How long does a Schengen visa take from India?
The visa office must decide within 15 calendar days of the date your application is submitted. In individual cases, when the file needs further scrutiny, the period can be extended to a maximum of 45 calendar days. Count from the day you submit at the centre, then add the courier time for your passport to come back.
That is Article 23 of the Visa Code, and it is the same in all 29 Schengen states. The visa office cannot promise less and should not take more. What varies is how much of the 15 days a given file uses, and whether it gets flagged for the longer period.
| Stage | Legal timing | What is happening |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment booking | Not regulated | Slot availability depends on the centre and season |
| Submission and biometrics | Day 0 | Application is submitted; the 15-day clock starts |
| Standard decision | By day 15 | Visa sticker issued, or refusal form with the ground ticked |
| Extended decision | Up to day 45 | Visa office asked for more documents, an interview, or consulted another state |
| Passport return | After decision | Courier or collection at the centre |
When does the processing clock start?
The clock starts on the date the application is submitted, which is the day the centre or visa office accepts it as admissible: passport, form, photo, fee and biometrics all done. Booking an appointment does not start it. Days are calendar days, so weekends count, but the visa office's closure days can still stretch the wait.
This is why "processing time after biometrics" is the right way to think about it. Biometrics day is day 0. If the centre sends your file to the visa office the next morning, that is still inside the 15.
When should I apply for a Schengen visa?
Apply no more than six months before the trip, and as a rule no later than 15 calendar days before it. Both limits are in Article 9 of the Visa Code. If you hold a multiple-entry visa that is still valid for at least six months, you may apply for the next one before it expires.
The 15-day floor is a minimum, not a target. A file submitted 15 days before departure has no room for the 45-day extension and no room to reapply after a refusal. The apply-by tool works backwards from your travel date and tells you the last sensible submission day, with the peak-season months marked. If you are travelling over Christmas, run it before you book anything.
Which Schengen country is fastest for Indians?
None, in law. The 15-day and 45-day limits apply to every visa office, and you do not choose the visa office: the Visa Code assigns your file to the country of your main destination, or of first entry if there is no main one. Applying to a different country for speed is not allowed and gets the file returned.
A visa office that is not competent returns the application with the fee reimbursed and points you to the right one, which costs you the very weeks you were trying to save. Work out the correct visa office with the which-country tool and the main destination guide, then plan around that centre's slot availability.
What makes a file take the full 45 days?
A file goes past 15 days when the visa office needs something it does not have: an extra document, an interview, or a consultation with another member state. The Common Information Sheet for India says the visa office may request additional documents and may call you for interview in individual cases. Every request resets nothing, but it uses the extension.
The usual triggers are ordinary gaps:
- bank statements that are not stamped and signed, or cover fewer than three months;
- an income tax return acknowledgment missing for one of the last two assessment years;
- accommodation proof that does not cover every night, or every country on the route;
- a cover letter that contradicts the bookings;
- for minors, a missing notarised consent.
These are all items on the harmonised list for India adopted by the European Commission on 4 July 2025. The full list is in our document checklist.
How do I track a Schengen visa application?
Tracking runs through the application centre that took your file, using the reference on your receipt. It shows when the file went to the visa office and when the passport is back at the centre, not what the decision is. The decision is on the visa sticker or on the refusal form inside the passport.
Calling the visa office inside the 15 days does not speed anything up. If day 45 passes with no decision, that is the point to write to the visa office, in writing, quoting the submission date.
What if the visa is refused?
A refusal comes on a standard form with the ground ticked from the fixed list in Annex VI of the Visa Code, and with the appeal route and deadline for that member state. The fee is not returned. You can appeal, or fix the gap and reapply; which one makes sense depends on the ground.
The refusal reasons guide explains what each ground means in practice.
Use the 15 days well
The visa office's clock is fixed. Yours is not. The time you can actually shorten is the time before submission: finding the missing stamp, the missing ITR year, the one-night gap in the hotel bookings. A free readiness check takes a few minutes and lists exactly that, per traveller.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Visa Code), Article 9 (when to apply), Article 5 (competent member state), Article 23 (decision within 15 days, extendable to 45), Article 32 and Annex VI (refusal form).
- Common Information Sheet for Schengen visa applicants in India, published by the Schengen member states' missions in India (timing, additional documents and interview, reimbursement by a non-competent visa office).
- Commission Implementing Decision C(2025) 4379 of 4 July 2025, Annex I: list of supporting documents to be submitted by visa applicants in India.