France Schengen visa, then select “Consulate of France” from the selection.
Next, Add the address of the consulate, This you can find by going to google or apple maps, search for the consulate near you and copy paste the address. For example. If you are applying for France visa, go to google/apple maps and type France consulate near me and copy paste the address.
Finally, if you are applying for a Schengen or Europe visa, check the option “Applying for Schengen(Europe) visa ?”
Select visa Type
The format of your invitation letter depends significantly on your visa type. FlightGen is designed to accommodate all visa types and the workflow of the wizard changes depending on your visa type. So if you are applying for Tourist or visitor visa, select your visa type and click on next.
Enter your Work Information
The consulate wants to know if you are engaging in any gainful employment and are able to sustain yourself once your visa is approved. They are cautious that you are already working somewhere and have the noc/leave approval letter from your current employer for your visa approval.
Therefore it is important to add your work information such as your designation and company name in the invitation letter.
If you are self-employed, then you need to add a brief description of your work in one or two lines in the invitation letter for travel visa.
Add Inviter Information
In every invitation letter, the information of the host is the most important aspect. The consulate needs to know the name, contact number, email and the address of where you will be staying once your visa is approved along with proofs for the same such as the host’s passport, residence card etc.
You must also establish a clear relationship between the inviter and yourself.
Note: The relationship field must explain the relationship between you two in the perspective of the invitor. For example if your mother-in-law is inviting you to stay in Germany with her, you need to mention in the relationship line. “He is my son-in-law and I am inviting him and my daughter to come stay with me in Germany for 2 days“.
In the app, click in the ‘i’ button to see more examples of what you can add in the invitation letter for travel visa, relationship section.
Add Trip Information
Another important fact that must be part of your invitation letter for travel visa is who is bearing the expenses of the trip as well as your trip start date and end date.
Note: The trip start date and end dates includes both the bookend dates not just the dates in between.
Add Travel Itinerary to your invitation letter
It makes sense to add a travel itinerary or a day-wise breakdown of your trip that you have planned. If you are applying for a visitor visa, you may just want to stay with your host and not explore the places around.
So what you may do is add a travel itinerary for days for which you have planned activites.
For example if you are staying for 10 days, you can add a travel itinerary for 6 days.
Here is a sample travel itinerary
- Sep 11, 2022 : Day trip to Swiss Villages in Interlaken & Grindelwald with a local friend
- Sep 12, 2022 : Walk around Zurich touristic highlights . In the evening go on Felsenegg CableCar and Ferry Ride
- Sep 15, 2022 : Visit Einstein house and in the evening depart to Geneva
- Sep 16, 2022 : Take Geneva hop on Hop offtour.
- Sep 20, 2022 : Depart to Milan and visit Duomo.Check in to my hotel (Casa Dumo de Milano)
- Sep 21, 2022 : Take a train to Venice & check in to my hotel (Hotel deVenezia)
- Sep 24, 2022 : LeaveVenice to Florence.Check in to my hotel (Titillia Inn)
- Sep 25, 2022 : Take a city tour with a professional guide around Florence. In the evening Enjoy local food and music.
- Sep 28, 2022 : Enjoy Eiffel Tower and Sienna riverCruise in the evening.
- Sep 29, 2022 : Rent a car and visit Versailes
- Sep 30, 2022 : Leave Paris and back to my home in New York
Add visa documents for invitation letter
When you are creating an invitation letter for travel visa, you will need to mention the documents that you will be enclosing with the invitation letter for your visa approval. The consulate then may look at these and decide if any additional documents you will need for your visa approval.
FlightGen makes it easier for the visa applicant to add these documents by simply selecting the documents that will be submitted for the visa processing.
Add additional documents if any
The last step is to add any missing documents that may not be part of the visa documents list on FlightGen. For example if you want to provide your marriage invitation letter as proof of relationship going on a honeymoon.
If you have followed the steps mentioned below, all that is left for you to do is accept the terms and conditions and click on “create invitation letter“. And in a few seconds a perfectly formatted invitation letter is created.
Sample invitation letter for travel visa
If you had followed the steps above, you will be able to download a well formatted invitation letter which can be used for your visa purposes.
Here is a sample invitation letter for travel visa
Invitation Letter created using FlightGen App
Consulate of Germany
House, 9th Floor, Hoechst, 193,
Nariman Point, Mumbai, 400021
Sept 20 2024
Subject: Letter of Invitation in favor of Mr. Dsouza Faric holding passport number B6348466
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Mr. Dhara Mehta am a resident of Germany and would like to formally invite Mr. Dsouza Faric to
stay with me between Apr 10, 2024 and Apr 20, 2024. He need a visa for the same, given his Indian
nationality.
We have been best friend for the last 30 years. I currently reside at Dhara Mehta Domstraße 11 97070 Würzburg . Mr. Dsouza Faric will also be staying here with us.
We have planned the following activities during this time here
Apr 10, 2024 : Day 1: Arrive at Frankfurt and catch the ICE to Würzburg. Overnight at Babelfish
Hostel.
Apr 11, 2024 : Explore Marienburg Fortress and the Vineyards on the way up. While coming
down, enjoy the Japanese Garden. Optional: Guided tour of the fortress
Apr 12, 2024 : Take a day trip to Veitshochheim Castle and Rocco Garden via Ferry from
Würzburg
Apr 13, 2024 : Hike up the Vineyards (Wein am Stein) and do a wine tasting on the way. Watch
sunset at the Steinberg Hotel along with some local food
Apr 14, 2024 : Explore the City Centre and enjoy the various wares from local vendors at the
marketplace in front of the Church. Take an official city tour with a tour of the old town.
Apr 15, 2024 : take a day trip to Bamberg, UNESCO World heritage site via the regional train.
The old town is very well preserved and attracts millions of tourists throughout the year.
Apr 16, 2024 : Hike up to the Marienkapelle and enjoy the breathtaking views during the hike.
Apr 17, 2024 : Take a cycling tour along the Main River to Ochsenfurt via Randersacker and
enjoy the picturesque little town along with the local wine. Eibelstadt on the way offers bathing
oppurtunities in the river
Apr 18, 2024 : Visit the Würzburger Residenz, UNESCO World Heritage site (free guided tour
in English twice a day) along with the Hofgarten. In the evening enjoy a glass of wine at the Old
Main Bridge along with the sunset.
Apr 19, 2024 : Take a hiking trail around Steinbachtal, the city forest of Würzburg
Apr 20, 2024 : Return to Frankfurt via ICE and catch the flight back to Mumbai
Mr. Dsouza Faric has strong ties with his home country, has no intention of overstaying his visa, and is
committed to getting back home after this trip.
He is currently working with indian Navy, job designation being training officer. . The expenses of this
entire trip is borne by himself .
Please find enclosed the following documents to support Mr. Dsouza Faric’s Schengen Tourist Visa
application, from the applicant’s perspective:
- Travel Insurance for the duration of my stay as per visa specifications mentioned on the
- consulate site
- Hotel bookings made for this trip.
- Attested bank statement of last 6 months
- Original and copy of my passport with minimum 6 months validity
- Fully paid round trip flight ticket
- Photos as per visa specification
- Proof of visa fee paid.
- Attested bank statement for the last 6 months
- My latest ITR which have been filed till date
- Proof of my leave approval from my employer
- My employment contract
I trust you will find that everything is in order. For further clarification or additional details, you can
contact me at 163 0417215 or email me at [email protected].
I look forward to hearing a positive response granting his visa to visit the beautiful country of
Germany.
Sincerely,
…………………….Date: Dec 1, 2022
( James Matter )
Ph : +85134579449
Email: [email protected]
What details must be included in invitation letter for travel visa application ?
A well formatted invitation letter for travel visa will contain the following information:
- Name and passport no of the visa applicant
- Address and details of the invitor
- Address and details of the visa consulate
- Trip start dates and end dates
- travel itinerary planned for the trip.
- Expense bearer of the trip
- Documents submitted for visa application
- Work information of the visa applicant
