EU eases travel for Indian citizens with long-term Schengen visas ahead of summer holidays
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Kosovar passports are held at the check-in counter at Pristina Airport as Kosovar citizens begin traveling to the Schengen area for the first time without a visa, near Pristina, Kosovo, on January 1, 2024. (Reuters)
The European Commission has adopted new visa rules in favor of Indian citizens, providing easier access to long-term Schengen visas with multi-year validity.
The European Commission has announced new visa rules to help ease travel for Indian citizens ahead of the summer holidays. Under the latest rules, Indian citizens will now have easy access to long-term Schengen visas with multi-year validity, which is a major change from the previous visa requirements.
“On 18 April 2024, the European Commission adopted specific rules on the issuance of multiple entry visas to Indian nationals, which are more favorable than the standard rules of the Visa Code applicable to date,” the European Commission said in a statement. The revised visa framework – known as the “visa cascade” regime – allows Indian nationals residing in the country to obtain a long-term, multiple-entry Schengen visa valid for up to two years.
This extended validity comes after successfully obtaining and validly using two visas within the last three years. These visa holders will enjoy equal travel rights to visa-exempt citizens during their validity period. “If the passport has sufficient validity remaining, a five-year visa will normally be granted after the two-year visa. During the validity period of these visas, holders enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-exempt citizens,” the European Commission said.
“This decision comes in the context of strengthened relations under the EU-India Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility, which seeks broad cooperation between the EU and India on migration policy, of which facilitating people-to-people contacts is a key aspect. The importance of India as a partner for the EU,” it added.
The Schengen visa system allows holders to travel freely within the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. With the adoption of these new visa rules, Indian travelers can look forward to smoother and more convenient travel experiences within Europe, especially as the summer holiday season approaches.
The Schengen Area includes 29 European countries (of which 25 are EU states): Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
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