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A Reddit post detailing how an Indian citizen secured a long-term Schengen visa from France under the EU’s “cascade regime” has gone viral.
A five-year multiple-entry Schengen visa costs €90 (about Rs 8,797) for adults.
A Reddit post detailing an Indian traveller’s swift and successful acquisition of a 5-year multiple-entry Schengen visa has gone viral, drawing attention to the European Union’s relatively under-the-radar “cascade” visa regime. The Reddit user, an Indian passport holder, revealed that the French consulate in Bengaluru granted them the long-term visa in just four working days. The user wrote, “Sharing my experience for those curious about the cascade regime- it seems to be finally working well, at least in France’s case!”
How Traveller Got 5-Year Schengen Visa In 4 Days
According to the post, the user has visited 32 countries and previously held three Schengen visas from Germany and Spain, all issued within the past two years. The user’s most recent Schengen visa- granted by Spain- was valid for just 45 days. Despite that, their latest application through the French consulate yielded a five-year visa.
Read more: 5-Year Schengen Visa Explained: Who’s Eligible, How To Apply And What It Costs
The Redditor’s experience sparked a wave of curiosity among Indian travellers navigating the often unpredictable Schengen visa process as the comment section of the post quickly filled up with questions about how the user managed to do so.
In the post, the user detailed the documents submitted to support their application: a cover letter requesting a longer-validity visa, previous passport and scanned pages of both new and old passports showing travel history, a 10-day travel itinerary for France, two years’ worth of Income Tax Returns, along with three months of bank statements and salary slips and standard documents required for a Schengen tourist visa.
“For the cascade regime, you need at least two visas in the past three years to be eligible for a 2-year visa, but granting a longer duration visa is completely at the discretion of the visa officer,” the user noted.
What Is The Schengen “Cascade” Regime?
The European Commission’s “cascade” visa regime was designed to streamline access to long-term, multiple-entry Schengen visas for regular travellers from countries like India. Under this regime, if an applicant has used two Schengen visas within the last three years, they can be granted a two-year multi-entry visa. After successfully using that visa, they may apply for a five-year multiple-entry visa- provided their passport has enough validity remaining. During the validity period, visa holders enjoy near visa-free travel privileges across the Schengen area, though they can stay only 90 days in any 180-day period. These visas, however, are strictly for tourism or business and cannot be used for employment.
Which Countries Accept This Visa?
The multiple-entry Schengen visa allows access to all 29 countries in the Schengen zone which are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
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