Visa delays cast a shadow on Diwali travel plans

Visa delays cast a shadow on Diwali travel plans 

CANADA VISA NOW HAS WAITING OF FOUR MONTHS; US, EUROPE HOPEFULS TOO FACE DELAYS 

Bharat Yagnik, Niyati Parikh & Nimesh Khakhariya TNN 

Rajkot/Ahmedabad : Four months. That’s the current processing time for a Canadian visa. Usually, tourists holding a US visa would get a Canadian visa within a fortnight, but that’s no longer the case, travel agents say, adding that tourists’ dreams of exploring foreign lands during Diwali are being overshadowed by anxiety and the prospect of having to cancel plans.

 “After completion of the biometric process, the embassy would, within seven to eight days, ask for passport for visa stamping. Now, there is no communication for four five months,” said Dilip Masaani, a travel agent in Rajkot. He added, “Many travellers going on a US tour also wish to visit Canada. Getting a Canadian visa was earlier easier if the applicant had a US visa. Now, the word from the embassy on visa stamping arrives quite late, many a times after the applicant has left for the US.”

Ronak Shah, Gujarat chapter chairman of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said, “Canada recently stated that they have 2 million pending visa applications. The process is very slow. Those who had applied in the first week of June are getting visas now.” The delays are affecting other preferred international visas as well. Hiral Rathod (name changed), a senior citizen who applied for a Schengen visa to visit her friend in Europe, faced rejection. “I had applied for the visa and my friend, who was to host me at her residence, had sent all the necessary documentation. However, my visa application was rejected,” she said. This not only led to disappointment but also significant financial losses for Rathod.

Lalit Advani, a visa consultant, said, “Diwali is a time when people love to travel, and bookings are not always made in advance. Despite providing all necessary documents, including return tickets, hotel reservations and travel insurance, many applicants are facing rejection. “One of my clients had applied for a travel visa to Switzerland. Even 15 days after his visa interview, the embassy did not clarify if the application had been approved or rejected. Tired, the applicant wrote to the embassy to retrieve his passport. He will now apply for a visa to another  destination for his Diwali break.” The situation is also dire for those planning to travel to Europe during Diwali. 

According to travel company owners, family appointments for Schengen visa interviews are not available. Every member is required to apply individually, further complicating the process and increasing the likelihood of delays and rejections. The wait for US visas is nearly a year-long. “The backlog of applications, particularly for the US, leads to fresh appointments, which has resulted in wait times stretching for a year. This has significantly impacted students, professionals and tourists alike, who are unable to plan their future travels with certainty,” said Ankit Bajaj, a travel company owner from Ahmedabad. Visa consultant Parthesh Thakkar said, “One of my clients – an IIM Kolkata student – was scheduled to travel to Italy for academic purposes. However, he was refused a visa. Lastminute rush, lack of adequate staff at visa facilitation centres as well as embassy offices, is a key reason for rejections as well as delay in appointment availability.” 

He also attributed the higher rejection rates to incomplete documentation, particularly by first-time applicants