Indian travellers planning to visit the Schengen Area this summer are reporting a lack of available appointment slots and are urging authorities to take action. Frustrated by the limited availability of Schengen visa appointment slots, some Indians have been forced to postpone or cancel their travel plans to the bloc.

Indian travel agents share this dissatisfaction. Anil Kalsi, Vice-President of the Travel Agents Federation of India, stated that most Schengen member states have no available appointments until summer. For Germany and Italy, the earliest slots are in July. In response to complaints from Indian Schengen visa applicants and travel agents, a VFS Global spokesperson highlighted that the allocation of appointment slots is determined by Schengen member states.

They also urged applicants to avoid waiting until the last minute to apply for a visa. According to recent changes by the EU Commission, Schengen visa applications can be submitted up to six months before the planned travel date. However, the latest an appointment can be scheduled is two weeks before the travel date, subject to slot availability. In April, the EU Commission decided to adopt more favorable Schengen visa-issuing rules for Indian citizens.

To facilitate travel to the EU, Schengen member states will now begin issuing multiple-entry visas with extended validity to Indians. However, not all Indians will qualify for these visas. According to EU authorities, two-year multiple-entry visas will be granted to Indians who have lawfully obtained and used two Schengen visas in the past three years and have an established travel history to the EU.

In most cases, this two-year visa will be followed by a five-year Schengen visa, provided the applicant's passport has sufficient validity. In 2023, Indian nationals submitted a total of 966,687 Schengen visa applications, making India the third-largest source of applicants.

Only nationals from China and Turkey submitted more applications, with 1,117,365 and 1,055,885 applications, respectively. Despite the high number of Indian applicants, not all were granted visas. Out of the total applicants, 811,290 received visas, while 151,752 had their applications rejected.

Last year, Switzerland, France, and Germany issued the highest number of Schengen visas to Indian nationals. Switzerland issued 166,919 visas, France issued 146,938, and Germany issued 118,919 to Indian passport holders.