TBM Staff - Mumbai At a time, when visitations from India to its shores are at a record-high, Germany will be rolling out Digital Schengen visas for Indian nationals by the second quarter of 2025, said its Chennai-based Consul General Michaela Küchler.
In 2023, German diplomatic missions in India issued more than 1.8 lakh (180,000) Schengen Visas to Indians, and for 2024 the number is expected to surpass the 2 lakh (200,000) mark, as per a Wion report by Siddharth MP.
She added that the total time for obtaining a Schengen Visa (including appointment wait time and processing time) from a German mission takes less than four weeks for applicants from Southern India.
Schengen region refers to Europe’s passport-free zone covering most European countries. The largest free travel area in the world, it spans 29 countries that have abolished their internal borders to allow the unrestricted movement of people. Schengen visas allow the holder to travel freely in the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days. The visas are not purpose-bound, but they do not grant the right to work.
The 29 Schengen countries are Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
(Source: Wion)
