Indians' Europe holiday faces a visa traffic jam
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Getting a Schengen visa remains a challenge for Indian travellers looking to spend their summer holidays in exotic locales in Europe.Delays in Schengen visa approvals are continuing for the fourth straight year in 2025 amid soaring demand from Indian tourists, and staff shortages at embassies and consulates, travel companies said.Germany has persistent appointment availability issues, while the processing time for Netherlands is officially up to 45 days, according to travel industry executives."We have not experienced any applications processed before the turnaround time," said a travel agency executive requesting anonymity. "We are told the challenge is that visas are stamped in India, but the embassy staff needs to wait for an approval per case, and that comes from the Netherlands. We are hearing that Croatia and Finland also require an approval from the headquarters and that is causing delays," the person said.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)People said visa-related appointments for Italy are currently unavailable due to 'Jubilee2025'. They said applicants could face delays across locations as the embassy and consular staff are busy supporting a special 'Tourism-Jubilee' visa for those participating in pilgrimages to Rome organised by local churches.The scenario this year is quite similar to that of 2024, noted Karan Aggarwal, director at Cox & Kings. "Italy and Germany continue to face delays. Countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary are increasingly becoming better choices because of faster appointment availability, and can be smart entry points into Europe," he said.Abraham Alapatt, president and group head for marketing, service quality, value added services and innovation at Thomas Cook (India) said Europe continues to witness "strong" demand this summer as well. "Most of our visas are applied for Switzerland, France, Hungary and Spain. The current position indicates available slots within approximately a week for all the above missions across India, with a processing time of 10-15 days," he added.Kartik Batra, founder of travel services provider Travexo, said applicants are facing challenges for Italy. "Visa processing could take up to 60 days for Croatia, while Estonia has a rejection rate of 37-38%. Mid-April onwards, it becomes difficult to get appointments because of the summer rush, and this year is no different.He said France and Switzerland have faster processing times with most visa approvals within a week, but the Netherlands is facing issues. "I have clients in Bengaluru, and it took them 45 days to get their visas for the Netherlands. Delhi is facing delays too," he said.Shikhar Aggarwal, joint managing director, BLS International, which handles visa applications for Spain, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Germany and Czech Republic, said while some Schengen countries may be experiencing delays, travellers can avoid the rush by following 'key' guidelines."Visa applications can be submitted up to six months in advance-early planning ensures better appointment availability and a smoother experience," he said. "Several countries also offer priority processing or mobile biometrics, particularly for groups and corporate travellers."Europe is also dealing with its own set of challenges. Some European residents are protesting against the rising tourist traffic. Louvre, the world's most visited museum, shut down on Monday, as per reports, after its staff went on a strike against mass tourism.
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