Travel smart: Get your Schengen, US visa for a smooth summer trip

A comprehensive guide to help you avoid visa rejections and guarantee your summer vacation goes as planned

- Shipra Singh

Paras Sharma in New Delhi lost Rs 2.5 lakh even before his planned holiday in Greece started in 2024. His and his wife's Schengen visa applications were rejected by the Greece embassy.

"This was despite showing genuine hotel and flight bookings, sufficient bank balance, past income tax returns and every other document that was asked. The rejection letter gave a vague reason that travel reasons are not justified," said the 39-year-old businessman. "I didn't try to play smart by submitting dummy reservations but even that didn't help."

Sharma's plight is shared by at least 15% of Indian travellers who apply for visa to Schengen states - an area consisting of 29 European countries. As per data from Atlys, a visa processing platform, Schengen visa rejection rates varied from 9-16% across countries in 2024. Data from the Migration and Home Affairs website of the European Union shows that of about 966,000 applications made by Indians in 2023, 16% were rejected.

Almost all European countries ask for confirmed hotel and flight bookings with visa applications, which carries the risk of monetary loss for applicants because there is no guarantee of approval. During the peak May-July season, scarce appointment slots and long processing times can affect holiday plans. Visa rejection is a risk in other Western countries too, such as the US (24% in 2023), the UK, Georgia and Australia.

However, you don't have to ditch plans for a European or US summer holiday because of visa uncertainty. Experts say there is a science behind the right way to apply for a visa. Mint tells you how to plan your travel and the mistakes to avoid so that visas don't play spoilsport.

Preparing for visa rejection

The biggest cost of applying for a Schengen visa is flight and hotel bookings. However, there are ways to minimize losses, said Jimeet, founder of outofofficedaku, a visa and holiday planning company.