Schengen Visa for December: Apply-By Dates From India

If you fly on 20 December, the Visa Code's "as a rule" deadline for applying is 5 December. But a consulate can legally take up to 45 days to decide, and 45 days before 20 December is 5 November. That is the date your trip really depends on, and even then a decision on day 45 would land on the day you fly. So when you plan a Schengen visa for December travel, count back from 45 days, not 15, and aim to lodge a little before that. If it is mid-September and you have not booked an appointment yet, you still have time. The 45-day dates fall between 5 and 16 November, depending on when you fly.

This guide covers the legal dates, the worst-case decision time, what to do when VFS slots are full, and the order to prepare your file in. It applies to a Europe visa, which is officially called a Schengen short-stay visa, for Christmas or New Year trips from India.

The two dates the Visa Code sets

Article 9(1) of the Visa Code sets the window for lodging an application:

No more than 6 months before the start of your visit.
As a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before it.

For any December departure, the 6-month point has already passed, so the window is open now.

The 15-day point is worded "as a rule", and that phrase cuts both ways. It is not an absolute bar, so a consulate can accept an application lodged 12 days before travel. But lodging within the Article 9(1) period is also one of the admissibility checks in Article 19, so a late application can be declared inadmissible and returned without being examined. And an application lodged 15 days out will not necessarily be decided in time. The law sets the latest date you should normally apply. It does not tell you when you will get an answer.

How long a decision can take

Article 23 of the Visa Code sets the decision period:

A consulate decides within 15 calendar days of lodging.
That can be extended to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, notably where further scrutiny is needed.

Fifteen days is the standard, not a promise. You cannot know in advance whether your file will be one of the individual cases that takes longer. If your flight depends on the answer, plan for 45.

The clock starts when your admissible application is lodged, which means the day you attend the appointment and hand in your file. Booking the slot does not start it. If you book a slot in October for an appointment on 20 November, the decision can legally come as late as 4 January.

Apply-by dates for a Schengen visa for December travel

The first date column is the last day you can lodge and still have the full 45-day maximum run out by your flight. If you lodge on that exact day, a day-45 decision would arrive on your departure day, with no time to get your passport back. Treat it as an outer limit and aim earlier. The as-a-rule latest date is 15 calendar days out, following Article 9(1).

Departure	Lodge by (45-day maximum)	As-a-rule latest (15 days)
Sun 20 December 2026	Thu 5 November 2026	Sat 5 December 2026
Thu 24 December 2026	Mon 9 November 2026	Wed 9 December 2026
Mon 28 December 2026	Fri 13 November 2026	Sun 13 December 2026
Thu 31 December 2026	Mon 16 November 2026	Wed 16 December 2026

Some of the 15-day dates fall on a weekend. Check whether your application centre is open that day, and do not plan around the last possible date.

If you are asking Europe December trip kab visa apply karein, the answer is the middle column. Lodge by that date, and earlier if you can.

Christmas markets and multi-country trips: which consulate takes your file

December trips often cover several countries, such as markets in Germany, a few nights in Austria, and New Year in Paris. Your itinerary decides which consulate is responsible for your file, not your choice or where slots are open. Article 5 of the Visa Code sets the rule. With several destinations, the responsible country is your main destination, judged by length of stay or purpose of stay. If no main destination can be determined, it is the country whose external border you cross to enter. We work through it with real itineraries in which country to apply to. Fix your nights and the purpose of each stop first, then book with the consulate they point to.

VFS slots are full. What you can and cannot do

If you are refreshing the booking page and asking Schengen appointment slot kab khulta hai, the only reliable place to find out is the provider's own site.

What you can do

Book only on the provider's official website. VFS Global states that appointments are free of cost and can be booked only on www.vfsglobal.com. For some countries you prepay the approved VFS service fee when you book. That is a fee, not a price for the slot.
For Spain, BLS International is the outsourced partner of the Embassy and Consulate General of Spain in India. Appointments are booked only through the BLS website.
Know the legal standard. Where an appointment is required, Article 9(2) of the Visa Code says it should, as a rule, take place within two weeks of the date you requested it. That is the norm the law sets, not a slot you can demand from the booking page.
Ask the consulate directly. Under Article 17(5) of the Visa Code, each member state may keep the option of lodging directly at its consulate. It does not have to, so treat this as a question to put to the consulate, not a guaranteed alternative.

What you cannot do

Buy a slot. BLS warns that buying appointments through a third party is a fraudulent practice. VFS states that appointments are free, and BLS says its staff never ask for payment to obtain an appointment. Anyone selling a slot is selling something the provider never authorised.
Apply to a different country because it has slots. The consulate is set by Article 5, not by availability. If you change your stated itinerary to reach a country with open dates, your file no longer matches your real trip, and a consulate can treat that as misrepresentation.

If no slot is available before the 45-day date in the table, think honestly about moving the trip rather than hoping the decision comes early.

What to book before the visa and what to keep refundable

C(2025) 4379 is the Commission decision that sets the harmonised list of supporting documents for applicants in India. It requires proof of transport and itinerary from all applicants. It also requires a cover letter stating your purpose, duration, accompanying persons, and transport and accommodation details, plus proof of accommodation in each country you visit. So you do need bookings in the file before you apply.

Book each one genuinely, and in a form you can cancel:

Flights: a genuine reservation or a refundable fare that matches the dates on your form.
Hotels: genuine bookings with free cancellation, covering every night.
Insurance: travel medical insurance of at least €30,000, valid throughout the Schengen area, for the entire stay, covering costs such as repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and emergency hospital treatment (Visa Code Article 15). Buy it to match your travel dates.

Never submit a fabricated ticket or hotel booking. A genuine, cancellable reservation is enough. The full list with the rule behind each item is in the document checklist.

December fares and hotels cost more, so the pull to buy non-refundable is stronger. Resist it until the visa is in your passport. The €90 visa fee (€45 for children aged 6 to under 12) is not refunded if you are refused (Visa Code Article 16(7)), and the German Missions in India state this on their fee page. The application centre's service charge is a separate payment, so read the provider's refund terms before you pay it and do not assume it comes back. Non-refundable flights on top of that would add to the loss.

Your plan from mid-September to your appointment

Work through the file in this order.

Funds, now. C(2025) 4379 asks for an original bank statement showing movements over the last three months, stamped and signed by the bank. It sets no minimum balance, but several member states publish daily reference amounts for means of subsistence, so your balance still has to credibly cover the trip. If you lodge in early November, your statement covers roughly August to October, so the months that count are already running. A large, unexplained deposit in October will stand out. Read how consulates read your bank balance before you move money.
Supporting income documents. Salary slips for the last three months, your employment contract and your employer's leave approval if you are employed. Company registration with GST number, business bank statements and barcode-verifiable ITR if you are self-employed. ITR acknowledgments for the last two assessment years in either case.
Insurance. Once your dates are fixed, buy a policy that meets Article 15 for the whole trip.
Bookings. Genuine and cancellable, covering every night, and matching your itinerary.
Cover letter. Write it last, once every date and booking is final, so nothing in it contradicts the documents. The common ways files fail at this stage are in rejection reasons for Indian applicants.

At the border, the Entry/Exit System has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and replaces passport stamping. As a visa holder, EES records your facial image. Your fingerprints are already held in the Visa Information System from your visa application (children under 12 are not fingerprinted). What EES means for Indian travellers covers what to expect when you land.

Check your file before the appointment, not after

Once you lodge, the decision is the consulate's, and only a consular officer can make it. What you control is the file you hand over, and the moment to fix it is before the appointment, while you can still change it without paying the fee again.

Frequently asked questions

Is it too late to apply for a Schengen visa for December travel?

Not in September. For a 20 December departure, lodging by 5 November leaves the full 45-day maximum decision time before you fly, and lodging earlier leaves time to get your passport back. Later departures have slightly later dates. See the table above.

Can I apply for a Schengen visa less than 15 days before my trip?

Article 9(1) says applications are lodged "as a rule" no later than 15 calendar days before the visit. That is not an absolute bar, but a late application can be declared inadmissible under Article 19, and nothing guarantees a decision in time. Ask the consulate before relying on it.

How long does a Schengen visa take to process in November and December?

The legal standard is 15 calendar days from lodging, extendable to 45 in individual cases (Article 23). The law sets no separate timeline for the holiday season. Plan for the 45-day maximum.

VFS has no slots for my country. Can I apply through another Schengen country instead?

No. Article 5 decides the responsible consulate by your main destination, not by slot availability. Keep checking the official provider site, and never pay a third party for a slot. You can also ask the consulate whether it accepts applications lodged directly. Member states may offer this under Article 17(5), but they do not have to.

Should I book my flights before my Europe visa is approved?

You need proof of transport in the file, so hold a genuine reservation or a refundable fare. Keep it cancellable until the visa is issued. The visa fee is not refunded on refusal.

If you want to know which consulate is responsible for your December file and what is still missing from it, the free readiness check takes a few minutes. Do it before you pay the €90 fee.