Even though the number of applicants for European visas has decreased, which implies a reduction in the burden on consular services, it has become more difficult to obtain Schengen visas in some countries.
Representatives of the Russian tourist industry report difficulties with making an appointment for the coming dates at the visa centers of several EU member states, especially in the Russian capital. So, you can apply for a tourist visa to Finland only in the second half of July, and to Italy, Germany, or Slovenia – only in August.
Problems also arise when you try to make an appointment at the French visa center through your account on the site. After clicking on the corresponding button, an error message appears: “Sorry, something went wrong. We can’t connect you to our appointment system.” Next is a recommendation to contact the technical support of the service on Twitter.
In turn, it has been impossible to sign up for the submission of documents for a visa to Spain for several days. Posted on the BLS International Services page: “For technical reasons, the booking system is temporarily unavailable. We expect this issue to be resolved as soon as possible.”
At the same time, the site is the only way to sign up for the delivery of documents at the EC of Spain. The call center of the Spanish office in Moscow explained that the timing of the resumption of the system, even approximate, is unknown.
Also, special programs often close the dates for the submission of documents. As a rule, such bots are paid and recorded automatically in a matter of seconds, so manually “catching the nearest window” can be quite difficult.
Nevertheless, there are no problems with submitting questionnaires to the EC, for example, in Hungary or Austria, in Moscow, and the regions in the coming days. Registration for a visa to Greece is now available for mid-July. However, most countries often issue tourist visas for the duration of the trip.