Team Blitz India
The European Commission has introduced changes to existing travel rules, allowing Indian tourists the opportunity to apply for multiple-entry Schengen visas lasting up to five years.
Herve Delphin, European Union’s Ambassador to India, said this was another stride towards strengthening people-to-people contacts. “On April 18, the European Commission adopted specific rules on the issuing of multiple-entry visas to Indian nationals, which are more favourable than the standard rules of the visa code that applied to date,” stated a EU press release.
This new visa ‘cascade’ regime for Indian nationals residing in India who apply for Schengen (short-stay) visas in India aims to provide easier access to visas with multi-year validity for travellers with an established travel history.
“According to the newly adopted visa ‘cascade’ regime for India, Indian nationals can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas valid for two years after having obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years,” the release stated.
“The two-year visa will typically be succeeded by a five-year visa, provided the passport has sufficient validity remaining. During the validity period of these visas, holders enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-free nationals,” it added.
The alterations were implemented within the framework of “strengthened” relations under the EU-India common agenda on migration and mobility.
