Explained: Why UK, Canada And Other Countries Are Delaying Visa, What Should The Indians Do?

The United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) office is currently dealing with a high volume of visa applications, which causes delays of up to a month in the processing of paperwork for professionals, students, and other groups.

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It appears that these delays are a worldwide problem, as immigration offices around the world have posted signs notifying students of the situation.

While the US will only enable travellers to arrange visa appointment dates starting next year, a Canadian visa is still taking almost six months to process. The average wait time for a UK visa is six weeks, while applicants can pay an extra fee to have their applications processed more quickly.

¡°Senior MEA officials dealing with Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, UK & USA had constructive discussions with corresponding heads of missions/ senior diplomats of these countries about streamlining student visas to Indian nationals,¡± the Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, tweeted.

¡°They agreed to remain engaged in further easing & fast-tracking the process since the flow of students has been mutually beneficial,¡± he said.

Which countries are delaying issuing visas?

For visas to the US, UK, Canada, and several European nations, Indians may face long delays

According to NDTV, the US Embassy, which recently announced the resumption of in-person visa appointments beginning in September, stated that all available timeslots in locations like Delhi and Mumbai are already fully booked through April 2023.

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A visiting visa application may take six weeks to process, according to the British High Commission website, compared to more than four months for Canada.

Appointments are not available for Germany, Italy, or Iceland, reported The Hindu.

The German embassy in New Delhi has reportedly put out the following statement: ¡°The current processing time for Schengen visa applications at several German embassies is currently at least 15 days on average due to the peak season. Please keep this in mind when submitting your application. Please see if you can postpone your vacation if it will be within two weeks of the application date or is already imminent. In general, neither the Service Provider nor the German Mission can speed up the procedure. Preferential treatment requests will not be granted.¡±

According to The Hindu Business Line, the wait times for Greece and Spain might be as long as six to eight weeks.

The Danish Embassy in India temporarily halted short-stay visa and residency permit applications last week, reported moneycontrol.

"Due to shortage of staff, absence, and an unforeseen increase in the number of applications, the Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi temporarily suspends all new appointments at Visa Facilitation Services Global (VFS)," the statement read.

Why is this happening?

According to experts, a number of factors are at play. Market participants and industry experts have identified four key causes for the increase in visa processing times: a staffing deficit at embassies, a rapid increase in tourist visa requests, a backlog of student and professional visa requests, and stricter country-by-country visa policies.

The list also includes embassy staff shortages brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. This is happening at a time when, according to ICRA, global growth has surpassed pre-COVID levels by 72%.

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¡°There has been an unprecedented uptick in outbound travel demand from India to many parts of the world this summer. Given the extremely high pent-up demand, this was expected with the opening of international borders, easing of travel restrictions, and resumption of regular international flights from India in March 2022,¡± a VFS Global spokesperson told The Hindu.

According to the outlet, VFS receives about 20,000 applications from India per day, which is comparable to the numbers seen during the peak period prior to the pandemic.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of Indian embassies temporarily shut down their visa processing facilities, and the staff members were taken back to their home countries.

According to several officials from missions in Delhi, when the embassies reopened, it was challenging to recruit the professionals who had been working with them in the past since many of them had doubts about the COVID-19 situation in India and others had found new employment.

An official from a European embassy told Moneycontrol that "the rising popularity of work-from-home businesses combined with the uncertainties surrounding future waves of the pandemic has left many former embassy employees looking to alternate jobs."

Firstpost reports that the Travel Agents Association of India wrote to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to request his participation and a government-to-government discussion regarding the delays with US and Schengen visas.

What can Indians do?

Experts advise early submission of a visa application.

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Shubashish Ganguly, a representative of VFS Global, told the Times of India, "Applications for visas are often accepted up to 3 months in advance. One can apply for a Schengen visa up to 6 months before the date of travel, per the updated Schengen visa code.¡±

Experts also advise, looking at alternate locations for vacation, in case one is determined to go on holiday.

Is there any solution to this issue?

After travel restrictions were relaxed last year, the majority of international universities allowed Indian students to enroll, which resulted in a significant demand for visas, VFS Global told Livemint.

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They had also proactively invited students to apply early to avoid the last-minute rush due to the high demand for student visas during the peak period of June to September. Additionally, experts also suggest that students get in touch with their individual colleges to arrange for the prompt completion of their documentation so that they can submit their visa applications on time.

In order to handle the amount of student visa applications, embassies and consulates frequently take additional steps.

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