Tour Operator Ordered to Refund Traveller Over Denied Schengen Visa

An international tour operator has been ordered to refund an Indian traveller over their denied Schengen visa.

The order for refund was made by the District Consumer Redressal Commission in Hyderabad after it was found out that the applicant’s Schengen visa was denied due to the tour operator’s failure to provide all necessary documentation, Schengen.News reports. 

As the Economic Times explains, the travellers booked a European tour package in August 2022. However, his visa was rejected only a few days before the departure date. 

Following an investigation, the court found that the visa of the traveller was denied as the tour operator did not submit the hotel and flight booking confirmation, among others. 

Taking into account that the company has failed to fulfill its obligations and ensure a smooth travel experience for the traveller who paid a large amount of money for the package, it has been ordered to pay a much higher compensation. 

The tour operator offered a refund of around €110 after it admitted its negligence during this particular case. 

However, the Commission rejected this offer and ordered a higher compensation. The tour operator has been ordered to pay around €767 in compensation with six per cent interest from September 29, 2022. 

In addition, the tour operator has also been ordered to pay an additional €328 in compensation for the mental distress and financial losses it caused for the travellers and €110 for legal expenses.

The applicant did not make any comment on the matter and it is unknown whether he applied again for a visa and if he was granted the document following this refusal. 

Indians File Large Number of Schengen Visa Applications Every Year 
Indians submit a large number of Schengen visa applications every year, with them being among the top applicants. 

Statistics from SchengenVisaInfo show that in 2023, Indians filed the third-highest number of visa applications, following Chinese and Turkish applicants. During that period, Indians applied for 966,687 Schengen visas. 

Despite them filing this many applications, not everyone received a positive response. Data show that of all Indians who filed a Schengen visa application in 2023, a total of 811,290 of them were granted the visa and 151,752 of them were rejected the visa. 

Switzerland and France granted the most visas for Indians in 2023. The two countries issued 166,919 and 146,938 Schengen visas to Indians, respectively.

Source: https://schengen.news/tour-operator-ordered-to-refund-traveller-over-denied-schengen-visa/