If you are planning a foreign vacation this summer, be warned: the wait for a visa to travel to the most sought-after destinations may stretch from five-to-six weeks and, in some cases, four-to-five months.
Travel agents brandish a long list of pending visa applications handed in their by customers wishing to travel abroad during their children’s summer school break.
One New Delhi-based family had plans to visit France in May; they said their travel agent had submitted the forms for getting a visa interview 10 days ago, but they hadn’t yet received an appointment. The agent has now suggested they try their luck through a walk-in.
Another travel agent said appointments weren’t open for a visa interview to travel to France.
"For Germany, appointments are available in July and what if the visa gets rejected? Then again, the traveller will have to wait for 3-4 months. I have around 200-300 files that are pending for visa appointments," the agent said.
Also read: Tourism boards dub India a key source market as Indians flock abroad for adventure travel
No appointment slots
The diplomatic missions of Italy, France and Spain currently do not have appointment slots, said Daniel D’Souza, President and Country Head of Holidays at SOTC Travel.
"The delay is caused by both vendors, VFS and BLS (visa service providers), as well as the embassies,” said Sabina Chopra, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Travel, Yatra.com.
“Embassies of some countries, such as Switzerland, Denmark, and Austria, are still relatively easier to schedule appointments, but even these may require a reasonable wait period of 10 to 15 days," Chopra added.
In the peak holiday season, visa processing can take longer than usual, and this is common to all geographies and across all embassies, said a spokesperson for VFS Global.
"The company follows the standard operating procedure of facilitating visa application submissions in one business day…Decisions on visa applications, including the availability of appointment slots, the visa tenure and timelines to process them are at the sole discretion of the respective client governments and may vary from one mission to another," the spokesperson added.
Surge in applications
The company was flooded with an average of 20,000 applications a day during the peak outbound tourism season last year.
"Given the strong pent-up travel demand this year as well, applicants can apply for their visas in advance to avoid peak season-related visa processing delays. Most countries accept visa applications up to 90 days in advance, with Schengen accepting documents up to six months prior to the date of travel," the VFS Global spokesperson said.
The Schengen zone covers most European countries.
A check at VFS for tourist visa bookings from its New Delhi application centre to Hungary shows no appointment slot. For Belgium, slots are available in May.
"In 2022, travel restarted but not all airlines had ramped up their operations and visa centres were not well equipped and there was a staff shortage,” said Sanjay Dang, Managing Director of Le Travelworld.
“We expected 2023 to normalise with visa wait period coming down but all of us are hugely disappointed," said Dang.
The US is offering visa appointments as late as in January-February 2024, Dang said. It is a big challenge to travel to Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. "Between 5-9 weeks is the average waiting period and sometimes appointments are released suddenly at odd hours which makes booking an appointment difficult," said Dang.
Also read: Foreign travel frenzy: Visa applications from Delhi touched 80% of pre-COVID levels in 2022
Processing systems under strain
Chopra said they have observed strong demand for outbound travel from India this year. “Compared to the previous year, there has been a rise of about 20 - 25 percent in confirmed bookings. Additionally, we have seen an increase in the number of search queries and bookings from April to June, compared to the period from January to March," she said.
The surge in demand for international travel has strained visa processing systems, causing a backlog of applications and longer wait times, Chopra added. The visa delays can also be attributed to the recent pandemic-related restrictions and safety protocols that have been implemented by various countries.
Despite the challenge posed in procuring a visa, Europe continues to top the demand pipeline with a 3x surge for the upcoming summer holiday season versus 2022, said Rajeev Kale, President and Country Head, Holidays, MICE, Visa - Thomas Cook (India) Limited.
MICE stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions tourism
Even so, the challenge posed in securing visa appointments and the extended turnaround time for visa processing is a significant concern, he said.
Also read: Schengen visa goes digital, here's how it could change international travel
Exploring other options
Indians are changing travel plans and trying to head to other destinations with a shorter visa wait, said travel agent Sunil Kumar.
"There is a long list of pending clients for visa appointments --around 30-40 passengers. So, I am telling them to give me 10 days and if after that I am unable to get a visa appointment for their planned destination then I am suggesting they change their plan and travel to another country," he said.
Dang said that he was suggesting destinations like the UK, which gives them the option to visit England, Ireland and Scotland on one visa.
"Turkey can be another option which gives an electronic visa if one has a valid UK visa. We are also telling clients to plan early," he said.
Destinations with quick visa processing like the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman and Vietnam, which offer a visa as early as in 3-4 working days, are in high demand during the summer holidays, said Kale.
"Turkey is processing visas within 4-6 working days; South Africa within 10 days; also New Zealand within 15-20 days," he added.
Destinations like Mauritius, Bali, the Maldives, Australia, and New Zealand have grown in popularity because of their easy visa procedures and direct connectivity, said Chopra.
"We have seen a 15 to 20 percent rise in confirmed bookings for overseas tours to these destinations this summer versus last year," she said.
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