Scant slots, lengthy waits: Where have all the Schengen visas gone?

Every day, Mishra would diligently log into BLS International's portal, the authoritative website for Spain's Schengen visas. Despite his accordant efforts, securing an assignment for a summertime question visa, remained an uphill battle. 

Weeks passed, past months, but determination was nary assignment successful sight. He yet opted for an unconventional solution aft exhausting each his avenues, including trying to usage different visa handlers who could unafraid slots done different means.

He had to reluctantly ammunition retired a hefty interest of ₹30,000 for a "visa-at-your-doorstep" appointment, which costs 3 times much than the existent visa processing interest and commissions. 

Mishra's communicative isn't 1 from the visa scenery of the pandemic but for 2024 upcoming summertime travel, wherever bureaucratic hurdles inactive beryllium contempt a alteration successful authorities and deficiency of involvement successful embassies to trim the hold clip for tourists.

Navigating done the complexities of planetary borders and regulations has ne'er been easy. But visas to Europe person remained arsenic elusive to get arsenic past twelvemonth and the twelvemonth before. On average, the adjacent disposable assignment day for a Schengen visa is 30-45 days, a apical online question agency's elder enforcement confirmed to Mint.

The Schengen country refers to a radical of European countries that person abolished passport and different types of borderline controls astatine their communal borders to let escaped question of people. 

The country presently comprises 26 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Scandinavia and Switzerland.

The alteration successful the visa authorities for Schengen was earlier termed a crippled changer for predominant travellers. The criteria are that if you had 2 Schengen visas issued to you successful the past 3 years, you could beryllium eligible to use for a multiple-entry visa. But however galore truly qualify? A bully portion of the past 3 years had seen 2 waves of the pandemic and throttling of flights.

Germany’s envoy Georg Enzweiler, who is the lawman caput of ngo here, told Mint past week that the state is doing its champion to marque question to their state arsenic casual arsenic possible.

 "Yes, determination is the Schengen visa authorities and we person to grip it but the fig of issued visas person gone up and visa hold times person gone down to conscionable a fewer days successful the past 1 year," Enzweiler had said astatine the sidelines of a tourism lawsuit held by the German National Tourist Organisation past week.

Enzweiler said, visa numbers from India to Germany had accrued for some Schengen and the 'National Visa' it issued, going up to astir 1.7 lakh successful 2023-24, with a 41% summation compared to the erstwhile year.

But that whitethorn beryllium precise acold from reality. A visa hold clip papers accessed by Mint from a question relation paints a wholly antithetic picture. Italy has astir wholly stopped offering immoderate slots connected the VFS level for its short-term tourer visa class from cities similar Delhi. 

For Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, the hold to get an assignment is precise long, anyplace betwixt 1 and 3 months.

Iceland, Portugal, Spain, and Hungary practically person nary slots disposable successful astir places either. Wait times including processing the visa tin scope anyplace betwixt 15-75 days, arsenic was the lawsuit with Mishra. 

However, determination are immoderate notable exceptions similar Scandinavia arsenic good arsenic for the Czech Republic. For these countries, determination are appointments disposable wrong the adjacent fewer weeks. Countries similar Spain and Hungary lone merchandise appointments erstwhile a month, said the earlier cited OTA player.

If you're fortunate capable to get a slot, past determination is the adjacent hurdle: processing clip which tin spell arsenic precocious arsenic 7-20 moving days. 

As an alternative, galore question companies are promoting different unconventional destinations, including South Korea, South Africa, Japan, Brazil, Egypt and Turkey. In astir cases, their hold clip is arsenic debased arsenic zero to 3 days. Unexpected gainers are besides countries similar Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia which person casual visas.

Also Read: ‘Suite' surprise: Discounts rainfall astatine 5-star hotels for summer, autumn travel

Enzweiler, connected the different hand, said helium is connected a ngo to trim hold times, with much unit being hired by his embassy to woody with the added volumes. 

“I americium not going to blasted radical for choosing alternate locations erstwhile determination are countries with visa delays. But determination has been a alteration successful caller regulations which means Indians suffice much rapidly for agelong word visas," Enzweiler said.

“It is besides successful the embassy's involvement to contented longer word visas due to the fact that adjacent connected the bureaucratic side, it means we don't person to header with that galore radical filing applications again and again. We person besides present employed much unit to beryllium capable to woody with rising request and are rather optimistic that we would beryllium capable to person much Indians to question to us."

While visa hold times are down it is lone much recently, with holiday season beginning, that the hold times are experiencing immoderate delays, helium said. But adjacent past the embassy is moving to process applications successful one-two weeks, helium added. For Germany now, visa rejection rates are astir 10%.

Indian travellers' late-booking cognition could beryllium compounding the issue. Rajeev Kale, president and state caput for holidays, MICE and visa astatine Thomas Cook (India) said, “We are traditionally a late-booking marketplace and publication precise adjacent to our vacation plans. To promote aboriginal consideration, the institution had launched its 2024 tours good successful beforehand successful October past twelvemonth with aboriginal booking offers." 

"However, arsenic we caput into highest season, the visa process, though an betterment implicit past year, is inactive seeing signs of constraints fixed the dual challenges of assignment slots and processing time," helium said.

Spate of cancellations

Bharatt Kumaar Malik, elder concern caput for Yatra Online for the user question vertical said the institution was seeing a spike successful the request for question to Schengen destinations for astir a period now. 

Generally, question portals pre-book seats with the airlines and edifice rooms to beryllium capable to seizure deals and request successful beforehand for the customer. 

However, this twelvemonth is going to beryllium hard due to the fact that determination volition beryllium a batch of pre-purchased inventory and less radical volition beryllium capable to question there. 

"We are incapable to enactment immoderate fig connected it yet but yes we are anticipating a diminution successful question to Europe and person already seen immoderate groups cancel their plans to Italy and much specified cancellations volition hap successful June and July," helium said. Instead, travellers person to take locations similar Bhutan, Almaty, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Also Read: Beer battles predetermination blues, gin toasts summertime gains 

N. Chirag Travels's MD Riaz Munshi, who is besides the president of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, said the UK, Scandinavian countries and Switzerland are inactive a small easier to get an assignment for. 

However, this play could beryllium a small spot of a washout for European question adjacent though determination is persistent demand. 

"It looks similar a batch of outbound question operators whitethorn suffer this play of concern too. Communication should beryllium a small amended due to the fact that it's not arsenic if the question operators determination don't privation the business, but the diplomatic missions request to walk much clip connected the visa processes too," helium said.

Greece has a precocious refusal complaint due to the fact that lone precocious the full consulate had a alteration of defender successful India. 

“You whitethorn get a visa, but it won't beryllium successful a hurry. Even for countries similar Croatia, there's a hold clip of respective weeks for passports that are good stamped for those who already person been issued Schengen visas successful the past, but for first-time Schengen state travellers, a visa anticipation whitethorn beryllium a full constitute off. Despite confirmed tickets and blocked hotels, radical are conscionable being rejected." 

"The value-driven traveller is astir apt going to determination distant rather rapidly due to the fact that they can't beryllium losing wealth connected confirmed formation tickets and hotels successful lawsuit the visa doesn't come," said a apical level enforcement astatine a ample question firm.

"Also, due to the fact that determination are precise fewer slots disposable connected the embassies' front, visa work providers are utilizing this clip to profiteer and connection these slots successful a mode to lone those that tin spend their at-your-door mobile biometrics which were conceived during the pandemic truthful radical could capable their visa applications successful isolation. Their occupation was ne'er to go a benignant of morganatic achromatic selling tool," the idiosyncratic added.

Daniel D’souza, president and state caput for holidays for Thomas Cook India's SOTC Travel added that determination could beryllium an alternate solution. With shortening of booking windows alternatively than challenging visa processes, e-visas tin go a crippled changer. 

Several destinations similar Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, and Morocco person pivoted to a integer model, and with overmuch success. 

"Issuance of semipermanent multi-entry visas volition besides service to easiness the load connected consular teams portion simultaneously creating opportunities for repetition visitations. Yes, the Schengen cascade authorities is simply a invaluable initiative, nevertheless we expect that this (upgrade to longer word visas) volition commencement seeing affirmative interaction lone successful the mean to agelong term." helium said.

Unlock a satellite of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time banal tracking, breaking quality and a personalized newsfeed – it's each here, conscionable a click away! Login Now!

Published: 05 May 2024, 02:43 PM IST