UAE residents face Schengen visa delays and shorter stays amid summer demand

Despite good travel history and healthy financial records, expats are struggling to secure longer visas for Europe

Sana Ahmed, pictured in Paris, has faced travel setbacks this year. Photo: Sana Ahmed

Some UAE residents have experienced a Schengen visa application lottery while planning summer trips to Europe, after securing only short-term visits while colleagues and family were permitted extended stays.

Travellers have spoken of their frustration at receiving limited permits for work trips and holidays, despite presenting all required documentation and encountering lengthy delays to even get initial visa appointments.

The challenges come amid a surge in demand for travel to Europe, in a summer featuring the Euro 2024 football tournament and the coming Paris Olympics.

Feeling shortchanged

Dubai resident and Indian passport holder Siddarth Sivaprakash, who has received five Schengen visas previously, got a Schengen visa with a 10-day validity this year to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.

Mr Sivaprakash “submitted all the required documents – bank statements, investment documents, NOC from the company”, but the visa matched his 10-day travel itinerary, while his colleague got a two-year visa.

"It’s difficult, and challenging to understand the decision-making behind this. I spent so much money and effort, but to end up with just 10 days," he added.

The Schengen visa allows entry to 29 European countries - most of which are in the European Union - to non EU-nationals for visits of up to 90 days or multiple visits over a longer duration.

While Emiratis do not need a visa to visit Schengen countries under a UAE-EU agreement, expat residents must still apply.

The non-refundable visa fee of €80 (Dh320.6) poses a significant financial burden for tourists.

Holiday plans shelved

Pakistani passport holder and Dubai resident Sadiq Saleem said he was forced to cancel a European holiday with his parents after he was issued a Schengen visa for 11 days.

"While it added two extra days to our 9-day travel itinerary for the Netherlands, it didn't offer us flexibility," he said.

"We missed out on blocking seats with our tour operator and didn't have enough validity to make changes to our holiday plans."

Mr Saleem, who has had previous Schengen visas, said the process needs to be streamlined. "For short-term visas with 10-day validity, they should offer an e-visa option."

Another Dubai expat and Indian passport holder, NM, who asked for his full name not to be used, also faced similar issues when he planned a family holiday to Europe.

“While my wife and daughter got multiple-entry visas for six months, I got a single-entry visa for the exact 10 days we had listed in our itinerary.”

He has travelled to Europe several times before and his last Schengen visa was multiple-entry with a two-year validity.

Apart from the short validity, Dubai expat Abhishek Nair also faced visa processing delays.

He and his family had to wait for nearly a month to find out they got a visa for seven days.

“We had applied to the Netherlands. It took nearly four weeks for them to give us a visa that’s valid for a week, even though we presented two travel itineraries, one in January and the other in September,” said Mr Nair, who went to a Swiss university.

Syrian passport-holder and UAE resident DA said she had resisted applying for a Schengen visa until now because of the “fear of rejection”.

Her fears, unfortunately, came true after her Schengen visa application at the Spanish embassy was rejected.

She has travelled to New Zealand, US, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt in the past.

She appealed to the Spanish embassy, because her sister, who had gone through a similar ordeal, got her visa approved after doing so.

“I got a visa for six days – the exact dates of my travel itinerary,” she said, adding that she will have to apply again for her next summer travel, but securing a date will be challenging.

Travel woes

Sana Ahmed, who holds a Pakistan passport and has lived in Dubai for 11 years, said she has struggled to get longer duration on Schengen visas despite providing all the documents and boasting a good travel track record.

"I had requested for a longer validity this year because we've got a few holidays planned, but I got only 6 months.

"I'm in London now, but when I return I have another visa appointment scheduled for August."

She says the visa ordeal makes it tough for her to travel with her husband and child, who are both British passport holders.

“For every Schengen I’ve ever applied for, I’ve only received the visa for the length of the trip,” said Roxy Kairuz, a Dubai resident and South African passport holder.

“My latest Schengen only – through France – has been the only one that I’ve gotten that is longer than the trip applied for – at six months.”

Another Dubai expat and Indian passport holder, PA, said the discrepancy in how the visa validity is determined makes the ordeal frustrating.

“After having travelled every year to different parts of the world, and having a valid 10-year UK and US visa, there’s still no guarantee that I’ll get a longer validity on my Schengen visa.

“This makes it tough to plan holidays to Europe.”

VFS Global, which facilitates the Schengen visa process in the UAE, said it was not responsible for the validity period on visas granted to travellers.

"VFS Global has no visibility in the decision-making process, timelines and outcome of decision," said Monaz Billimoria, Regional Head of VFS Global.

Recently, the European Union announced that Indian citizens can be issued long-term, multi-entry visas valid for five years "after having obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years".

Counting the cost

A recent Schengen Visa report issued by SchengenVisaI Info, an online portal tracking yearly visa application statistics, said that UAE applicants faced a loss of €4.19 million (Dh16.83 million) in 2023 due to rejected Schengen visa applications.

The study states they spent €18.71 (AED 75.02 million) on Schengen visa applications the same year.

Plan ahead

Due to the high volume of applications, the waiting time for a Schengen visa appointment can range from weeks to months.

VFS Global urged travellers to start planning their holiday months "as early as possible" because "there's a higher demand this year".

Rishal Mohammed, executive director of travel agency TravelShop in Dubai, said summer months are traditionally busy.

"If anyone wants to travel in summer they must plan at least three to four months in advance. Even when we approach individual embassies they've told us that other than business or medical reasons, no dates will be available for tourism," he said.

Mr Mohammed added that dates are opening up now for end of August, September and October, allowing travellers to plan for UAE National Day holidays or winter break.