For thousands of Pakistanis hoping to travel to Europe for education, business, tourism, or family visits, the biggest hurdle is no longer obtaining a visa—it is simply getting a visa appointment.
Across the country, applicants for Schengen visas complain of waiting for months, and in some cases much longer, without any indication of when they will be called for an appointment. Unlike the visa decision itself—which remains the sovereign right of every country—the uncertainty surrounding appointment scheduling has become a source of frustration, financial loss, and psychological stress.
Many applicants say they can accept a visa refusal if it is based on the merits of their application. What they find difficult is being left in complete uncertainty, unable to plan their lives because they do not know whether their appointment will come in weeks, months, or even longer.
I have experienced this uncertainty firsthand. In February this year, I applied for a visa appointment for France because I intended to undertake a writing trip in June. To ensure everything proceeded smoothly, I applied nearly four months in advance and had already begun making preparations for the visit. Months later, I still have no indication of when my appointment will be scheduled. The greatest difficulty is not merely the delay—it is the complete absence of any timeline that would allow applicants to plan accordingly.
If the embassy cannot provide an appointment immediately, at least tell us approximately when our turn will come. Even if the waiting period is several months, applicants deserve to know so they can organize their travel, work, and financial commitments, said an applicant requesting not to be named.
The issue extends well beyond tourists. Students risk missing university admission deadlines. Professionals may lose employment or business opportunities. Families are forced to postpone reunions, weddings, and other important occasions because they cannot secure appointments in time.
A university graduate from Lahore, who requested anonymity because of concerns about his future visa application, said he has been waiting for months for a Schengen visa appointment.
“I don’t even know whether my appointment will come this year. Every day I check the booking portal hoping to see an available slot, but nothing changes. The uncertainty is exhausting.”
Similarly, a businessman from Islamabad said repeated delays have disrupted his commercial activities.
“My meetings in Europe have already been postponed twice. If I knew my appointment would only come after six months, I could at least reschedule my business accordingly. The silence is the hardest part.”
Many applicants also question the transparency of the appointment system. They complain that appointment slots disappear within seconds of becoming available, creating a widespread perception that unauthorized agents and middlemen are somehow able to secure appointments more easily than ordinary applicants. While there is no publicly available evidence that embassies themselves facilitate such practices, the scarcity of appointments has fueled a thriving market in which some agents allegedly charge substantial sums to obtain appointment slots.
This perception has undermined public confidence in what should be an equitable and transparent process.
Applicants say the shortage has also created significant financial burdens. Students face deferred admissions, families lose money on cancelled travel plans, businesses miss commercial opportunities, and tourists abandon carefully planned itineraries after months of waiting.
In contrast, many Pakistani travelers describe the United Kingdom’s visa appointment system as more predictable and accessible through official channels. While visa decisions may vary, applicants generally appreciate knowing when they will be able to submit their biometrics and documents, allowing them to plan their travel with greater certainty.
The growing frustration has prompted calls for reforms. Applicants urge European missions and their visa service providers to increase appointment capacity, improve transparency in the allocation of appointment slots, strengthen measures against appointment reselling and fraudulent agents, and most importantly, provide applicants with an estimated appointment date at the time of registration.
Such a measure would not eliminate delays, but it would replace uncertainty with predictability.
Every sovereign state has the unquestionable right to decide who enters its territory and whether to grant a visa. However, applicants argue that fairness also requires a transparent and predictable appointment system.
For many Pakistanis, the issue is no longer whether they will receive a visa. It is whether they will ever know when they will even get the opportunity to apply.
If appointments must be delayed for months, applicants say they can accept that reality. What they cannot accept is being kept in limbo indefinitely, with no indication of when their turn will finally come.