As Indian Nationals, we are not as free as American or British nationals when it comes to travelling abroad. If you watch foreignTV shows or movies, you must have seen how easy it is for characters to go to Paris or Rome. All they need is a valid passport. They just book their flight tickets and go off wherever it is that they want to.
But when it comes to us Indians, the process is a little longer, more expensive and certainly more harrowing. We have to apply for the dreaded visas.
Before 1995 we had to plan our trip to Europe months in advance. This is because if someone wished to visit more than one European country, they had to apply for a visa from each embassy, and each visa would take more than a week to get approved.
Post 1995, though, the process became slightly more convenient as Europe opened up its internal borders. This essentially means that instead of applying to each individual embassy for a permit, you just need to apply for one visa, called the Schengen visa. And once you get it, your pathway to the 26 member states will open up automatically.
The Schengen area fundamentally functions as one country. If you are going from France to Italy, you need to board the flight from the local terminals, not the international ones. You will not have to go through customs and immigration.
The visa comes with rules. Certain countries will stamp the number of days in your itinerary on the visa. So even if you get a visa that is valid for a month, if your itinerary says that you will be in the Schengen area for 12 days, the 12 days will be stamped on your visa. If you exceed that, you have to pay a hefty fine.
Some countries are not as strict. They let you stay the maximum number of days allowed, which is 90.
There is an undocumented but widely known 90/180 rule for visiting the Schengen states. This rule says that of 180 days, you are only allowed to stay in the Schengen states for 90 days. Therefore, anyone who is not a European Union citizen has to leave the Schengen area if they have completed 90 days of stay — this can be at a stretch or in parts.
You can calculate when you can re-enter the area by seeing the date on your first entry stamp. The 181st day after that day is when you can go back.
Even though the United Kingdom and Ireland are part of the Schengen treaty, they opted out of opening their borders. Hence if you are planning a trip to Europe and want to see England, you have to apply for a separate United Kingdom visa, which is a gruelling process. Therefore, it is important that you plan the trip at least two months in advance so there is no need to scurry around in the last minute.
You can submit your application for the Schengen visa in the embassy of the country that you plan to spend most of your time in or in a place that is the point of your entry. An easier way, which is preferred by the countries as well, is that you submit your application to one of the various VFS offices. VFS Global is an agency that collects applications, documents and biometrics when required and sends them to the respective embassies. This helps the Schengen states prevent a crowd at the embassy and streamlines the visa application process.
One’s visa can get rejected for many reasons. One main reason is usually that the person doesn’t have enough funds in the bank to support him throughout the stay, according to the bank documents submitted with the application form.
Another reason could be that the person has not submitted the required documents. So it’s a good idea to read through the checklist of documentation required before attending the appointment at the VFS office.
The visa fee is €64 (about `5,100). This is the processing fee and is non-refundable even if the visa is rejected. Thank god for the Schengen visa or we would have spent thousands on just visas for each country!
If you have a valid reason for your visit (tourism or business) and can provide proof for the same, such as hotel and return flight bookings, have the means to support yourself throughout your visit or have a letter from a sponsor saying that he/she will support you, and you don’t set off an alarm in the computers of the embassies, which can happen if you are legally not allowed to visit the Schengen countries or are perceived a threat, there is no reason why you should not be allowed to visit and admire the beauty and diversity of Europe.