Okay.. so I gotta go for a business trip to Finland and I need to get a VISA to get there..
What's a VISA? A VISA refers to an entry permit granted to an individual for a short time (no more than 90 days within a period of six months). This is for the purpose of visiting another country temporarily for tourism, visit, or business reasons. Almost every country you will visit would require a VISA with some possible exceptions (for short visits) like Hongkong and Thailand and probably others.
Anyway, after checking out the website for the Finland embassy (http://www.finland.ph) here in the Philippines, I found out that I need a Schengen VISA. What? Schengen??? But I'm going to Finland!!?? Apparently, a lot of European states require a Schengen VISA. Getting a Schengen VISA means that you would be able to visit any of the Schengen countries since they have a unified VISA. A Schengen visa entitles a person to enter the Schengen area provided that other preconditions for the entry are met. Philippine citizens need a visa to visit the Schengen area.
The 25 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland .
Note: If your main destination cannot be ascertained, the Schengen state whose territory constitutes the main destination of the visit in terms of purpose or the length of stay will be responsible for granting the visa. The Embassy of Finland in Manila is representing also Estonia in Schengen visa matters in the Philippines. Kindly follow the same requirements, application forms and instructions as for Finland from this website. Please submit supporting documents in English.
Alright, so we got that cleared, so what else do I need to apply for a Schengen VISA?
1. visit to the Embassy in person (also minors)
2. passport (which is valid at least three months following the end of the visit) and a copy of it
3. old passports
4. Schengen visa application form carefully completed, dated and signed by the applicant
- visa application forms can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Please carefully fill out the form along with all necessary appendices
5. a recent color passport photograph, taken within the past six months
- size 36 mm wide x 47 mm high, the facial dimensions being 32 mm X 36 mm, against an off-white or light background)
6. flight reservation (Please DO NOT purchase the actual ticket beforehand. Submission of the ticket is only upon the approval of the visa)
7. travel insurance (Submission of travel insurance is only upon approval of the visa)
8. NBI clearance (National Bureau of Investigation, purpose for Travel abroad, max. 12 months old)
9. birth certificate (Note: Only National Statistic Office (NSO) certificates printed on a security paper are accepted by the Embassy)
10. other documents maybe required on a case to case basis
Additional enclosures depending on the purpose of the travel:
Private visit (processing time 15 days) :
1. an invitation letter stating the required details concerning the host and visitor (names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers), the purpose and duration of the visit, confirmation of accommodation including the address, account of the relationship between the host and the visitor. The invitation letter must be signed and dated
2. a latest marriage certificate if the applicant and the host are married
3. a certificate of kinship between the host and the applicant (such as latest birth certificates or marriage certificate), in case of a family visit. (Note: Only National Statistic Office (NSO) certificates printed on a security paper are accepted by the Embassy)
4. a copy of the host's passport or other identity document. If the host has visited the applicant in the Philippines, also the copies of entry and exit stamps has to be included
5. proof of sufficient funds (such as a copy of a bank statement from the past three months or a written certificate from the employer stating regular monthly income). The level of means of subsistence depend on the length of visit, purpose of the visit, and also on the cost of living of the Schengen State or States to be visited
6. certificate of employment and approved leave of absence from the company/employer
7. DTI / SEC registration of Business if applicant is self-employed / entrepreneur
8. school certificate if the applicant is a student and proof of enrollment
9. other documents maybe required on a case to case basis
The Finnish legistation allows the family member of a Finnish citizen to travel to Finland in order to file a residence permit application at a local police. But even if an applicant is a family member (e.g.spouse), the status does not accord him or her an automatic right to a visa. Also in this case a person has to fulfill the general visa requirements.
Note : Late registrations are not accepted as such, the applicant must also provide e.g. school records (elementary or high school originals, Form 137) or hospital records of birth. Important : the embassy requires true verified copies of documents that led to late registration of a birth/death from the competent Civil Registrar, should these documents not meet the requirements of Rule 26 of the Philippine Administrative Order the birth/death certificate in question will not be accepted.
Note: If the applicant and/or husband/wife was married before, an annulment/divorce/death certificate on NSO security paper authenticated by DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) has to be provided.
If the applicant was single before marriage, the single status certificate called Certificate of No Marriage in the national indices of marriage on NSO security paper authenticated by DFA has to be provided.
Tourist visit (processing time 15 days)
1. detailed tour itinerary and the contact information of the local and Finnish tour operator
2. flight and hotel reservation
4. proof of employment and approved leave of absence5. DTI / SEC registration of Business if applicant is self-employed / entrepreneur
5. proof of studies/holiday. evidence of sufficient funds (such as a copy of a bank statement from the past three months)
Business trip/conference (processing time 15 days)
1. flight and hotel reservation
2. an invitation letter from a business partner/organisation, which states the contact information (name of the contact person, phone number and address), purpose and date of travel
3. employment certificate
4. confirmation by the sending company/organisation about the travel and its purpose
5. DTI / SEC registration of Business if applicant is self-employed / entrepreneur
6. evidence of sufficient funds (such as a copy of a bank statement from the past three months)
7. the Embassy may ask for additional enclosures, as appropriate, such as an extract from the Register of Companies
Seaman (processing time 3 working days)
1. valid passport and Seaman's book
2. original POEA contract and OEC (Overseas Employment Contract)
3. ticket or confirmed booking from the airlines
4. letter of guarantee from the local manning agency in the Philippines
5. letter of invitation from the shipping agent in Finland
Note : The Embassy must receive a confirmation in Finnish, Swedish or English language by fax from the shipping agent in Finland, including the name list of the seamen
The visa processing fee is 60 euros and it is charged when the application is submitted to the Embassy. The fee is paid in cash in the Filipino currency at the valid rate of exchange (3750 pesos in July 2011). The processing fee is non-refundable. The fee is not charged if the visa applicant belongs to one of the following categories:
- children under six years
- school children, students, post graduate students and accompanying teachers who undertake trips for the purpose of study or educational training
- researchers travelling for the purpose of carrying out scientific research
Update: I forgot to include that if they require you to present an invitation letter from Finland, you'll need to submit the original or a scanned copy (as long as it is signed) of the invitation letter and then have them email the invitation letter from the inviting company/person who is in Finland to the Finland Embassy.
Whew! That was a lot! Do check out the website of the embassy of Finland to make sure that you have everything they require. Good luck to all!
Mumbling my prayers that I get approved... hehehe
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The 2011 (2012) Kia Picanto Review
Kia has just released their newest take on the Picanto series... and this time around, they got it right!
I had the chance to drive around the newest model of the Kia Picanto and I gotta say, it was impressive! Whoa! I gotta stop gushing like a 16 year old chick here and give you some specs of the model I'm reviewing...
The Specs:
Model: Kia Picantio 2011 (2012)
Engine: 1.0L Kappa MPI I-3 SOHC 12V Engine
Power: 69Hp at 6,200 rpm
Torque: 9.6kg-m at 3,500 rpm.
Transmission options are manual and automatic.
PRICE: The MT variant is priced at Php545,000 while the AT variant is priced at Php599,000.
The one I got to drive is the Automatic Transmission variant.
The competition (Direct):
The Hyundai i10, Suzuki Celerio, Chery QQ(??), Chevrolet Spark
The Interior:
The interior is nothing to sneeze at except possibly when you have a cold.. maybe not even then... unless your cold is really, really bad.
The interiors trim of the dashboard is simple yet elegant.. it's made of hard plastic but doesn't project any cheapness... it really looks sturdy and would last a lot longer than you. The driver's console also looks great with a lit up and readable tachometer, speedometer and fuel gauge. A trip computer is also included so you can monitor your fuel consumption. There is also an eco display which displays "ECO" to let you know if you are driving economically... Duh! One thing I miss is that I can't see the engine temp gauge on the console... according to the manual, when the car is starting to overheat, it will display the Engine Temp symbol on the console... (Hookay! That might be a little too late)...
The new Picanto comes with comfortable bucket seats which can be reclined and moved forward or reardward. No height adjustments on the seat but it still gives you a commanding view of the road. The car comes with one glove compartment and at the front passenger seat, below the seat is an extra drawer (for shoes or other documents) which is really cool.
The only real drawback is the boot which is really tiny... you can probably fit 2 duffel bags side by side and then if you want to add some more then you have to stack them up... but if you really need more space, and you're not carrying passengers at the back, you can get some additional space by folding the back seat which folds flat! Not as flat as the boot floor (there's about an inch differnce in height) but flat nonetheless which is more than I can say with other small cars in the same category...
All models available here in the Phiippines come with central locking, car alarm, keyless entry, power windows, power side mirrors, power steering (Motor Driven Power Steering - MDPS) and a CD/radio player. Although here, they swapped the player with a JVC one.. It's decent but the original player was better looking and I think more compatible with the dasboard... they probably swapped it to help slash off the pricing a bit... It also comes with Manual Airconditioning... the climate control was swapped with the manual one... guess why? To slash some price off the top again... The climate control would have given this car a sense of elegance... I mean, a mini car with climate control is almost unheard of unless you're driving a mini cooper.. but alas, price is more important and they had to keep it down to make it competitive in the small car segment.. There's no stop/start engine button in the Philippine model either for the same reasons as the above, I guess.
Regardless of the compromises they had to make to keep pricing down, the interior is still better than most small cars out there.. and that is already saying a lot!
The Exterior:
With an exterior designed by Peter Schreyer (also a designer for Audi), this little car looks really sporty and cool... no more girly designs like the last model. This little car is uh... uhm... a man's little car! Seriously, the exterior is really great from the body design to the sporty headlights! Fog lamps come as standard (Yeah!) and 15" alloy rims are standard (Double Yeah!) on the automatic version. Although it is a small car, it still manages to make itself look like a small tiger and would definitely appeal to the younger dudes out there. I can go on and on and on about how cool and awesome it looks but your taste may vary so let me stop blabbering about the coolness of it's sporty look (Just look at the pictures!).
This new model is a teensy bit longer than the previous model and also a teensy bit wider which gives the impression of better stability (I hope!) while cornering at high speeds (I haven't tried cornering at high speeds and have no intention of doing so)...
A rear wiper and rear backing lights is also available as standard for all variants. It's too bad the electronic folding side mirrors didn't make it to our shores but such is life...
The Ride:
The feel of the car while you're on the road is deceptive... small bumps and other small road imperfections are just handled very well by the car... also, you don't feel like you're driving a small car. Normally, a small car is hindered by small bumps and bruises on the road but this is one small car that feels like a big car. The cabin is also relatively quiet on the inside and you can barely hear the engine throttling away... although to be fair, I haven't tried to run the car faster than 60Kph, I mean, how could I? I'm in the Philippines running in the Greater Metro Manila Area! Traffic is horrendous here! I have not tried highway speeds (NLEX/SLEX) yet and I would really love to see if the cabin is still as quiet when running at 80Kph or higher... speaking of the engine, having a 1.0L seems really low... with only 998cc of power and an output of only 69Bhp, you'd think that this car would be struggling on the straight road let alone any uphill travel. Although I have driven the car for just a short time, I was able to put it to some paces... I went up mall parking ramps from the ground floor to the fifth floor (and then watched a movie!!), I went up some relatively steep elevations (Within QC and at the Fort) and I have yet to hear the engine struggle... granted, there were only 2 passengers but that is still very impressive for me... it's actually surprising! Hopefully, I would be able to test it going up to Antipolo and once I do, I'll update this post.
The Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) performs rather well and is very light when running on low speeds for more control but gets a bit stiffer when on higher speeds. Making a U-turn on the new Kia Picanto is easy peasy while parallel parking is a breeze on this car. Although I have to say, the horn on the steering wheel is a bit stiff... I had to press it really hard to get the horn to sound off (I would've used the word honking but somehow it sounds a bit too porny... hehe). Also, there's a bit of sharpness protruding at the edges of the horn too.
Fuel consumption (FC )should be no question on this car since it has a small engine. But I find that my FC at around 8-10KpL which is far from the published Fuel Consumption (16-18KpL for AT and 18-20KpL for the manual). Be reminded though that I have not driven it for long and FC may improve with prolonged usage (or maybe my driving just sucks!).
Summary:
To sum everything up, this proves to be the best version of the Picanto yet. It may not be perfect but it has an almost (emphasis on almost) perfect balance of usability, style and accessories while keeping the price low for the mass market. Which means Kia is really doing something right. I mean, after the success of the Sorento and the Sportage, and spitting out more cool models like the Soul and the new Picanto with the New Rio right on it's heels, the Korean car manufacturer is now proving itself a force to be reckoned with in the automotive industry. If the Japanese Automakers don't watch their back, they just might find themselves looking at Kia's butt from a mile away while eating their dust.
This is my first review of a car and if you're wondering what are my credentials, there is none. I'm just a normal everyday driver just like you and approached this review as such. Take it as you want it.
Update!!! (07.19.2011)
I was able to go to Antipolo today since I had some rather important business to attend to... I brought the 2011 Kia Picanto with me to try out the steady uphill travel to Antipolo. To my delight, there wasn't any problems going up Antipolo, the ride was smooth and I even had the aircon on! Really, this car is great but my FC during the travel was still 8-10Kph which is not good for a 3 cylinder car. If this persists until the first checkup, I'm going to ask the dealer to have this checked out. But this car is still a joy to drive and I hope I get the chance to break it in before the checkup... it might help improve the FC.. who knows... anyway, I'll update this post again once I finish breaking it in.
'Till next everybody! Mumbling my vroom! vroom!!!
I had the chance to drive around the newest model of the Kia Picanto and I gotta say, it was impressive! Whoa! I gotta stop gushing like a 16 year old chick here and give you some specs of the model I'm reviewing...
The Specs:
Model: Kia Picantio 2011 (2012)
Engine: 1.0L Kappa MPI I-3 SOHC 12V Engine
Power: 69Hp at 6,200 rpm
Torque: 9.6kg-m at 3,500 rpm.
Transmission options are manual and automatic.
PRICE: The MT variant is priced at Php545,000 while the AT variant is priced at Php599,000.
The one I got to drive is the Automatic Transmission variant.
The competition (Direct):
The Hyundai i10, Suzuki Celerio, Chery QQ(??), Chevrolet Spark
The Interior:
The interior is nothing to sneeze at except possibly when you have a cold.. maybe not even then... unless your cold is really, really bad.
The interiors trim of the dashboard is simple yet elegant.. it's made of hard plastic but doesn't project any cheapness... it really looks sturdy and would last a lot longer than you. The driver's console also looks great with a lit up and readable tachometer, speedometer and fuel gauge. A trip computer is also included so you can monitor your fuel consumption. There is also an eco display which displays "ECO" to let you know if you are driving economically... Duh! One thing I miss is that I can't see the engine temp gauge on the console... according to the manual, when the car is starting to overheat, it will display the Engine Temp symbol on the console... (Hookay! That might be a little too late)... The new Picanto comes with comfortable bucket seats which can be reclined and moved forward or reardward. No height adjustments on the seat but it still gives you a commanding view of the road. The car comes with one glove compartment and at the front passenger seat, below the seat is an extra drawer (for shoes or other documents) which is really cool.
The only real drawback is the boot which is really tiny... you can probably fit 2 duffel bags side by side and then if you want to add some more then you have to stack them up... but if you really need more space, and you're not carrying passengers at the back, you can get some additional space by folding the back seat which folds flat! Not as flat as the boot floor (there's about an inch differnce in height) but flat nonetheless which is more than I can say with other small cars in the same category...
All models available here in the Phiippines come with central locking, car alarm, keyless entry, power windows, power side mirrors, power steering (Motor Driven Power Steering - MDPS) and a CD/radio player. Although here, they swapped the player with a JVC one.. It's decent but the original player was better looking and I think more compatible with the dasboard... they probably swapped it to help slash off the pricing a bit... It also comes with Manual Airconditioning... the climate control was swapped with the manual one... guess why? To slash some price off the top again... The climate control would have given this car a sense of elegance... I mean, a mini car with climate control is almost unheard of unless you're driving a mini cooper.. but alas, price is more important and they had to keep it down to make it competitive in the small car segment.. There's no stop/start engine button in the Philippine model either for the same reasons as the above, I guess.
Regardless of the compromises they had to make to keep pricing down, the interior is still better than most small cars out there.. and that is already saying a lot!
The Exterior:
With an exterior designed by Peter Schreyer (also a designer for Audi), this little car looks really sporty and cool... no more girly designs like the last model. This little car is uh... uhm... a man's little car! Seriously, the exterior is really great from the body design to the sporty headlights! Fog lamps come as standard (Yeah!) and 15" alloy rims are standard (Double Yeah!) on the automatic version. Although it is a small car, it still manages to make itself look like a small tiger and would definitely appeal to the younger dudes out there. I can go on and on and on about how cool and awesome it looks but your taste may vary so let me stop blabbering about the coolness of it's sporty look (Just look at the pictures!).
This new model is a teensy bit longer than the previous model and also a teensy bit wider which gives the impression of better stability (I hope!) while cornering at high speeds (I haven't tried cornering at high speeds and have no intention of doing so)...
A rear wiper and rear backing lights is also available as standard for all variants. It's too bad the electronic folding side mirrors didn't make it to our shores but such is life...
The Ride:
The Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) performs rather well and is very light when running on low speeds for more control but gets a bit stiffer when on higher speeds. Making a U-turn on the new Kia Picanto is easy peasy while parallel parking is a breeze on this car. Although I have to say, the horn on the steering wheel is a bit stiff... I had to press it really hard to get the horn to sound off (I would've used the word honking but somehow it sounds a bit too porny... hehe). Also, there's a bit of sharpness protruding at the edges of the horn too.
Fuel consumption (FC )should be no question on this car since it has a small engine. But I find that my FC at around 8-10KpL which is far from the published Fuel Consumption (16-18KpL for AT and 18-20KpL for the manual). Be reminded though that I have not driven it for long and FC may improve with prolonged usage (or maybe my driving just sucks!).
Summary:
To sum everything up, this proves to be the best version of the Picanto yet. It may not be perfect but it has an almost (emphasis on almost) perfect balance of usability, style and accessories while keeping the price low for the mass market. Which means Kia is really doing something right. I mean, after the success of the Sorento and the Sportage, and spitting out more cool models like the Soul and the new Picanto with the New Rio right on it's heels, the Korean car manufacturer is now proving itself a force to be reckoned with in the automotive industry. If the Japanese Automakers don't watch their back, they just might find themselves looking at Kia's butt from a mile away while eating their dust.
This is my first review of a car and if you're wondering what are my credentials, there is none. I'm just a normal everyday driver just like you and approached this review as such. Take it as you want it.
Update!!! (07.19.2011)
I was able to go to Antipolo today since I had some rather important business to attend to... I brought the 2011 Kia Picanto with me to try out the steady uphill travel to Antipolo. To my delight, there wasn't any problems going up Antipolo, the ride was smooth and I even had the aircon on! Really, this car is great but my FC during the travel was still 8-10Kph which is not good for a 3 cylinder car. If this persists until the first checkup, I'm going to ask the dealer to have this checked out. But this car is still a joy to drive and I hope I get the chance to break it in before the checkup... it might help improve the FC.. who knows... anyway, I'll update this post again once I finish breaking it in.
'Till next everybody! Mumbling my vroom! vroom!!!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
My take on Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Yeah! Transformers 3! Yeah baby!!! The fanboy in me is drooling to get another dose of Transformers and who can blame me?? I mean, I grew up watching Transformers and I bet top dollar that most of the parents of today have too and will be bringing their kids to relive the adventure, the glory and the fun!
Although realistically, most naysayers are expecting the worst and I for one cant blame them... especially after watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Michael Bay made a grand film that would have you hurl due to the zoomed in moving CG graphics. I watched it and the fanboy in me still loves it but I would never deny that I had headaches after watching.
Fortunately, this time around, Michael Bay cleaned up his shi** and made an impressive and smooth moving action sequences with his CG stars and cast and gave us 2 and a half hours of gleeful Autobots, wholesale destruction, sexy chicks and wanton abandonment of all reason!!! It was a fun movie that never gave you time to rebound and just kept on hitting you with action and then more action and then a touch of comedy and then more explosions and action and somewhere in between, Michael Bay was able to showcase the sexiness of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (the replacement for Megan Fox!)
This was a fun family film and on the day that I watched it, I had to stay in line for an hour++ just to get tickets for the second to the last full show!!
Sidenote gripe: I watched the movie at SM Digital cinema and in 3D and I had to pay extra because there was popcorn bundled with the ticket??? WTF??? If I wanted some popcorn, I'd buy a popcorn!!! Don't charge me for something that I MIGHT POSSIBLY want to eat while watching an awesome movie!!! If you are going to do this, at least make it an option and not a requirement! And as if adding insult to injury, I had to get in line for another 40 minutes for the damned popcorn!!!
Hoookay!!! Sorry about the gripe but I just had to get it off my chest... where were we! Oh yeah! I was shamelessly plugging the Transformers Dark of the Moon movie!!! Most reviews say that story wise, it has a lot of holes. There is even a Youtube video depicting some scenes which they claim were recycled action scenes from another Michael Bay movie (The Island, I think)... Whatever you may believe, believe this, it is a movie worth your hard earned money because I am doubly sure that this movie will keep you entertained from start to finish! 'nuff said!
'till next guys! Mumbling while transforming...
Although realistically, most naysayers are expecting the worst and I for one cant blame them... especially after watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Michael Bay made a grand film that would have you hurl due to the zoomed in moving CG graphics. I watched it and the fanboy in me still loves it but I would never deny that I had headaches after watching.
Fortunately, this time around, Michael Bay cleaned up his shi** and made an impressive and smooth moving action sequences with his CG stars and cast and gave us 2 and a half hours of gleeful Autobots, wholesale destruction, sexy chicks and wanton abandonment of all reason!!! It was a fun movie that never gave you time to rebound and just kept on hitting you with action and then more action and then a touch of comedy and then more explosions and action and somewhere in between, Michael Bay was able to showcase the sexiness of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (the replacement for Megan Fox!)
This was a fun family film and on the day that I watched it, I had to stay in line for an hour++ just to get tickets for the second to the last full show!!
Sidenote gripe: I watched the movie at SM Digital cinema and in 3D and I had to pay extra because there was popcorn bundled with the ticket??? WTF??? If I wanted some popcorn, I'd buy a popcorn!!! Don't charge me for something that I MIGHT POSSIBLY want to eat while watching an awesome movie!!! If you are going to do this, at least make it an option and not a requirement! And as if adding insult to injury, I had to get in line for another 40 minutes for the damned popcorn!!!
Hoookay!!! Sorry about the gripe but I just had to get it off my chest... where were we! Oh yeah! I was shamelessly plugging the Transformers Dark of the Moon movie!!! Most reviews say that story wise, it has a lot of holes. There is even a Youtube video depicting some scenes which they claim were recycled action scenes from another Michael Bay movie (The Island, I think)... Whatever you may believe, believe this, it is a movie worth your hard earned money because I am doubly sure that this movie will keep you entertained from start to finish! 'nuff said!
'till next guys! Mumbling while transforming...
Friday, July 1, 2011
The Matrix: Lobby Scene -- A Capella style!
You gotta watch this!
Remember the iconic lobby scene from The Matrix movie? It was awesome! Guns blazing, dudes flying and chicks.. uhm... being chicks.. :)
Anyway, Matt Mulholland changed the scene by taking out the audio and replacing it with his one man A Capella version... it's awesome!
'till next everybody...
mumbling my pew, pew, pew... boom!
Remember the iconic lobby scene from The Matrix movie? It was awesome! Guns blazing, dudes flying and chicks.. uhm... being chicks.. :)
Anyway, Matt Mulholland changed the scene by taking out the audio and replacing it with his one man A Capella version... it's awesome!
'till next everybody...
mumbling my pew, pew, pew... boom!
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