Can I sponsor my mother for a Schengen visa?

Question

My mother is a housewife and lives in India. I am staying in England on a work permit. I want to take my mother to France and sponsor the whole trip for both of us. How can I do that? Since I have to apply for a Schengen visa from London, she will have to apply from India, but she doesn't have any income proof - salary slips, only some fixed deposits in her name.

Answer 1

I believe that you misuse or misunderstand the word sponsorship in this context. What you would do is to provide funds for your mother. The French visa officials will examine the application by your mother, and the source of funds is only one factor.

Basically, they want to know that your mother is a genuine tourist and not an immigrant.

• Genuine tourists can afford their trip. I presume that your mother cannot afford the trip on her own, but that you can afford it. Since it is normal that children support elderly relatives, your promise to pay, coupled with your bank statements, explain how your mother can afford it.
• Genuine tourists appear likely to return to their homeland. The connection with you should neither help nor hinder in this regard, since you do not live in Schengen yourself.
  But good financial data should not just be enough money for the trip, it should also show a stable lifestyle. Her accounts should do that.
• Genuine tourists have some reason to go where they want to go, but that can be something like 'see the culture and artworks.' Here someone might wonder why she wants to go to France and not to the UK if her child is in the UK.

Imagine you are in the position of a visa official. Look at your mother's application without your money. If that looks good except for the missing money to pay for the trip, then your 'sponsorship' can make the difference.