Getting a Schengen Visa is vital if you want to explore and enjoy Europe. But getting one can be a tedious task, especially on an Indian passport because it involves a lot of work like filing documents, going to interviews and submitting requirements. Well, here are a few tips that might just help you succeed in applying for a Schengen Visa for an Indian passport.

What Is A Schengen Visa? According to Schengen Visa Info, the Schengen Visa is a piece of document that would allow a traveler to visit the Schengen Area which is composed of 26 European countries. It gives a traveler up to 90 days to travel specific parts of Europe so it's really beneficial especially if you're traveling for a long period of time.

How To Apply For A Schengen Visa? For Indians, there is no need to visit the embassy since the Schengen countries have granted VFS Global control over the application processes. According to Tripoto, VFS Global has five branches all over India: Bengaluru, Puducherry, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. You can visit the VFS Global website where you can start your application and make an appointment.

Things To File Before Your Appointment. Some of the requirements needed for your visa application are hotel bookings, travel insurance and financial records. VFS will check these documents to ensure that you are indeed visiting the Schengen area and that you have the necessary resources to take care of yourself once you're there.

How Long Will The Visa Processing Take? If you have all your necessary documents filed, you'll usually get your visa seven days at most. But if VFS would find anything suspicious in your documents, it would take more than that and you might be scheduled in for an interview.

Refunds On Rejected Visas. Unfortunately, rejected visas wouldn't be refunded. However, there are a few options you could try and one is to appeal the decision, though it only applies if you're traveling to Norway, Germany or Spain. The other thing that you could do is to find a different Schengen state embassy and go through the whole process again.

Make sure that you take note of these tips especially if you're a first-timer. You don't want to get lost in the complex processes of the Schengen visa application.