need help with Schengen Visa

I tried calling the consulate, but I couldn't get to the visa person.
I will try again.

Right, this is something you should do.

But what I do not understand is why you come to a travel forum with your questions. The organization of academic conferences is a professional activity that takes place hundreds of times each year all over the world. And you say you are a graduate student? Then it is time for you to learn how to deal with these professional matters in a logical fashion.

In other words, you should be addressing your questions to people who already know everything there is to know and have probably dealt with this very simple situation countless times:
i) your own university and
ii) the conference organizers

As a grad student, it's time for you to learn how things work in your profession.

How long will the entire trip be for?

For a short period, it should be a business visa. You're not going to be working, paid or not. It's a common thing: people from overseas who work, say in an MNC, travel to attend a meeting/conference for a short period of time.

@ansh_jain_97: Thank you for the reply.
I will be there for only about 2 weeks.

I'll give the info I found here.
The purpose of the visit will be business and tourism.
I can put the first hotel as a reference, my employer as a sponsor, and bring a conference registration.
That's all I need.

As BthDth advises, ask your conference organisers and university for guidance to fill the form. I would say a business visa is needed.

Hi ansh,

How old are you now? 16? I'd guess that you could have given the correct info even a couple of years ago. Of course the OP probably doesn't know this, but it is something else for that person to think about.

If I was a grad student at a university, I'd be embarrassed, if not ashamed of myself. If I was the OP's supervisor I'd put my foot in a specific part of the OP's anatomy and tell that person to take some responsibility for learning how their professional environment works.

There are correct channels to follow. Some people need to learn about these more than they need simple answers to simple questions.

Hi BthDth,
Agree. However, visas can be a pain and first-timers will understandably be confused by the requirements and other details. When so many people have a similar question relating to a process, I believe the process is flawed in a way, or/and there's limited clear information about the process. Indeed, the more one researches on Schengen visas issued by different Schengen countries, one will find more contradictory information. I'm not saying I don't agree with you, but I would definitely agree more if OP's question was something like "How do I organise research in country X?"

Hi ansh,

There can be a legitimate issue about lack of clarity, especially when you work through bureaucracy for the first time. The Schengen thing can certainly be a headache. But this does not explain all questions by all OPs. Some, I suspect, have a chronic fear or mistrust of authority. An Embassy is always my first stop for info, and if something in the procedure isn't obvious, I ask there. I'm talking about the simplest of basics in visa applications, not tricky or awkward situations.

There is another sort of information which is not so easy to categorize, and for which advice from the experienced can be helpful. I've applied for Indian visas and India is about as bureaucratic as it gets. And yet there are easy ways of getting through the process. I have even found Embassy staff positively helpful if you approach them in the right way. But this is info that goes beyond "How do I answer question X?"

Possibly you have had experiences of this sort as well, such as "which Embassies are easiest to get a visa?" This is the sort of thing where 'insider' experience can be helpful. It's a common question in SE Asia.

My point here is that we're not dealing with someone merely on holiday. In this case, the OP is presumably an adult, working in a professional, academic environment. (S)he has a responsibility to learn how that professional environment works, and where to get information in that environment.

(S)he has a responsibility to learn how that professional environment works, and where to get information in that environment
True. I agree. That's why I seconded your response #1 in my post #4 hoping the OP didn't overlook your post.

Here, many visa processing has been given over to agencies such as VFS. Which means no one at the consulate will reply to emails and no one will be able to answer a question at the visa section of the embassy/consulate. While VFS is helpful in answering queries, I think there's a limit to the kind of questions they can answer, some of the questions involving more legalities/technicalities should be answered by the embassy. But as I found out with the German consulate in Chennai, they aren't. My question amounted to "Will you accept my application or not?" ; ultimately we applied for and got the visa from the Swiss consulate.

This is why, while I agree with you, you might find me trying to answer visa matters patiently. I don't know if German embassies/consulates in US respond to emails; they should as there's no VFS there. But I sympathise with visa applicants if they have a problem; often arcane rules complicate it, IMO, needlessly. Luckily some consulates are more flexible than others.

I think some of you are being very unreasonable towards OP. The problem is not that OP can't understand simple instructions. The problem is with the Embassy/Visa Company and their web site which is unintelligible. I write as a native speaker of English who has completed 13 years at school and 8 years at university (all in English). So do not try to tell me I can't speak English.

My wife has asked me to fill in a Schengen visa application form on her behalf, and the form reads as if it has been translated (badly) from a foreign language, probably by machine. I must have filled in a dozen Schengen visa forms for her before, and the form has changed since last time (18 months ago). It has become more confusing and less intelligible.

Why shouldn't OP ask for a bit of friendly advice on this forum? In her position, I would sooner do that than try to phone the company that issues the visas, and spend ten minutes (costing me £2 a minute) listening to their pre-recorded messages.