Once your biometrics are done at the Visa Application Centre, your application moves into consulate processing, and it is natural to want to check where things stand. The reliable way to do this is through the official channels of the VAC operator and consulate handling your destination country — not third-party websites claiming to show a faster or more detailed status.
This guide is for Indian applicants who have submitted a Schengen Visa application and want to check where it stands. Each destination country's consulate sets its own detailed rules and these can change — treat this as a practical planning reference and confirm final requirements with the relevant consulate before applying.
How to check your Schengen visa application status
- Keep your Visa Application Centre application/reference number and the passport number used at biometrics ready.
- Log in to the official India tracking portal of the VAC operator handling your destination country (VFS Global, BLS International, TLScontact, or VisaMetric) with these details to see stage-level status such as submitted, biometrics completed, or under active processing.
- Treat the official decision email or SMS from the consulate or VAC as the authoritative update — this is what confirms a decision has actually been made, not a portal status alone.
- Once a decision is made, switch to tracking the physical passport, covered in our passport tracking guide, to know when it is dispatched back to you.
- If the status shows no movement well beyond the standard 15-calendar-day window, raise a query through the official VAC helpline or portal rather than assuming a refusal.
How this compares to similar options
This guide covers checking status before a decision is made. Once your visa is decided, the next step is tracking the passport itself as it is couriered back — that process is covered separately in our passport tracking guide linked above.
What you need before you check your status
- Your Visa Application Centre application/reference number from the biometrics receipt
- The email address and mobile number used during the original application
- Your passport number
- The correct regional portal link for the VAC operator handling your destination country
Common mistakes Indian applicants make
Relying on unofficial "status checking" websites or agents who claim to have backchannel access to a faster or more detailed status than the official VAC/consulate channels — these are not reliable and cannot speed up a genuine decision.
How Visa Expertz helps
Our team reviews passport scans, photos, proof of funds, mandatory travel insurance, purpose documents, and application details before submission, and helps coordinate your appointment at the Visa Application Centre for your destination country (VFS Global, BLS International, TLScontact, or VisaMetric, depending on which Schengen country you are applying to). Start with Schengen Visa and we will guide you to the correct category based on your travel purpose.
Practical tip before you apply
Check status only after the standard 15-calendar-day window has genuinely elapsed (allowing for the possibility of extended or exceptional processing). Frequent checking does not speed up a decision, and a status that has not changed for a few extra days is common and not automatically a sign of a problem.
Note: Visa Expertz assists with Schengen Visa categories only. No genuine agent can guarantee visa approval — final decisions rest with the consulate or embassy of your main destination Schengen country.
