Belgium Schengen Visa delays

Hello,

I applied for a Schengen visa for Belgium in the first week of July. This application was for a dual entry visa as I'm supposed to go to another country later (after coming back to UK) for a conference. As per the procedure, I applied via VFS and received a message the next day that my application is in process. Earlier this week, I called VFS for an update on my visa processing status as I'm supposed to travel on 2nd August. They said it's still processing so I called the Belgian Consulate. They said that they need additional documents from me and that they had sent a request to VFS on 18 July to tell me. When I asked VFS about it, they said they never received such a request. I sent in the documents two days ago directly to the consulate and they have confirmed that they have received my documents?

Now I'm wondering what to do because I doubt they'll be able to process my visa by tomorrow keeping in mind that I'm a citizen of Pakistan working on a TIer 2 visa in the UK. Should I wait for them? Whenever I call them about to ask about timelines, I get stock answers, nothing specific.

I'm also worried since I'm losing my booked and paid flights. Secondly, I have booked an appointment for Monday 4 August with the Dutch embassy in case my visa is not process on time because I'm supposed to travel to Amsterdam for a conference later in August. I'll be losing around GBP 1000 if that conference is missed. Should I wait and see how the Belgian embassy does or withdraw my application, forget about next week's trip and apply for the Dutch visa?

Any advice would be helpful here.

Thank you.

I'd contact the embassy and inform them about your situation, with any luck they can give you an answer ASAP. Since documentation was missing according to them the maximum processing time would be 30 calendar days at the most. The standard processing time is 15 days, if docs are missing or a closer review is needed then in individual cases it's 30 days and in exceptional cases 60 days.

I'd prepare the application for the NL embassy but hand it in at the end of this week or start of next week, trying to get an answer from the Belgians today or tomorrow or so. And make a direct application, VFS is entirely optional for all Schengen applications (as per article 17.5 of the Schengen Code on Visa, 810/2009) and the embassy should clearly communicate this.

EU Directive 810/2009/EC wrote:Article 17
5. The Member State(s) concerned shall maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications directly at its/their consulates.

Schengen Visa Handbook wrote:4.4. Direct access
Maintaining the possibility for visa applicants to lodge their applications directly at the consulate instead of via an external service provider implies that there should be a genuine choice between these two possibilities.

Even if direct access does not have to be organised under identical or similar conditions to those for access to the service provider, the conditions should not make direct access impossible in practice. Even if it is acceptable to have a different waiting time for obtaining an appointment in the case of direct access, the waiting time should not be so long that it would render direct access impossible in practice.

The different options available for lodging a visa application should be presented plainly to the public, including clear information both on the choice and the cost of the additional services of the external service provider (see Part I, point 4.1).

Sources: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wh ... dex_en.htm You will also find contact info there incase you wish to complain or share your experience with the EU about member states doing a proper rule (assuming that indeed the Belgians don't communicate your rights etc. clearly).

Thank you very much for the detailed answer.

I'll call the Belgians today again. I've been calling them daily since the start of this week and the have been slightly helpful but still give stock answers. VFS says that if I want to withdraw my application, it'll take 3 working days to get my passport back. Is there a clause in the European directive which gives me a right to go to the Belgian consulate and get my passport back without going through VFS? I'm trying to find it in the link you gave me but haven't been able to yet.

Cheers.

You won't find amything in the visa code 810/2009 or the handbooks found on the EU webpage when it comes to requesting your passport back via either the service provider or embassy itself. But if the passport is at the embassy you could contact them and ask if you could get it back directly. Either by picking it up or by mail ( paying for the postage costs). Would make sense since you are entitled to a direct application, as per before mentioned post -hope you found that info too incase you need to repeat the rules to the embassy- . But if it would be the most practical, that only you and the embassy would know.

I have been told that I can withdraw the application and apply for the Dutch visa but before giving me the passport, the Belgians will put a stamp on it. The Dutch after seeing it will contact the Belgians which according to the Belgian consulate will delay the process in any case. Seems like I don't have any other option but to cancel next week's holiday and wait it out.

Any advice here?

Regards,