The Filipina whose Reddit posts went viral after revealing that her visa was approved — thanks to the Taylor Swift concert tickets that she submitted on her reapplication — has now revealed her identity.
Nina Comia, a 34-year-old Taylor Swift fan (Swiftie) from Laguna, Philippines, recently shared with The Filipino Times the narrative of how she successfully obtained a Schengen Visa.
“We are planning to celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday [in] Vatican City and we have to apply for a Schengen visa,” she said.
She shared that her mom already had a previous visa history which made it easier for her to reapply.
“I, on the other hand, is my first time to apply,” she said.
Nina admitted that on her first application, her papers were inconsistent, which she shared, made it look like she had no plans of leaving the Schengen territory. She also told them that she was going to Qatar after her Italy trip.
She immediately reapplied after it was denied.
After learning her lesson, Nina attached more important documents like bank certificates from payroll, credit card, and savings account.
“But kinakabahan ako na ma deny ulit. So sa cover letter ko I specifically mentioned na ‘If it helps, I will attend the Taylor Swift Concert in SG,’ then attached my hotel booking sa Fullerton, VIP3 ticket via Klook, at airline booking.”
She made it clear that after Italy, she will be flying to Qatar, and then she will be attending the Taylor Swift concert in Singapore.
“It was supposedly done as a joke lang, but my sister told me na ‘i-attach mo na’…then sabi ko na lang ‘sige nga lagay ko na, tignan natin power ni Taylor Swift.”
After that, she received a call to visit the embassy to sign papers and then her visa was approved.
She was thankful that aside from her additional documents, the tickets were a big help in the approval of her visa.
Nina shared that she posted her situation on reddit because she found it funny. She was not expecting that it would gain traction from netizens. She mentioned that she had to delete her Reddit account to maintain privacy. She also confronted the user who posted on X, asking him as to why her username was not kept confidential.
— Samarth 🍥 (@iamstake) January 6, 2024
“I have to delete my account kasi nag viral sa India and Google, may nakita pa akong Youtube video about it. It was my mom who saw the Indian Article,” she shared.
When asked about how she found out about the article written by The Filipino Times, she said that she saw it on her newsfeed shared by her friends from Dubai. We asked her how she felt about it, she said:
“Nagulat lang din talaga at medyo kinakabahan… I didn’t expect na aabot sa Filipino community yung experience ko sa Schengen visa application.”
Now laughing about it, Nina shared that the reason she reached out to The Filipino Times is to share her side of the story. Aside from the impact of Taylor Swift, she wanted to remind her fellow Filipinos to abide by the rules and requirements in visa processing.
She said, “Embassies kasi [want to secure and assure] that we’re not there to break any rules but to admire their country.”
“I am just really happy and thankful to the Italian embassy that the visa was granted the second application and I can celebrate and be with my mom during her milestone. Maybe they really saw my intent this time,” she added.
May her story serve as a valuable reminder of how it is important to submit accurate and complete documents during the visa application process as it underscores the significance of adhering to the rules and requirements set by embassies to ensure a smooth and successful application.
