Authorities are being urged to intervene as Indian tourists who intend to visit the Schengen Area this summer are having trouble obtaining appointment times.

Many Indians have had to postpone or cancel their vacation plans to the region due to the limited number of slots available for appointments for Schengen visas, which is frustrating.

Indian travel agents have also expressed their displeasure with the state of affairs. The Travel Agents Federation of India’s Vice-President, Anil Kalsi, pointed out that most Schengen member states don’t have any appointments available till the summer. In particular, July is when the earliest slots that are available for Germany and Italy are.

Due to the current circumstances, Indian nationals intending to visit Europe in June or July will not be able to acquire a German or Italian Schengen visa in time.

A VFS Global representative responded to the criticism by emphasizing that the number of appointments is decided by Schengen member states. The representative cautioned prospective candidates against waiting until the last minute to apply for a visa. Applications for Schengen visas can be submitted as early as six months in advance of the anticipated travel date, with the latest appointment conceivable being two weeks beforehand, contingent upon availability, according to recent modifications made by the EU Commission.

Furthermore, the EU has implemented more advantageous Schengen visa regulations for Indian nationals as of April of this year. Indian tourists who meet the requirements will now be granted longer-validity multiple-entry visas by Schengen member states. In particular, Indians are eligible for a two-year multiple-entry visa if they have properly obtained and utilized two Schengen visas in the previous three years and can demonstrate a history of travel to the bloc. If the applicant’s passport is still valid, a five-year Schengen visa can frequently be obtained after this one.

Indian nationals applied for a Schengen visa with 966,687 in 2023, placing them third in line behind Chinese and Turkish nationals, who applied for visas with 1,117,365 and 1,055,885, respectively. 151,752 of the Indian applicants had their visa applications denied, leaving 811,290 with visas.

Last year, the countries that granted Indians the most Schengen visas were Germany, France, and Switzerland, with 166,919, 146,938, and 118,919 visas granted each.