'Not interested in marrying your men': Indian investor slams Schengen visa application process

An investor on Wednesday described her harrowing experience while applying for Schengen visa - a type of visa that allows people to enter a group of 27 European countries. Ujjavala Bothra, an investor, said the amount of paperwork for a Schengen visa is insane. 

"Why is it so difficult to understand: 1. We are not interested in marrying your men, thank you. 2. We are actually adding to the GDP of your country!" Bothra, who was applying for a visa to Norway, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

In another tweet on Wednesday, Bothra said her appointment was for 11:30 am but her turn came at 2 pm. "What is the point of booking a slot?" she asked. Not just that, the document checklist on Norway's website is outdated. She also said that one page print cost her Rs 150. "Soul-crushing would be an understatement to describe my visa experience," Bothra said.

She also slammed VFS Global, a global outsourcing and technology services company that provides visa, passport, and consular services to governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. "We 100% need more competition to @VFSGlobal - Monopolies suck!" the investor wrote.

Also read: Skip long wait times! US Embassy waives in-person interviews for visa applicants; check details here

VFS Global, in its response, said the checklist of the documentation required for visa applications for each country is as per the requirements of the respective governments and the same is available on its sit.

For print out cost, the company said: "VFS Global value-added services such as printouts of visa documents are optional and are available for select client governments only...VFS Global provides such value-added services to the applicant's benefit only to let them complete their task, should they require any assistance complementing the core task of applying for a visa, without having to go back and forth."

The company said it has observed unprecedented demand in outbound travel from India since the opening of international borders in 2021 "which has resulted in extended wait times occasionally at visa application centres". "We, therefore, request visa applicants to be patient during this peak travel season."

Reacting to Bothra's post, Nayanika, a journalist, said she too went through a similar hassle for a Korean tourist visa. "60-70 pages worth of documents. Apparently, if you're single and not super rich, the embassy thinks you don't plan to return! Even if you provide proof of employment and strong national ties. Pretty insulting," she said.

Another user, Benja, said Norway is way too strict. "I haven’t been able to bring my foreign family here once for visits. we always have to leave Norway to meet," he said.

Tanya Khanijow, a travel content creator, found some logic in long paperwork. She said when a person applies for Schengen visa, that person gets to enter 27 nations that don't exercise any border control. "So if one nation grants the visa, they have to be sure, you have actual travel plans and won’t illegally immigrate to another. It’s a shared responsibility and it is what it is," she wrote.