Applying for a Schengen visa in India is becoming difficult day by day. The long waiting times of obtaining an appointment to submit a Schengen visa application were already never easy but this summer has made it to peaks. Many Indian nationals are complaining about long waiting times either for a business or a pleasure trip to the Schengen countries.
The issue is booming especially after an announcement made by the EU last month about issuing Indian nationals multiple visas for the Schengen zone.
The story does not end here, the applicants, especially those who are applying for the visa first time, must submit a lot of required documents. These can be job or business-related and ties to the country of origin.
There have been many cases where the applicants have been demanded to report to the embassy once they complete their visit to the Schengen country and get back to India reports theweek.in. This is to make sure the applicant has not overstayed in the member countries.
Schengen visa in general brings a lot of benefits such as a single visa for 29 countries. Once an applicant is granted a Schengen visa, he can travel to any of the member states of the Schengen zone.
In India, in 2022 alone about 671,928 short-term visa applications were submitted for different Schengen countries. Indian nationals remain in the top 5 positions for the statistics of most visa applications submitted or visas granted.
How to avoid issues applying for a Schengen visa in India?
Applying for a Schengen visa requires a lot of hustle and time in India. The applicants have to arrange a lot of documents to satisfy the visa applicant that their trip is genuine.
They also have to assure the embassy that they will come back to India after completing their intended stay in the Schengen countries. Still in many cases, even after submitting all the required documents, the visa application can be refused and the visa fee is surely non-refundable. These reasons should be good enough to well plan your trip and arrange the documents for the visa application as asked by the embassy of the respective country.
There are some key points you should keep in mind before applying for the visa and these will help you save time, money, and energy:
- As the applicants are allowed to apply as early as six months before the intended travel date, plan your visit in a way that you do not wait a lot before applying;
- You can call the relevant visa application center to acquire about waiting times for appointments for submitting your visa application;
- Make a use account well before applying for the visa so that you can check from time to time if there are early slots available for the submission of the visa application;
- If you can spare some extra money, buying a premium appointment slot can also be an option;
- Try to get the visa appointment at the outsourced visa application centers in India such as VFS Global or BLS well before the travel date—we recommend 3 to 4 months before;
- Do prepare your Cover Letter and Itinerary properly so that the visa officer gets an idea of where you want to travel exactly and if you are a genuine visitor;
- Your passport should be valid for 6 months even after the expiry of your intended return date;
- You submit relevant documents with your visa application in case you are employed or self-employed; and
- Do not forget to include all documents that show your ties with India. This will help the visa officer believe that you will come back to India after the intended travel trip.
Though these issues make it difficult for new applicants to apply for the visa through a smooth process, still they make it happen. We still believe if you fulfill the requirements and eligibility criteria set by the EU, you can be granted the visa without any issues. If you want to apply for the Schengen visa of any member country, you can read here our dedicated “Article” about it.
Multiple Entry Schengen Visa for Indians
As per the announcement of 18 April 2024, Indian nationals will be able to get multiple Schengen visas. These new visa “cascade” rules are more favorable for Indians (who live in India) than the previously applied standard Schengen visa codes.
A multiple Schengen visa is of either 2 or 5 years of duration. According to the “cascade” visa regime for Indians, the Multiple entries Schengen visa can be granted to Indian citizens upon:
- proofs of established travel history such as the applicant has used previously issued two Schengen visas lawfully in the last 3 years; and
- if the passport validity allows it.