Schengen Visa Fees for Indians 2026: €90, VFS Charges and Total Cost

Published 2026-11-04 · 6 min read · By the Travlys visa team

The Schengen visa fee is the same in every Schengen country: €90 for adults. What changes is the service charge, insurance and extras. Here is what an Indian applicant really pays in 2026.

The Schengen visa fee for Indian passport holders in 2026 is €90 for adults, about ₹9,600, and it is the same whichever Schengen country you apply to. Children aged 6 to 11 pay €45, and children under 6 pay nothing. On top of the visa fee you pay the visa centre's service charge, usually about ₹2,000 to ₹3,000, and you need travel insurance, so a typical adult application costs roughly ₹12,000 to ₹14,000 before any consultant fee.

At a glance: Adult visa fee: €90 (about ₹9,600). Child 6 to 11: €45. Under 6: free. Service charge: about ₹2,000 to ₹3,000, set by each country's visa centre. Insurance: mandatory, minimum €30,000 medical cover. Refund if refused: no. Decision time: usually 15 calendar days, up to 45.

The Schengen visa fee in 2026

The short-stay (type C) Schengen visa fee is fixed by the EU Visa Code, so it does not change between France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands or any other Schengen state. It rose from €80 to €90 in June 2024 and has stayed at €90 since.

• Adults (12 and over): €90
• Children aged 6 to 11: €45
• Children under 6: no visa fee
• Some categories such as school pupils on organised study trips and researchers travelling for scientific work can get the fee waived; the consulate decides.

In India the fee is collected in rupees at the exchange rate the consulate sets, so the rupee figure moves a little through the year. Check the current figure on your visa centre's fee page before you pay.

The service charge: why the total differs by country

Schengen consulates in India take applications through outsourced visa centres run by companies such as VFS Global, BLS International or TLScontact, depending on the country. Each charges its own service fee, typically about ₹2,000 to ₹3,000 per applicant, published on the country's visa centre website. This is the part of the bill that genuinely varies between, say, a Netherlands and a Spain application.

Optional extras you can skip

• Premium or lounge appointments
• SMS updates and form-filling help at the centre
• Courier delivery of your passport
• Photo booth and photocopies at the centre

None of these improve your chances. A complete, consistent file does.

Travel insurance: the cost people forget

Every Schengen applicant needs travel medical insurance valid across all Schengen states for the whole trip, with at least €30,000 of cover for medical emergencies and repatriation. The premium depends on your age and the number of days; for a short holiday it is usually a small part of the total, but older travellers and long trips pay more.

What one adult really pays: a worked example

• Visa fee: €90, about ₹9,600
• Visa centre service charge: about ₹2,000 to ₹3,000
• Travel insurance: varies by age and days
• Estimated total before consultant fee: roughly ₹12,000 to ₹14,000
• Travlys service fee (optional): from ₹2,950, covering the document check, cover letter, application form, appointment booking and a final file review

For a family of two adults and one child aged 8, the visa fees alone come to €225 (€90 + €90 + €45), plus a service charge for each person.

Fees are not refunded: get the file right first

If the visa is refused, the visa fee and the service charge are lost. The most common reasons for refusal from India are an itinerary that does not match the hotel bookings, unexplained cash deposits in bank statements, insurance that does not cover the full trip, and applying to the wrong country for your main destination. Spending an hour on these before you book the appointment saves the whole fee.

When to apply and how long it takes

You can apply up to 6 months before your trip and at least 15 days before it. Consulates usually decide within 15 calendar days, but this can stretch to 45 days, and appointment slots in Indian cities fill up weeks ahead before summer and the Christmas season. For December and summer trips, book the appointment 6 to 8 weeks ahead.

Travlys tip: Apply to the country where you spend the most nights, or where you enter first if the nights are equal. Applying to an easier country for a trip that is mainly elsewhere is a classic refusal reason and costs you the full fee.