Schengen Visa Issuing Delays Irritate Indian Ministry of External Affairs

The EU countries that issue Schengen visas have been dealing with staff shortages, and thus, the wait for visas is longer than before, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Different EU embassies were dealing with a high number of visa applications before too. However, as soon as the COVID restrictions got lifted, the demand increased even more.

The sudden increase found embassies unprepared and understaffed. As a result, the majority of embassies in India were unable to meet the demand, leaving applicants waiting for weeks for their applications to be processed.

Commenting on the high demand for a Schengen visa, an EU mission insider said for Economic Times that the number of visa applications in 2022 was unprecedented.

Due to the high demand, there are no visa appointments available until mid-September. The travel industry executives revealed last week that the Schengen Area countries do not have available slots for July and August. It was explained that some countries might have some available slots for August. However, the number is very limited.

This means that all nationals of India who were hoping to get a visa and then travel to a Schengen country will be unable to do so until there are available appointments.

Since citizens of India who do not hold a Schengen visa will have to change their holiday plans due to the delays, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs raised the matter with the EU missions. ET explains that France and Spain made special efforts to ease the process.

The Czech Republic and Switzerland also made an effort by flying extra staff to ensure that the visa issuing process runs smoothly.

The Ministry of External Affairs of India is also in touch with Poland. The Ministry is requiring Poland to ease the visa issuing process as many Indian students are choosing Poland as a study destination.

While the other embassies are yet to entirely solve their issue, the Greece Embassy in New Delhi has already done so.

The Embassy of Greece in New Delhi said earlier this month that it had resolved all of its Schengen visa processing issues in its Consular Office. Additionally, the Embassy pointed out that everyone who wishes to enter Greece for travel or business purposes can apply for a visa without worrying about processing delays.