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I am planning to apply for a Schengen visa for myself and my wife + 2 kids, I do not have sufficient bank balance and also host is in L permit in Switzerland.

So I am planning to get some money from my friend and use it to show the funds in bank.

How much time should the funds be present in the bank before the bank statement is generated?

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    I presume you mean that your friend will loan you some money so you can inflate your bank balance and make your visa application look better. You should not do this. This is visa fraud. When they want an explanation for the source of the funds, you will be unable to provide one. Trying to defraud them now will simply make it much harder to get a visa in the future.
    – Zach Lipton
    Feb 23, 2016 at 8:03
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    Do not do this. It will guarantee that your visa will be refused.
    – Michael Hampton
    Feb 23, 2016 at 10:20
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    Someone giving you money to use on a trip is one thing, borrowing money just for a few days to pad a visa application is another. Former is fine with proper documentation, latter will probably lead to a visa refusal. I don't know for certain, but I suspect you'd need to have the funds parked in your account for many months (eg 6+) to make the latter look like the former, but even then you risk getting refused if they dig in and notice
    – Gagravarr
    Feb 23, 2016 at 12:05
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    Awesome strategy. And creative. I bet nobody ever thought of it before. Not.
    – Gayot Fow
    Feb 23, 2016 at 15:10
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    Something which so often seems to be forgotten by visa applicants - this isn't a computer going through a set of requirements, or a person paid minimum-wage marking off a checklist. Its a reasonably well-paid, very suspicious and probably at least somewhat motivated visa official who really has seen it all before. They know if you're trying to pull one over. Just don't do it. I used to be in a relationship with someone who worked at a consulate - the stories I heard .....
    – brhans
    Feb 23, 2016 at 20:59

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This is called "funds parking" around here, and is actually something the authorities are actively looking for. If you pursue this route, you will most certainly be denied a visa, and you might even be banned as they will consider you are actively trying to mislead them.

See more discussions on this topic:

What is 'funds parking' in the context of UK visa applications?

UK Visa Refusal: Provenance of funds/parking

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    Although it's not actually illegal to borrow money for a Visa, for the UK at least, as long as you are able to spend that money... it's just likely to raise questions because a lot of people "borrow" money they can't spend. If it's been in your bank account for 3+ months, it's unlikely to be questioned in the same way as money which appeared 2 days before you apply for a visa, because it doesn't have the appearance that you've borrowed money to get the vias. Borrowing money for your trip is okay, borrowing money to get a visa is not... but it's hard to prove which you're doing, so is risky
    – Jon Story
    Feb 23, 2016 at 14:35
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    @JonStory that's a massively helpful comment. Please consider upgrading it to a full answer to this question travel.stackexchange.com/questions/62411/… It's a very helpful piece of insight you are writing about
    – Gayot Fow
    Apr 27, 2016 at 7:52
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The process of this funds check is to find out if you are going to be a burden on the state's welfare system during your trip.

So, what they are looking for in reality is:

  1. You have steady income (this also validates any job letters)

  2. You have expenses proving you are living here. For example, most rents are due at intervals, and showing these withdraws or similar shows you are legitimately staying here; and in some jurisdictions they may even ask for tax statements.

  3. It shows proof that after your expenses for the trip you have sufficient funds to support yourself. Now these funds don't have to be all in your bank account, the can be funds that are given to you specifically for the trip - and if so, they should be properly documented.

A large influx of cash in an account (even if you were to "wait" long enough - most applications require 3 months statements) will raise a lot of red flags; especially if you are unable to justify the nature and purpose of the funds.

Do not do it. It may (at best) cause your application to be rejected and at worst get you banned for actively trying to defraud the process.

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    Note that the second reason for the check is to try to find out if you're likely to fail to leave at the end of the trip
    – Gagravarr
    Feb 23, 2016 at 13:54

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