Itinerary for German Schengen visa

Question

I am planning to visit Germany [multiple cities], Paris and Zurich as part of my upcoming trip for almost 10 days with 6 days in Germany, 2 days in Paris and 2 in Zurich. I will be first going to London for business trip and then will start my personal trip to Germany and other cities.

As part of my visa application, I need to submit itinerary and I am wondering what all should I include in my itinerary.

1. I plan to include my Delhi to London air travel and then my air travel to Frankfurt. Then my return train travel from Zurich and Paris. And then my return flight which is from Frankfurt to Delhi.

2. Should I include my travel within Germany to different cities in itinerary.

3. Do I also need to submit my hotel stays in all cities during my travel?

Another thought I have is just show itinerary from Delhi-Frankfurt-Delhi, showing all days in Germany along with hotel stay to get the visa, and then later plan my trip. Any idea if this will work or can hamper my Visa or trip?

Answer 1

Overall this is a judgment call rather than satisfying a well defined requirement. Perhaps think of it this way. Will submitting all the information for your trip hurt or harm your application? If you have a strong application with adequate funds and proof, strong ties to your home country, etc then showing your gallivanting around will not reflect negatively on you because you can afford it.

Although one could argue the consular officer should only be concerned with your entering and leaving his jurisdiction according to the terms of your visa, another consular officer could want to know the totality of your trip from your home country and back to your home country to properly assess your profile more holistically.

Printing out a few extra sheets of paper showing your complete itinerary should not affect you negatively if you have nothing to hide and have a strong profile.

My only reference is I have done similar trips where sometimes I printed everything and submitted, and other times I limited my supporting documents to the itinerary going in and out of the country in question and have been successful both ways.