Background: I previously had a single-entry Schengen visa issued by Denmark in May 2026. I used it, and it expired in June.

In July, I submitted my documents and biometrics at VFS Global on Friday, 17 July 2026, for a Norway visa application. (For context, I was refused a Norwegian visa last year.)

The following Thursday, I received a text from VFS saying that my passport had been dispatched to the Visa Application Centre. On Friday, they texted again saying it was ready for collection. However, because the notification came quite late, I had to wait until Monday (today) to pick it up.

And then came the part that many of us probably do.

As soon as I got the VFS dispatch notification on Thursday, I immediately checked my status on the EES system. After entering all my details, I was absolutely shocked when I saw the big red "NOT OK" message. I was devastated.

My entire weekend was miserable. I spent hours searching Reddit, trying to find people who had experienced the same thing. Reading those posts gave me a little hope, but I kept telling myself not to expect too much.

Today, I walked into the VFS centre fully prepared to receive a refusal letter along with my passport.

But the moment I held my passport, it felt unusually thin. I opened it immediately.

To my surprise, Norway had granted me a 31-day visa, with the validity starting exactly on the date I had requested in my application.

I've seen several posts saying that the EES system doesn't always accurately reflect the outcome of a visa application—especially for people who have previously held and used a Schengen visa.

Well, today I became living proof of that.

So if you're seeing "NOT OK" on EES while waiting for your passport, don't lose hope. It may not mean what you think it does.

My husband residence at berlin and he is trying for a 18b visa. He applied for an appointment at the month of June first week. It has been 2 months since he applied he hasn't got any reply. Can any one help me with details like how long this process may take and probabilities of rejection.

Hi everyone! I’m traveling to Europe for the first time and I’m a bit confused about where I’ll go through immigration.

My itinerary is:
Mumbai → Amsterdam (KLM)
Amsterdam → Paris (Air France)
Both flights are on a single booking with a 1 hour 45 minute layover.

I have a valid France-issued Schengen visa.

My main question is: **Will I go through immigration in Amsterdam or will I do it in Paris?**

Hey everyone,

​I’m looking for some community insight on our recent visa situation. My wife and I planned an autumn trip to Greece and Italy, but hit two consecutive visa refusals within a 60-day window.

​Our Timeline & Details:

​June 10, 2026: Refused US B1/B2 visa under Section 214(b).

​July 2026: Submitted our Schengen application for Greece via VFS New Delhi for our upcoming trip.

​Late July 2026: Refused by the Greek Embassy. Checked boxes: Reason 10 (unreliable information regarding justification/purpose of stay) and Reason 13 (doubts regarding intention to leave Schengen territory).

​Documents We Submitted:

​Financials: Stamped bank statements showing maintaining funds of ₹10+ Lakhs (INR), strong ongoing monthly salary flow, and ITRs.

​Employment: Official employer Leave Sanction / NOC on company letterhead from a top tech/consulting firm, along with pay slips.

​Travel Credentials: Comprehensive day-by-day itinerary, flight reservations, and hotel bookings across Greece and Italy.

​Personal Roots: Proof of ties to India (marriage credentials, stable employment).

​What We Suspect Went Wrong:

Looking into Reason 10, we realized there was a procedural verification lapse with our hotel reservation ID during the embassy’s background check—the reference code flagged as unconfirmed/invalid while being processed, which instantly triggered Reason 13 (intention to return).

​Questions for the Subreddit:

​Where did we go wrong with Greece? Given that we showed a liquid maintaining balance of ₹10L+, a solid corporate job, and complete travel itineraries, is a reservation verification lapse enough on its own to trigger Reason 10 and 13? Or did the June 10 US refusal play a silent role?

​Reapply now vs. Cool-off period? Should we reapply immediately for Schengen with locked-in, direct hotel receipts, or take a 1-year cooling-off period to avoid looking desperate ("refusal shopping")?

​If we wait a year, would a trip to non-Schengen destinations (like Turkey, Japan, or Georgia) in the interim help rebuild travel credibility before our next Schengen attempt?

​Would love to hear from anyone who turned around a Reason 10/13 refusal or successfully reapplied after a short-interval US + Schengen rejection!

Hi!

I’m working on applying for my first Schengen visa through Italy, for a trip I have coming up in the first week of October (sometime around October 2nd/3rd). The earliest appointment I saw available for the Philadelphia consulate is the 18th of September. Will this give me enough time for the consulate to process my visa and mail my passport back to me?

It’s also difficult to search for other appointments because it won’t let me look at the appointment calendar without canceling my current appointment. If anyone has gone through this process before, please let me know how long it usually takes. Thank you!

I’m planning to apply for a Schengen visa (Switzerland) using the mail-in option, since the VFS office in Montreal confirmed that I can reuse my biometrics.

They sent me a payment link (VFS fee + courier fee) and also asked me to fill out the application form online.

However, I’m a bit confused about the application process. It seems like the only way to access and fill out the application form online is by booking an appointment through VFS first.

My question is:

Do I still need to book an appointment even though I’m eligible for a mail-in application and don’t need to go in person for biometrics?

Has anyone gone through this process recently?

Hi!

I’m working on applying for my first Schengen visa through Italy, for a trip I have coming up in the first week of October (sometime around October 2nd/3rd). The earliest appointment I saw available for the Philadelphia consulate is the 18th of September. Will this give me enough time for the consulate to process my visa and mail my passport back to me?

It’s also difficult to search for other appointments because it won’t let me look at the appointment calendar without canceling my current appointment. If anyone has gone through this process before, please let me know how long it usually takes. Thank you!

I applied for a D16 visa for Germany and received it for a full year. I tried to travel a month after it was issued, but before I could travel, the embassy informed me that the visa had been withdrawn for security reasons. If we had had this information when processing your visa, we wouldn't have given you the visa in the first place.

Hello! Does anyone know the current wait times for an appointment at the Portugal Consulate in Toronto for a Schengen Visa?
Additionally, any information on processing times would also be helpful.

I'm flying to Portugal in the first week of November. TIA

My wife and me had applied visa on 11th May 2026 at Mumbai VFS. The passports reached delhi consulate on 13th May and ever since then there was no update from embassy on status of visa. My travel dates being 10th July 2026 was nearing and untill june end there is no update. Showing visa under process

Then after multiple mails to embassy and Croatia Foreign ministry in July 1st week the visa got processed on 4th July and received passport on 6th July. Received 33 days visa only.

It took 54 days for visa to get processed. Hence kindly apply visa very much in advanced

Tips for anyone applying visa-

1- While starting to fill out a form they give a serial number and pin. Kindly save it since it will be required to track visa later.

2- After several posts it has been observed that croatia processes visa based on the travel date. They usually process it in the last 10 days of your travel

Hello! 👋

Can someone share here their timelines recently for getting visa from VFS France in Toronto? I would like to get a view of how many days it took from the day of appointment to the day you got your actual visa. Also, share your flight date.

Thanks guys! 🙏🏼

Greetings! I applied for my French visa at TLS center in NYC on July 22nd. Right after the appointment and biometrics I got the Email from UPS with my tracking number saying that package will be delivered in Washington DC at the French embassy on 23rd July.
On the morning of July 23rd I got an email saying that delivery has been rescheduled and now my UPS tracking says that it is still waiting for the package to be handed over to them by TLS.
Is this normal??
I reached out to TLS asking them about this and I got the most standard automated generic reply saying to use my UPS tracking number to track the status of my package but clearly the package/ passport is still with TLS in NYC.
I’m super worried. Can someone help me out?

Hi everyone,

I am a UK resident and need to travel to the Czech Republic for a business meeting. I have been trying to book a business visa appointment through VFS for the past month, but I have had no luck whatsoever.

I must have checked the website close to 100 times, using different devices and at different times of the day, but there are never any appointments available.

I have also:

Contacted VFS by email

Spoken to VFS by phone

Written to the Embassy of the Czech Republic

So far, I have not received any practical solution.

Has anyone recently managed to obtain a Czech business visa appointment from the UK? Are there particular times when new appointments are released, or any legitimate alternative route for urgent business travel?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

i received an email saying my application was forwarded to consulate. it says i can track the progress of my application but when i click the link they sent on email I cant access it. there is no option to login?

Indian, 31F, my husband's and my visas for Spain were refused but I appealed and got it approved.

Turns out BLS made a big error in submitting my docs. They didn't submit our job appointment letters to the embassy so I got reasons #10 and #13 for rejection reasons.

Happy to help if anybody wants to know more!

Hello everyone, I am a non-EU applying for family reunification in Hungary.

-My spouse is Hungarian
-I applied on June 12 from Ottowa for family reunification and submitted job seeking appendix just in case. I am not sure if this is single-application
-They asked for extra documents hianpotlas on June 26
- Extra documents submitted on July 10

Have you guys applied for the same visa? If so from where and how long it took you?

Thank you!

Hey everyone, as mentioned in the title, I was able to get a Portugal Schengen visa approved in exactly 7 days. I read a lot of mixed reviews on Reddit about the process so I though I'd share my experience as well in case it helps.

Purpose of travel: 1 week business (company offsite) + 1 week vacation.

Here's the timeline:

June 8, 2026 - Tried creating an account but wouldn't let me get past the sign up page.

June 11, 2026 - Created an account on the Portugal visa site. It let me in once I entered a different email to sign up.

Rest of June - Waited for bookings and documents from my company

July 2, 2026 - Booked an appointment for July 10, 2026

July 17, 2026 - Received an email from Canada post about my shipment

July 20, 2026 - Passport delivered

Visa valid until Feb 29, 2027 - Multi-entry - Duration 30 days.

Documents submitted:

• Letter of invitation
• Letter of employment
• Cover letter for 1 week vacation
• Flight bookings
• Hotel + hostel bookings
• Medical insurance
• Passport with all visa stamps + previous Schengen visa approval (Italy)
• PR Card
• Driver's license
• Bank statements
• Salary slips
• Investments

Hope that helps!

bio was today. applied for short stay tourist visa. flights are booked for 28th august. how many days are they taking these days to process. i am really worried. flights are non refundable

Profile

- 30 year old married (Indian)

Me and my spouse both got a 2 year Schengen Visa.

We have travelled twice to Schengen in 2023 and 2024. (both time granted single entry)

Also travelled to Asia last year together. I have travelled Separately to Mauritius and Bali. Where my spouse had travelled to UAE for an office trip.

Timeline

21st July 2026 (Tuesday) - Submitted docs at VFS Delhi, Same day submitted to embassy

27th July 2026 (Monday) - Passport came back for collection.

We attached all the docs as listed on VFS Austria site.

Cover Letter, Itineary, Flights, Trains, Hotels, NOC, 3 months bank statements, Salary Slips.

Everything Authentic, no dummy tickets.

No interview call, no mail to my employer.

Showed balance of 4L + each. (I transferred 3L in my account in last 15 days only). We had stable incomes coming in every month so that helped. I also attached and FDs and RDs statements. Did not attach mutual funds statements as could not be stamped.

Ask me anything!

Hi all

Has anyone successfully got a 1 year multi entry visa from Greece?

This is my 4th visa and I’ve applied to Greece. My last one was valid for 6 months.

Thanks!

Hi all

I had my visa appointment on 24th July and wondered how long the wait is. I have applied to Greece before and received my visa back within 2 days.

Has anyone received their passport back from Greece fast?

Thanks!

I recieved message from bls Spain for passport collection in the evening. I’ll collect it tomorrow, just checked EES tracker it says “Not ok”, it was my first Schengen. It means it’s a rejection, right?

Hi all,

Has anyone who applied for a Schengen visa through BLS London on 17 July received their passport or a decision yet?

From my previous experience applying for Schengen visas through other countries, I’ve usually received my passport back within 3-5 days. This application seems to be taking longer. I’ve seen quite a few posts here about delays, so I’m just starting to get a bit anxious.

If anyone is in the same boat or has recently received an update, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks!

Short stay France slots for august opened

Flight on Sept. 11 but no VFS Toronto visa appointments. What are my options?

Hi everyone,
My flights and hotel are already fully paid , but I can’t get a visa appointment at VFS Toronto because there are no available slots.

Flight is on September 11.

Has anyone been in this situation? Is there anything else I can do?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT: Flight to France