Indians' Europe travel plans in limbo this summer over Schengen visa slot shortage

The 26 countries that comprise the Schengen area. The European Union counts 23 of the 27 as members. The remaining four nations make up the Non-European Union nations and are particular members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). These four non-EU nations are Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Switzerland.

The other 23 nations are Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, France, Sweden, Spain and Croatia.

The purpose of a Schengen visa is to allow travel through or short-term stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period inside the Schengen area. A visa given by one Schengen state is valid in all other Schengen states; however, you must apply for the visa in the country of your principal destination.

If you plan to visit more than one Schengen country, but none of them will be your primary destination, you must apply for a visa from the region you will enter first.

The EU Visa Code permits the issuing of multiple-entry visas for multiple visits to Schengen member states; however, the conditions for doing this were not made clear and unambiguous.

The new Visa Code established several conditions that visa holders must meet in order to obtain a Schengen Visa. It became operative on February 2 and is applicable to the foreign embassies, consulates, and visa centers of the Schengen member states.

One sort of Schengen visa that you can obtain from India to travel to any Schengen country is a 5-year multiple-entry visa. A five-year MEV is available to individuals who have obtained and lawfully utilized a multiple-entry visa in the last three years, which must have been valid for at least two years.

During a five-year period, this visa grants you unrestricted travel into 26 European countries, provided you don't over the 90/180-day limit.

To be eligible for a multiple-entry or long-term Schengen visa, you must meet the following requirements in addition to often visiting the Schengen Area.

You must provide evidence of why they will require multiple entries into the Schengen Area throughout the next year(s).

You must have a perfect visa record, which means they you never overstayed your visa's duration while in the Schengen Area or worked illegally.

A 5-year multiple entry Schengen visa costs the same as a conventional short-stay visa, i.e., €80, despite allowing you to make repeated visits totaling less than 90 days during the validity of the visa.