Indian National Caught Attempting to Travel to the EU With Fake Swedish Visa

An Indian national has been detained at Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi, after attempting to travel to the EU with a fake Swedish visa.

The man identified as Sandeep, who was headed to Rome, Italy, was detained when his documents were checked at the visa counter, Schengen.News reports.

During investigations, Sandeep revealed that a travel agent, known as Asif Ali, had promised to send him to the EU, charging for a total of €10,792 (rs 10 lakh), a portion of which (€7,554) was paid in cash and €3,237 were paid through the bank.

Ali later confessed his crime and admitted to having deceived people by promising them easy access to foreign countries and providing job opportunities.

Police Advises Travellers to Obtain Travel Documents Through Authorised Agencies

Taking this situation into account, the New Delhi police warned travellers to only choose authorised agencies when it comes to their travel documents, including here passports.

They also warned against fraudulent agents offering cheap rates for overseas travel. The police advised people to verify agencies if they are authentic and pay attention to thoroughly check all documents that are needed during their travel in order to avoid legal issues.

Recently, the case of an Indian student heading to Canada for his studies has been settled – around two years after the event. The student, whose name is Maharshi Yadav, had purchased a ticket to Toronto, Canada but initially had to make stops at Munich and Frankfurt.

The Indian student was detained at the Airport after the airline failed to inform him about the requirements of a transit visa, causing financial and emotional damage to Yadav.

9.3% of All Schengen Visa Applications Were Filed by Indians in 2023

Indian nationals are among the top visa applicants for Schengen visas. According to statistics by SchengenVisaInfo, in 2023, Indians were the third nationality group with the most visa requests.

However, the not-issued rate is quite high – 15.8 per cent, resulting in 151,752 rejected visas and, subsequently, 811,290 issued visas.

Switzerland, France and Germany are the top three countries that received the most visa applications from Indians. Indians filed 189,646 visa applications to Switzerland and were approved 88 per cent of them (166,919).

Moreover, France received 176,237 applications from Indians and the approval rate was 83.4 per cent, resulting in 146,938 approved visas. Out of all three, Germany had the highest approval rates – 119,919 issued visas out of 132,825, accounting for 89.5 per cent approval rates.