There's good news for Indians who travel frequently to Europe. The European Commission has announced multi-entry Schengen visas with longer validity for Indian nationals.
"According to the newly adopted visa 'cascade' regime for India, Indian nationals can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas valid for two years after having obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years," the Commission said.
The EU said the 'cascade' regime will provide Indian nationals who have "obtained and lawfully used two visas within the previous three years" access to visas with multi-year validity. The multi-entry visas are for travellers "with an established travel history, if the passport validity allows".
They further mentioned that a two-year visa can be followed by a five-year visa if the individual's passport is valid for the tenure. This extended validity will offer people travel rights just like visa-free nationals.
This Schengen visa update was initiated to strengthen India's relations with the European Union under the EU-India Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility.
The joint declaration ensures cooperation on migration policy between the European Union (EU) and India, and simultaneously, encourages people-to-people contacts as India is a partner for the EU.
Earlier, Schengen visas had restricted norms where travellers were allowed a maximum of 90 days in a span of 180-day period. The visas do not grant the right to work to travellers and are not purpose-bound.
The Schengen Visa allows an Indian traveller to visit 29 European countries like Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
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