Applying for a European visa? The travel business has welcomed the new “favourable” Schengen visa rules for Indians, however business executives imagine that the modifications are unlikely to supply any immediate aid for these looking for to travel to Europe who’ve been annoyed by long appointment wait times for the previous three years. However, they anticipate that the transfer will encourage extra frequent travel to the continent and scale back visa queues sooner or later.
According to an ET report, the new “cascade” regime introduced by the European Union on Monday entails that Indians who’ve obtained and lawfully used two visas throughout the earlier three years can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas legitimate for two years.
The Schengen visa, which is an entry allow legitimate for 29 European international locations, together with France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, should be obtained from the nation that serves because the port of entry. According to the new rules, the two-year visa will sometimes be adopted by a five-year visa, offered the passport has adequate validity. Holders of these visas will get pleasure from travel rights equal to these of visa-free nationals.
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Madhavan Menon, government chairman of Thomas Cook India Group, believes that the measure will guarantee comfort and encourage repeat visits, making a force-multiplier impact for the travel and tourism ecosystem.
However, Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travel and Air Charters Group, means that e-visas could also be a more practical answer. He factors out that travellers will nonetheless must wait for appointments to use for the long-term visa, that are at the moment unavailable for some international locations. “There is a waiting time of one or two months for dates and, many times, travellers cancel their programmes,” he mentioned.
In Delhi, travel business executives have reported a scarcity of new visa appointment slots for international locations like Iceland, Portugal, and Hungary. The scenario is comparable in Mumbai, the place no slots can be found for Spain and Hungary. Bengaluru faces a scarcity of appointments for Iceland, Italy, and Portugal, whereas Kolkata has no slots for France, Iceland, Portugal, Hungary, and Norway. The wait times for visa appointments differ, with Italy and Austria taking 35-40 days in Delhi, and Germany requiring about 90 days. In Mumbai, vacationers could must wait over 50 days for a German visa appointment.
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According to Rajiv Mehra, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, the modifications will solely present some aid within the coming yr, because the wait for visas persists. Jyoti Mayal, vice chairperson of the Federation of Associations in Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), instructed the monetary every day that Schengen international locations have been grappling with the excessive demand generated by the Indian tourism business.
“Indian travel agents have reported delays as a major challenge,” she mentioned. “These are due to the backlog of applications and the time it takes for the embassies to process them. The appointment calendars have also been packed to the optimum.”
Despite the challenges, Vijay Kesavan, founder and CEO of StampThePassport, stays optimistic. Having obtained quite a few inquiries concerning the growth on Tuesday, he believes that everybody is keen to take benefit of the modifications. “It seems everyone wants to go for it,” he mentioned. “This is a good and sensible move and should benefit the frequent travellers. It’s impractical for embassies to hire extra staff only for the peak summer season demand rush so they are looking to find solutions such as this.”
According to an ET report, the new “cascade” regime introduced by the European Union on Monday entails that Indians who’ve obtained and lawfully used two visas throughout the earlier three years can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas legitimate for two years.
The Schengen visa, which is an entry allow legitimate for 29 European international locations, together with France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, should be obtained from the nation that serves because the port of entry. According to the new rules, the two-year visa will sometimes be adopted by a five-year visa, offered the passport has adequate validity. Holders of these visas will get pleasure from travel rights equal to these of visa-free nationals.
Also Read | These routes in India have base airfares of lower than Rs 1,000! One route has a base fare of Rs 150 – test listing
Madhavan Menon, government chairman of Thomas Cook India Group, believes that the measure will guarantee comfort and encourage repeat visits, making a force-multiplier impact for the travel and tourism ecosystem.
However, Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travel and Air Charters Group, means that e-visas could also be a more practical answer. He factors out that travellers will nonetheless must wait for appointments to use for the long-term visa, that are at the moment unavailable for some international locations. “There is a waiting time of one or two months for dates and, many times, travellers cancel their programmes,” he mentioned.
In Delhi, travel business executives have reported a scarcity of new visa appointment slots for international locations like Iceland, Portugal, and Hungary. The scenario is comparable in Mumbai, the place no slots can be found for Spain and Hungary. Bengaluru faces a scarcity of appointments for Iceland, Italy, and Portugal, whereas Kolkata has no slots for France, Iceland, Portugal, Hungary, and Norway. The wait times for visa appointments differ, with Italy and Austria taking 35-40 days in Delhi, and Germany requiring about 90 days. In Mumbai, vacationers could must wait over 50 days for a German visa appointment.
Also Read | India prepares for ‘One Airspace’: Unified air visitors management plans set in movement – what it means
According to Rajiv Mehra, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, the modifications will solely present some aid within the coming yr, because the wait for visas persists. Jyoti Mayal, vice chairperson of the Federation of Associations in Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), instructed the monetary every day that Schengen international locations have been grappling with the excessive demand generated by the Indian tourism business.
“Indian travel agents have reported delays as a major challenge,” she mentioned. “These are due to the backlog of applications and the time it takes for the embassies to process them. The appointment calendars have also been packed to the optimum.”
Despite the challenges, Vijay Kesavan, founder and CEO of StampThePassport, stays optimistic. Having obtained quite a few inquiries concerning the growth on Tuesday, he believes that everybody is keen to take benefit of the modifications. “It seems everyone wants to go for it,” he mentioned. “This is a good and sensible move and should benefit the frequent travellers. It’s impractical for embassies to hire extra staff only for the peak summer season demand rush so they are looking to find solutions such as this.”
