Even if the processing time for several European countries has significantly shortened, UAE citizens who intend to visit Schengen nations may have to wait until December for visas. Executives in the UAE’s travel sector have observed a significant demand for Schengen visa applications.
Depending on the destination and the applicant’s papers, the processing period has decreased to just 15 days for certain countries and up to two months for others. Al Ghazi Tourism’s operating director, Bitto Peter, reported that they are getting a lot of requests for visas to travel to these 26 nations. However, Peter noted that the wait time had persisted because of the early months’ intense demand.
He mentioned how Switzerland, Germany, and France are popular destinations for UAE expats. And getting a visa could require waiting until December. “It can take at least 15 days to obtain a visa for countries like Austria, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Poland, and others,” Peter continued. According to several travel industry experts, the demand is still a major obstacle to visa availability.
Raja Mir Wasim, manager of Galadari International Travel Services, stated that the waiting period for some nations might extend as far as December. Wasim stated that some nations’ appointment schedules are completely booked between the end of November and the middle of December.
Some citizens are choosing to travel to the Caucasian area owing to delays in Schengen procedures, according to Libin Varghese, head of sales and marketing for Rooh Tourism. “Residents chose to move to Georgia, Azerbaijan, and neighbouring nations as well as eastern European nations including Serbia, Albania, and Monte Negro.
But we are getting enquiries about a number of undeveloped nations,” said Varghese. According to Libin, the top two places where locals are exhibiting interest in travelling are Kazakhstan and Monte Negro.
