Schengen visa delays hit summer vacation travel plans for Europe, ET TravelWorld

Croatia may be gorgeous in June, when the kids have their summer vacation, but if you have just started planning your holiday, it may just be too late for you to hang out on the Adriatic Sea. There is no visa slot open for the next two months. The same holds for several European countries, where delays and strict document requirements leading to rejections, are leaving both travellers and travel agents exasperated and people venting out their frustration on Visa providers for alleged delays.While post-Covid revenge travel, especially to international destinations, continues to hit the roof, getting the Schengen visa has become a problem—especially for certain countries.

Take the case of Croatia, which has become a popular destination and became part of the Schengen agreement last year. “We regularly check for appointment availability and have not been successful in catching even one slot since the beginning of 2024,” says visa and immigration consultant Cyrus Sethna. “If an appointment is miraculously secured, the visa process takes a staggering 60 days before the passport is returned to the traveller.” Dates for Iceland are also not available.

A leading Visa provider firm in India – is facing the heat of customers over the delays.

Travel agents say that people who have been rejected or have not found an opening to apply, are forced to lie about their destinations and sometimes go via the Scandavian countries where slots tend to be more available. But, warns a travel agent, know that you can’t apply to Norway if you really want to go to Spain, because they are geographically too far apart and it is likely that you might get caught out. There’s also a parallel system where some visa agents charge double the price and somehow procure a slot.

“VFS Global does not control processing timelines of visa applications, neither does it control appointment availability. These are governed and controlled by our client governments,” says a VFS Global spokesperson.

“Applicants are advised to beware of fraudulent entities who charge fees from customers for scheduling appointments, using VFS Global’s name or independently.”

Greece is a bit of a hit and miss, say travel agents, pointing out that last year it had halted visa applications for the entire month of May. While some visas are processed quickly, in certain instances, they can take up to six weeks, with no option for expedited service. Another travel agent points out that her client had booked an island-hopping trip in Greece for her family, but the visas got declined and she eventually applied for a Schengen from Hungary, even though Budapest was afar cry from the Grecian agenda. It also was a needlessly additional cost for the family of four.

Last year, Italy opened no appointment slots the entire summer. However, this year they have been lenient, allowing quick appointments to those who have previously held a Schengen visa. But if there is no prior visa, thenthere are virtually no dates. Spain has been fairly consistent about giving visas, but as of now, there are no appointment slots.

Before March, things were quite easy and we were getting slots but suddenly they seem to have disappeared, says travel agent Vipul Bhuva. “I had booked so many tickets thinking that the client wo-uld get the visa and now we have to change the itinerary. But it causes too much anxiety.” Main problem countries tend to be Spain, Italy, France and Switzerland because they are more popular among Indian tourists.

The pile-ups and confusion are forcing vacationers to look at other destinations. Despite the heat, some are op-ting for Asia trips which might take them to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, or travelling to African countries, both of which have eased their visa requirements. Australia and New Zealand are too far. “Pre-Covid, if you wanted to travel in May, you could apply in April, and you’d be fine,” says Sethna. “Clearly, consulates and embassies are not able to keep up with the numbers which are going up every year.”