Dubai: Expatriate residents in the UAE face delays as long as a month-and-a-half when booking appointments for Schengen visa applications at the (Visa Facilitation Services) VFS centre in Dubai.

Earlier this week, applicants of different nationalities at the centre were told by VFS personnel that they faced a delay in the processing time from the standard 15 calendar days to 25 calendar days.

The news isn’t good for those wishing to travel to the European Union in coming weeks while applying several months in advance to avoid the summer rush is also not an option since applications are only accepted within three months of the requested date of arrival. An estimate of 15 calendar days is the standard processing time.

With the summer rush of holidaymakers heading to some of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations, getting a Schengen visa just weeks into the summer may not be an easy task for UAE expats.

Among the most popular countries this year are Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and Austria according to a helpline attendant at the VFS centre.

Applying for an appointment for a short-stay Schengen visa in Dubai can only be done online for most European countries.

A VFS official said delays are happening for various reasons ranging from the beginning of the holiday season to extra time needed for different embassies to verify and approve certain visa applications from different nationalities.

“Different nationalities [of passport holders] have different times,” the official said. “Some nationalities may be three to five days, while for many others it may be 12 to 15 days [waiting time for approval].”

A recent query by Gulf News showed the next available appointment to submit documents for a visa to Greece was August 18, while the earliest date to schedule an appointment for a visa to Hungary was August 3.

Diplomatic mission officials at embassies representing countries such as Greece and Italy in the UAE could not be reached for comment regarding the delays.

The Schengen visa procedures, meanwhile, do not apply to UAE citizens.

Emirati passport holders are exempted from obtaining a visa to enter the territory of the European Union Countries for short stays for up to 90 days over any 180 day period, effective May 7, 2015.