Sponsoring a relative's Schengen short-stay visa
Most member states accept a sponsor, and several have an official undertaking document you complete at your town hall or online rather than a letter you write. Which one applies depends on the country deciding the application.
Find out which document your country uses
Germany uses a formal declaration of commitment, obtained from the foreigners authority. The Netherlands and Belgium have their own forms. France has an attestation d'accueil from the mairie. Where the state has a form, a letter you wrote instead of it does not replace it.
What goes with it
Your bank statements, your payslips or income evidence, proof of your residence status, and proof of the address where your visitor will stay. The consulate is testing whether the means exist, and that is an arithmetic question about your documents.
The daily amount still applies
Your contribution is set against the member state's published daily figure multiplied by the days requested. If you are covering accommodation but not living costs, say exactly that, so the consulate can do the sum rather than guess.
How this works here
Open the case as the sponsor, add your own documents, and share the link with your relative. We draft the invitation and undertaking, and tell you where a member state form has to be used instead.
Start the case, then share it
You can open the case, pay for it and add your own documents, then send the link to your relative so they can add theirs. One purchase covers the case whoever pays.
Answer five questions and see which grounds look weak. Free, no email.
Review, £29
We read your documents, check every ground, tell you exactly what is thin and what would fix it, and write the cover letter, the sponsor letter and the employer letter from the facts you gave. One re-run included within 30 days.