Schengen Visa: What You Need to Know About Wait Times for France, Italy, and Switzerland

The practicalities of securing a visa can quickly dampen the excitement of planning a summer vacation in Europe. A Schengen visa is required for most non-European nationals travelling to the Schengen area, which comprises 26 countries in Europe.

The Schengen Visa allows visitors to stay in the region for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

The process of obtaining a Schengen visa, on the other hand, can be time-consuming and stressful, with different wait times for appointments and processing depending on the country you intend to visit.

Wait Times for Schengen Visas

Wait times for visa appointments and processing can vary for visitors planning to visit France, Italy, or Switzerland. As of 20 February, the following countries have the next available slots for short-stay and tourist visa appointments at VFS Global:

France

The French embassy accepts visa applications for short-term and tourist visas in some Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, and Hyderabad. Still, appointments are not available in New Delhi or Chennai.

Italy

The Italian embassy is not currently accepting visa applications for short-stay and tourist visas in most of the cities in India, including New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad. As of now, appointments are only available in Kolkata.

Switzerland

The Swiss embassy is accepting visa applications for short-stay and tourist visas in some cities of India, including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, and Hyderabad, but appointments are not available in Mumbai.

Germany

The German embassy is accepting visa applications for short-stay and tourist visas in some cities of India, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad. Still, appointments are not available in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata.

Denmark

Currently, the Danish embassy is not accepting visa applications for short-stay and tourist visas in any city of India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune.

Netherlands

The Dutch embassy is accepting visa applications for short-stay and tourist visas in some cities of India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata. Still, appointments are not available in some cities.

Countries with High Visa Rejection Rates

Travellers should be aware of the countries with high visa rejection rates before scheduling an appointment. According to recent visa application statistics, France, Germany, and Spain had the most short-term visa application rejections in 2021.

France, in fact, rejected 21% of all visa applications received, the most of any of these countries, with Spain coming in second with 69,863 rejections. Germany turned down 53,987 of 346,284 applications. To avoid disappointment and delays, travellers should be well-informed before submitting their visa applications.

Easiest Countries To Get A Schengen Visa

Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Poland are among the easiest countries to get a Schengen visa due to their more lenient and straightforward application process and higher approval rates. In comparison to other Schengen countries, these countries are known to have a more straightforward and lenient visa application process.

However, keep in mind that the visa application process and requirements can change at any time, so do thorough research and check the most recent visa regulations before applying.