The Ambassador of Spain to India, José María Ridao, has said that the country expects to see an increase in the number of Schengen visa applications filed by Indians next year.
Speaking for Businessline, Ambassador Ridao revealed that Spain received more than 90,000 Schengen visa applications filed by nationals of India this year.
The same said that in 2024, they foresee a ten per cent increase in the number of applications, with the total number reaching 100,000.
This year, we had over 90000 visa applications. Next year, I believe that we will cross the 1 lakh [100,000] mark, thereby an increase of 10 per cent.
While Spanish embassies and consulates in India have received over 90,000 visa applications this year, several travel companies have complained about the long processing period and the limited number of appointments.
They have said that applicants have to wait more than a month and up to 90 days to receive a decision on their application and that it is very hard to find available slots.
According to travel experts, this is a very long waiting period, which, in most cases, is pushing applicants to change their travel plans.
Due to the long processing times and the limited number of appointments, some Indians have previously said that they would be travelling to countries that permit visa-free entry for them.
Others have claimed that due to these “issues”, they had no choice but to rearrange their travel plans as they were unable to receive the visa by the time they expected to.
Commenting on the matter, Ambassador Ridao said for Businessline that in order to deal with the high number of applications, they are opening their office in Bangalore.
He further emphasised that they want to attract as many travellers from India to the country as possible and said that their goal is to grant more visas to Indians and offer better services.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Ambassador Ridao said that they want to push more Spaniards to travel to India, too.
We want people to come to our country, and we want our citizens to come to India as well.
Schengen Visa Statistics data show that Indians filed a total of 671,928 Schengen visa applications in 2022, representing a 45 per cent increase compared to 2021.
The majority of applications were made for travel purposes, with the rejection rate dropping to 18.3 per cent last year.
