Kol tourists reap benefit of 2-year Schengen visa norm
Times of India | 15 July 2024
Kolkata: City travellers are now leveraging the European Commission’s recently introduced visa ‘cascade’ regime, which streamlines the process of obtaining Schengen visas for Indian citizens. The system allows individuals to secure long-term, multi-entry visas with a validity of two years, provided they have lawfully acquired and utilized two visas within the preceding three years.The initial two-year visa can then be followed by a five-year visa, provided the passport has sufficient validity remaining.
The two-year visa has already proved to be a boon for Kolkatans currently planning their Durga Puja travel itineraries to any of the 29 European nations, encompassing 25 European Union member states.
Anil Punjabi, a member of the national committee of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), representing east India, told TOI at least 100 families from Kolkata have already procured the two-year Schengen visa.
Choosing the countries where applications are to be made is an important call. “Most of the applications to France and Italy are getting the two-year visas,” Punjabi said. However, Vinita Sharma, director of Travel Point, told TOI that despite the news of the new system, none of the applicants have procured the two-year visa. “We applied for at least 50 travellers but they all got short-term visas based on their stay duration,” Sharma said. Nandini Chowdhury, founder director of Travel Dots, said, “It is easy to get this two-year visa for France. Italy gives it to frequent travellers. I have yet to come across any of my clients who got a two-year visa from the Scandinavian countries.”
Travel agents agreed that expediting the two-year visa can benefit travellers as they can plan their impending tours well in advance, eliminating the need to await visa approvals for each journey. “While it is undeniable that this arrangement might lead to a reduction in revenue for travel agencies, given the diminished requirement for processing fresh applications for every European excursion, we wholeheartedly embrace this change since these visas translate into increased ticket sales and currency exchange transactions,” Punjabi said.
Chowdhury has started pitching multiple travel itineraries to clients when the two-year visa comes through. “People are in travel mode once they have a two-year Schengen visa. So, when booking the first tour during pujas, I pitch for the next. I tell them that with the visa, they can again plan a short visit during Christmas to a country they are unable to travel to during the pujas,” Chowdhury said.
All three travels agents agreed that the craze for trips to France, Italy and Switzerland is huge for the pujas among those who have got the two-year visa. Spain, too, has a lot of takers. “Many are also travelling to the Scandinavian countries,” Chowdhury added.