The Schengen area covers 29 European countries on a single short-stay visa, which makes it the most sought-after and the most rule-bound application we handle. Two rules decide where you apply: the main destination rule, and where that is unclear, the first entry rule. Applying at the wrong mission gets the file returned, not refused - but it costs you the appointment slot and the fee, which in Nairobi means weeks.
Where to find us
Neehari Global Limited
One Africa Place, Waiyaki Way, Westlands
Nairobi, 00100
Kenya
Our map is at the bottom of every page.
Who this service is for
We handle schengen visa application for a wide range of travellers, and the right approach differs considerably between them. A salaried employee with a five-year employment history and a self-employed trader with no payslips need entirely different files, even for the same destination on the same dates. If you recognise yourself below, we have done this many times before.
- Holidaymakers visiting one or several European countries
- Business travellers attending European meetings and trade fairs
- Kenyans visiting family resident in Europe
- Delegates attending conferences in the Schengen area
- Travellers transiting Europe who need more than airside access
How long it takes
Consulates work to a 15 calendar day standard from the date of the appointment. This can be extended to 45 days where additional documents are requested. Applications can be lodged up to six months before travel, and we recommend applying at least a month out.
Those are the mission's own processing standards, and they are only half the picture. In Nairobi the binding constraint is usually appointment availability rather than processing: slots at the visa application centres are released in batches, taken within minutes, and at their tightest around the December and August peaks. Build your plan around the date you can actually be seen, not around the published turnaround. We will tell you what is realistically available before you commit to a flight.
How we handle your application
- Free consultation. We establish the correct visa category, the right mission and a realistic date. Getting this wrong at the start costs more than anything else.
- Tailored checklist. You get a document list built for your circumstances, not a generic printout.
- Document review. We check every item for consistency before anything is submitted. See our visa document review service.
- Form completion. We complete the application and send it to you to verify line by line before submission.
- Appointment. We secure the earliest workable slot at the relevant centre - see appointment booking.
- Tracking. We monitor the file and respond to any request for further documents during processing.
- Decision and collection. We tell you what the decision means and what happens next, including passport collection.
What the mission is actually deciding
The main destination rule causes more wasted appointments than anything else we deal with. It is not about which country you fly into, and it is not about which embassy has slots available - it is about where you will spend the most nights. Only where the nights are genuinely equal does the first point of entry decide it. Applicants regularly apply to whichever consulate they can get into soonest, and the file comes back unprocessed weeks later with the appointment gone and the season lost. The second recurring problem is subtler: asking for the maximum ninety days when the trip is twelve. It reads as someone keeping options open, which is precisely the intention the officer is assessing. Ask for the dates you will actually travel, plus a small buffer, and let the compliance record earn you longer validity next time.
After the decision
Check the visa sticker before you leave the collection point. The dates, the number of entries and the permitted duration of stay are all printed on it, and they are not always what you requested. The ninety-day allowance is also a rolling calculation across any one hundred and eighty days for the whole area, not a fresh allowance per country or per trip - miscounting it is a common and expensive mistake.
Why applying from Nairobi is different
Most of the guidance you will find online about schengen visa was written for applicants in Europe or North America, and it quietly assumes things that are not true here. It assumes appointment slots are available within days. It assumes a salaried applicant with a payslip. It assumes a long personal travel history already sitting in the passport. For a great many Kenyan applicants none of those hold, and a file built on that advice will be missing exactly the evidence a consular officer covering this region is looking for.
What actually works from Nairobi is documenting the things that are true about your life rather than mimicking a template: a business rather than an employer, family and property here rather than a long stamp collection, regional travel history rather than European. We build files around that, and we do it for clients across the city - from Westlands to Kilimani and Lavington.
Is this the right category for your trip?
A Schengen visa is not valid for Ireland, and the UK sits entirely outside the arrangement - see our UK visa service. If your trip covers both, you need two applications, and the sequencing matters because your passport can only be in one place at a time.
What you pay, and what it covers
There are two separate costs in any visa application and it is worth keeping them apart. The first is the mission's own visa fee, plus any visa centre service charge and optional priority fee. That money goes to them, is set by them, changes periodically, and is not refundable if the application is refused. The second is our consultancy fee, which covers the consultation, the tailored checklist, document review, form completion, appointment booking and tracking of the file through to decision.
We quote both in writing before you commit to anything, and the initial consultation is free. We do not take a percentage of anything, we do not mark up the mission's fees, and we do not charge a success fee - a fee structure that rewards us for a decision we do not control would not be honest. If your case is one where you genuinely do not need us, we will say so.
Schengen Visa clients across Nairobi
We handle schengen visa applications for clients right across the city. A large share of this work comes from Westlands, where westlands generates a particular mix of applications: business visas for the professional services firms and tech companies clustered around chiromo and waiyaki way, sche. We also see steady demand from clients in Kilimani, and from Lavington and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Wherever you are in Nairobi, most of the process runs over email and WhatsApp - you only need to attend the visa centre in person for biometrics.
We also serve these areas
Frequently asked questions
Which country do I apply to if I am visiting three?
The one where you will spend the most nights. If the nights are evenly split, apply to the country you enter first. Getting this wrong means the file is returned rather than decided.
How long can I stay on a Schengen visa?
A short-stay visa permits up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period across the whole area, subject to the dates actually printed on your visa sticker.
Can I get a multiple-entry Schengen visa first time?
It is possible but uncommon for a first application. Missions increasingly issue longer multi-entry visas to applicants with a clean history of prior compliance.
Is the 30,000 euro insurance really mandatory?
Yes. It is a legal condition of the visa, not a preference, and applications are refused for its absence.
Do I need to attend in person?
Yes, for biometrics, unless you have given fingerprints for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months. We book the appointment and prepare you for it.
Which countries are in the Schengen area?
Twenty-nine European states. Ireland is not among them and operates its own visa, and the UK sits entirely outside the arrangement. If your trip covers those, you need separate applications.
Can I enter through a different country than the one I applied to?
Yes, provided your main destination remains the country that issued the visa. The first entry rule only decides where you apply when nights are evenly split.
What does the 90/180 rule actually mean?
On any given day, look back over the previous 180 days and count the days you were inside the Schengen area. That total must not exceed 90. It is a rolling window, not a calendar reset.
Related services
What we commit to
Local SEO copy is cheap and promises are cheaper, so here is what we will actually hold ourselves to. We quote our fee and the mission's separate fees in writing before you pay anything, and the first consultation costs nothing. We do not guarantee approvals, because the decision belongs to a consular officer and no consultant controls it - anyone in Nairobi telling you otherwise is either selling something or planning to blame the embassy later.
We will not produce documents on your behalf, invent employment, or supply an insurance certificate that does not correspond to a real policy. Those are the fastest routes to a deception finding and a multi-year ban, and they end careers as well as trips. If we think your case is straightforward enough to file yourself, we will say so and charge you for the review rather than the full service. And if we think a deadline genuinely cannot be met, you will hear that on the first call rather than the week before you fly.
Ready to start your schengen visa?
Free initial consultation. We reply on WhatsApp within a few hours on business days.
Get in touch. Start early. It costs nothing to ask. The first consultation is free. Speak to a consultant today. Documents matter more than promises. Our office is in Westlands, Nairobi. Most of the process happens remotely. Bring your passport and recent bank statements. Ask us before you buy a ticket. We quote all fees in writing beforehand. You attend in person only for biometrics. No approval is ever guaranteed, by us or anyone else. Every application is handled by a named consultant. We will tell you honestly what is achievable. We reply on WhatsApp within a few hours on business days.