UAE foreign residents who are planning to apply for a Schengen visa to travel to the bloc have been advised to watch out for scammers.
The recommendation comes from VFS Global amid the growing demand for visas and the increase in scams from third-party entities and individuals, Schengen.News reports.
According to the VFS Global Regional Head for UAE, Monaz Billimoria, scammers are promising visa appointments as well as visa approvals in exchange for money. However, she stressed that these are fake promises and applicants must only apply via official channels.
We urge applicants to beware of any third-party entities or individuals posing as VFS Global staff or partners, promising visa appointments or guaranteed visas for an additional fee. These are the sole prerogatives of the Embassies or Consulates.
To avoid resorting to intermediaries for appointments, Billimoria has once again advised all foreign residents in the UAE to plan their trips and apply for Schengen visas well in advance.
She also recalled that Schengen visa appointments can be submitted up to six months before the intended travel date to the Schengen AreaGulf News explains.
Schengen visa applications can be submitted up to six months before the intended travel date. We constantly urge applicants to plan their trips and apply for their visas well in advance to avoid any delays ahead of their travels.
Appointment Availability & Processing Times Vary From One Member State to Another, Billimoria Said
The interest among UAE foreign residents in obtaining Schengen visas particularly increases during the summer season.
Due to the high demand, the appointments get booked quickly, and new ones are released only following the instructions of the respective governments.
Commenting on the requests for additional appointment slots, Billimoria said that each member state decides on the number of appointments it will make available. It further noted that visa processing times differ from one member state to another.
Appointment availability and processing timelines vary from country to country.
While a member country that does not receive many applications can process visas within a shorter period of time, those that are more popular among visa applicants take more time to process applications.
Just recently, UAE foreign residents were told by travel agents that there are almost no available Schengen visa appointments in the next two months.
As travel agents explained, the majority of appointments are booked until at least the second week of August.
UAE foreign residents filed a large number of Schengen visa applications every year. Statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo show that foreigners in the UAE submitted 260,229 visa applications in 2024. Of the applicants, 196,109 had their visa applications approved, whereas 61,738 had their applications rejected.