As the travel sector recovers gradually after the pandemic, a massive rush of applications has been recorded in the past few months causing delays in visa appointments.
According to a Khaleej Times report, citing travel experts, residents who wish to travel to Schengen countries will have to wait until September for visa appointments.
UAE travelers, according to the report, can fly to Schengen countries only after mid-September as there are no visa slots available to these 26 countries.
“It is a long wait to fetch an appointment and some countries are not even opening up to get a visa. I plan to travel to Budapest around mid-September, but I have no clue when I am going to get the visa. Probably, there is a possibility of getting via other Schengen states, but then there will be an additional cost because I need to hop down to a country which is issuing visa for the first trip and then move around Schengen countries,” Satyanarayan Karan, a long-time Dubai resident and businessman, was quoted as saying in the report.
Mustaq Vakani of Akbar Travels said that for Schengen visa appointments, one can only book in September and, thereafter, there’s a processing of 15 to 18 days.
During the summer season in the UAE, residents fly to cooler countries, especially European countries.
“They (embassies and consulates) don’t have capacity. We are getting appointments for September for Schengen visas. There could be one or two Schengen countries that might have a date in August, but mostly it’s only in September. Therefore, people can’t travel before mid-September due to delays in visa appointments,” Avinash Adnani, managing director of Pluto Travels, said.
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