In an effort to further enhance people-to-people connect, the European Union (EU) has announced a new Schengen `Cascade’ Visa regime.
Under this, frequent travellers from India to European Union countries can now get multiple entry visas with a validity of five years.
This decision comes in the context of strengthened relations under the EU-India Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility. This seeks inclusive cooperation on migration policy between the EU and India, with easing of people-to-people contacts being of key features. This is due to the importance of India as a partner for the EU.
According to an official statement, last week on April 18, the European Commission adopted specific rules on the issuing of multiple entry visas to Indian nationals. These are more favourable than the standard rules of the Visa Code that applied to date.
Cascade Regime: Know more about this
This is for the Indian nations holding Indian passports and residing in India. Those who apply for short term stay Schengen visas in India will now have easier access to visas which have multi-year validity for travellers who hold an established travel history. It also depends on the passport validity.
“This means those who travel regularly and hold a passport with validity of more than six months can easily apply for the multiple entry visa,” explained a travel agent.
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 two-year visa will normally be followed by a five-year visa, if the passport has sufficient validity remaining. During the validity period of these visas, holders enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-free nationals.
Schengen Visas
This visa allows the holder to travel freely in the Schengen area for short stays of a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. Though not purpose bound, this visa does not grant the right to work.
Which countries come under this visa scheme?
There are 29 European countries (of which 25 are EU states) including: Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
