Schengen visa guides for Indian applicants
Plain-language guides to the Visa Code as it applies from India: refusal reasons, appeals, fees, insurance, processing times, biometrics and the outsourcers, each citing its official source.
Austria tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Austrian mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Austria's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (21.6%).
Austria business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Austrian mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Austria's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (21.6%).
Austria family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Austrian mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Austria's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (21.6%).
Greece tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Greek mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Greece's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (33.0%).
Greece business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Greek mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Greece's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (33.0%).
Greece family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Greek mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Greece's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (33.0%).
Belgium tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Belgian mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Belgium's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (7.7%).
Belgium business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Belgian mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Belgium's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (7.7%).
Belgium family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Belgian mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Belgium's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (7.7%).
Sweden tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swedish mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Sweden's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (11.4%).
Sweden business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swedish mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Sweden's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (11.4%).
Sweden family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swedish mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Sweden's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (11.4%).
France tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The French mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and France's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
France business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The French mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and France's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
France family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The French mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and France's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
Germany tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The German mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Germany's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (10.5%).
Germany business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The German mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Germany's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (10.5%).
Germany family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The German mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Germany's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (10.5%).
Switzerland tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swiss mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Switzerland's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (13.6%).
Switzerland business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swiss mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Switzerland's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (13.6%).
Switzerland family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Swiss mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Switzerland's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (13.6%).
Netherlands tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Dutch mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Netherlands's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (20.6%).
Netherlands business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Dutch mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Netherlands's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (20.6%).
Netherlands family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Dutch mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Netherlands's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (20.6%).
Spain tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Spanish mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Spain's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
Spain business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Spanish mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Spain's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
Spain family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Spanish mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Spain's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (15.2%).
Italy tourist visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Italian mission's official checklist for tourism Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Italy's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (12.7%).
Italy business visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Italian mission's official checklist for business Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Italy's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (12.7%).
Italy family-visit visa from India: official document checklist (2026)
The Italian mission's official checklist for visiting family or friends Schengen visa applications lodged in India, item by item, with what each document is for under Article 14 of the Visa Code, and Italy's 2025 refusal rate for applications from India (12.7%).
EES and ETIAS for Indian travellers: what changed at the border in 2026, and what does not apply to you
The Entry/Exit System has recorded entries and exits electronically at every external Schengen border since 10 April 2026 and applies to visa holders. ETIAS is for visa-exempt nationals only and is not yet operating. What each means for an Indian passport holder.
First Schengen visa from India: the path from itinerary to sticker, in the order the Visa Code sets
The sequence a first-time applicant should follow: fix the itinerary, identify the competent state and consulate, book within the six-month window, assemble the Article 14 documents, lodge an admissible file, and read the decision.
How Schengen consulates decide: the Article 21 examination, and what "intention to leave" is actually tested against
The consulate checks entry conditions, consults the VIS, verifies purpose, means, security and insurance, and weighs the risk of illegal immigration and the intention to leave. What each check looks at, and why the same file can be read differently in two cities.
How the European Commission's Schengen visa statistics are collected, and how to read them without fooling yourself
Consulate-level counts of applications, visas issued, multiple-entry visas and refusals, by the country where the application was lodged. What "not issued rate" means, why applications are not people, and where the traps are.
The Schengen main-destination rule: which country must decide your visa
Article 5(1) of the Visa Code: sole destination, then main destination by nights or purpose, then first entry. Why you cannot apply to the "easy" country, and what happens if you try.
Multiple-entry Schengen visas for Indians: the Article 24 cascade, and why consulates apply it so differently
One year after three visas in two years; two years after a one-year MEV; five years after a two-year MEV. That is the law. The share of multi-entry visas actually issued in India ranges from under 20% to over 99% by state.
Passport requirements for a Schengen visa: three months, two pages, ten years
Article 12 of the Visa Code: the passport must be valid at least three months after your intended departure from Schengen, contain at least two blank pages, and have been issued within the previous ten years.
Proof of funds for a Schengen visa: what "sufficient means of subsistence" means and how consulates check it
Article 14(1)(c) asks for proof of sufficient means for the stay and the return, or the ability to acquire them lawfully. Each state notifies a daily reference amount; the consulate reads your statements for pattern, not just balance.
Reapplying after a Schengen visa refusal (including refused twice or three times)
There is no waiting period in the Visa Code. The refusal sits in the VIS and the next consulate will read it. How to build a second file that answers the ticked ground, and what changes when it is the third.
Which countries are in Schengen in 2026, which EU countries are not, and what that means for your visa
29 states apply the Schengen rules in full: 25 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Cyprus and Ireland are EU members outside Schengen. Bulgaria and Romania completed accession in 2025. What a uniform visa covers.
Schengen travel insurance requirements: what Article 15 actually demands
EUR 30,000 minimum cover, valid throughout the Schengen states for the entire stay, covering repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention, emergency hospital treatment and death. What that means when buying a policy in India.
Schengen visa annulment, revocation and extension: Articles 33 and 34 explained
A visa can be annulled if the conditions were never met, revoked if they stop being met, and extended free of charge for force majeure or for EUR 30 for serious personal reasons. What each means for a traveller from India.
Schengen visa appeal: what the right to appeal actually gives you
Article 32(3) of the Visa Code guarantees a right to appeal against the state that decided, under its national law, with the route and deadline stated on your refusal form. When appeals work, when they waste months, and how the process runs.
Schengen visa biometrics: the 59-month rule, who is exempt, and when you must appear in person
Article 13 of the Visa Code: ten flat fingerprints and a photograph at first application in person; fingerprints already in the VIS from less than 59 months ago are copied to a new application; children under twelve are exempt.
The Schengen visa cover letter: what it is for, what to put in, and what to cut
No article of the Visa Code requires a cover letter, but every checklist in India asks for one because it is the document that makes Article 14's four heads read as one story. Structure, specifics, and the sentences that hurt.
Schengen visa documents from India: what each item on the checklist is really for
Article 14 of the Visa Code sets four heads of evidence. Every state's checklist is those four heads made specific. Understanding which head each document serves is how you build a file that survives scrutiny.
Schengen visa fee for applicants in India (2026): EUR 90, EUR 45, who pays nothing, and what the outsourcer may add
The visa fee is set by Article 16 of the Visa Code: EUR 90 for adults, EUR 45 for children six to eleven, free under six, since 11 June 2024. Non-refundable on refusal. Service fees are capped by Article 17(4).
Schengen visas for children from India: fees, fingerprints, consent, and travelling with one parent
Under six travel free of the visa fee, six to eleven pay EUR 45, under twelve give no fingerprints, and every child needs a signed parental consent when not travelling with both parents. What the Visa Code says and what consulates ask.
Schengen visa processing time from India: 15 days by law, 45 at most, and what those days do not include
Article 23 of the Visa Code sets 15 calendar days from an admissible application, extendable to a maximum of 45 in individual cases. The clock starts at lodging, not at booking, and appointment waits are outside it.
Schengen visa refusal reason 10 explained: "information submitted was not reliable"
Ground 10 on the Annex VI form means the consulate did not believe the trip as presented. What triggers it, how it differs from reason 13, and how to rebuild a file so the story holds.
All 17 Schengen visa refusal reasons explained, from the official form
The Annex VI refusal form lists 17 numbered grounds. Here is each one verbatim from the Visa Code, what it usually means for an applicant from India, and what repairs it.
Schengen visa refused: what to do next, in the order that matters
A refusal is a form with numbered reasons and an appeal box. Read the number, decide between appeal and reapplication, fix the actual gap, and understand what the VIS record does and does not mean.
When to apply for a Schengen visa: the six-month window, the 15-day rule, and appointment reality
Article 9(1) of the Visa Code: no earlier than six months before travel (nine for seafarers), as a rule no later than 15 calendar days before. Appointments should be within two weeks but often are not. How to plan.
Single-entry vs multiple-entry Schengen visa: validity, duration of stay, and the 15-day grace period
A visa sticker carries three separate numbers: validity dates, number of entries, and duration of stay. Article 24 explains each, including the period of grace on single-entry visas that many travellers misread.
VFS, BLS and TLS: who the Schengen outsourcers in India are, what they may charge, and what they cannot do
External service providers collect applications and biometrics under Article 43 of the Visa Code. They do not decide visas. Article 17(4) caps their fee at half the visa fee. What that means when you book, pay and track.