Schengen Visa in 4 Days: Indian Couple Beats the Odds

In an unusual turnaround, an Indian couple applying for an Austrian Schengen visa from New Delhi had their application approved in just four working days, a processing time far shorter than the typical timeline.

Exceptionally Swift Processing

VFS Global, which handles visa applications for many Schengen countries, generally processes Indian applications within 15 calendar days, though processing can stretch to 45 days during peak times or for further scrutiny.

What Set Them Apart

The couple, including one applicant who holds a valid US visa, submitted a meticulously prepared application. Their documents included:

• Cover letter
• Travel itinerary
• Income tax returns for two years
• Three months of bank statements
• Lawyer’s bar council certificate and business card
• Confirmed (refundable) flight and hotel bookings—not prepaid
• Wife’s salary slips and employer’s NOC

They also explicitly noted in their cover letter that they had not booked internal travel tickets (trains or buses) to keep their plans flexible.

Broader Challenges for Applicants

While this couple’s experience offers a rare success story, many other applicants face rejections or prolonged waits. As one commenter on Reddit lamented:

“We submitted all documents along with internal travel tickets as well. Sadly refused on the basis of accommodation could not be verified.”

High Overall Rejection Rate

Highlighting the broader difficulty, the global rejection rate for Schengen visa applications stood at 14.8% in 2024. Out of 11.7 million applications, 9.79 million were approved; more than half of these approvals were for multiple-entry visas.