Schengen and UK Visa for Indian citizen: Which type of ticket can I use as supporting documentation?

Question

I am an Indian citizen in the US with valid H1B visa. This is my travel plan across Europe:

1. Flight from US to London
2. Take the Eurostar train from London to Paris
3. Visit other Schengen visa valid countries
4. Travel to Turkey (visa on entry for Indian citizens with valid Schengen visa)
5. Fly back to US from Turkey

I understand that I need both UK and Schengen visa, but I have the following concerns about my visa applications based on my travel itinerary:

1. For both UK visa, would my flight ticket which shows US-LON-ISTANBUL-US be a valid exit point? Is it sufficient to show my eurostar ticket from London to Paris as a valid exit proof?

2. For the Schengen visa, my flight ticket does not have entry/exit points in any Schengen country. Would that be an issue? I will apply for the visa at the French Consulate (main destination).

Answer 1

In principle, there is no formal requirement to present any proof of onward travel to get a Schengen visa, you only need to have the means to leave the Schengen area. A plane ticket out of a Schengen country, a train ticket to a neighbouring country, a plane ticket departing from another country or even no ticket at all (but some cash to buy one) could all be accepted.

In practice, it would certainly seem easier to show tickets in and out of the Schengen area. A train/bus/plane ticket to Istanbul in combination with a flight from Istanbul to the US should definitely be OK. The flight from Istanbul should probably be enough too but I guess it might depend somewhat on the country/consulate so if you add that to your question, someone with first-hand experience with that consulate might be able to comment.

There might however be a serious problem with your plan. Indian citizens are eligible for a Turkish e-visa if they hold a “valid Schengen visa”. It's not clear from this website what they mean by that and whether the visa should be valid when entering Turkey or merely when applying but if you have never been to the Schengen area before, it's quite likely that you would only get a single-entry Schengen visa. If that's the case, this visa won't be valid anymore when you present yourself to the Turkish border (i.e. it would not allow you to come back to the Schengen area because you have already exhausted the maximum number of entries).

Answer 2

For a UK visa you do not need to buy a ticket beforehand or even tell them what you would do after you leave the country. All you have to prove to them is that you have a job or an income and a good reason for them to believe that you would return to USA and are legally allowed to do so (Valid work visa for US for that matter would do it) Your salary slip and your 6 months bank statement is all you need to make them believe that you have a job there. Buying an air ticket or a train ticket makes no difference in their decision making. You may be asked for your return ticket when you enter the UK.