Definition
A short-stay visa (type C) that lets you visit the 29 European countries of the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Indian passport holders apply to the consulate of their main destination, usually through a visa centre.
How the Schengen visa works for Indians
One visa covers 29 countries, so a single application gets you Paris, Lucerne and Rome on the same trip. You apply to the country where you will spend the most nights (your main destination). If the nights are equal, you apply to the country you enter first.
The standard fee is €90 for adults (about ₹9,200) and €45 for children aged 6–11, plus a service charge at the visa centre of roughly ₹2,000–4,000 depending on the country. Decisions usually take about 15 calendar days but can stretch to 45 in busy months.
What a typical Indian application needs
- Passport issued in the last 10 years, valid at least three months beyond your return
- A cover letter with a day-by-day plan
- Bank statements for the last three to six months, salary slips and ITRs
- Flight reservation and hotel bookings
- Schengen travel insurance with at least €30,000 cover
Practical advice
Appointments for April–June departures in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru often fill up six to eight weeks ahead, right when school holidays start. You can apply up to six months before travel, so book the slot first and finalise hotels after. Make sure your bookings match the consulate you applied to: applying to Switzerland and then spending five of eight nights in Italy is a common refusal trigger and can cause questions at the border.
Read our Schengen visa guide, or ask our visa assistance team to check your file before you submit it.