After months of waiting, you finally scheduled that coveted trip to Europe. The last thing you want is for your application to be turned down or to be stuck at border control because to that small item you overlooked. With 18% of visas rejected, India had the second-highest percentage of visa rejections worldwide. Here are four considerations to make in order to make your visa application successful. Apply through the country where you will spend the most time While a Schengen visa gives you access to 27 countries, visitors are expected to apply through the country they will spend the most time in. Not being able to provide accommodation details for each night in the Schengen area along with train/flight bookings for internal travel within the region could lead to a rejection of your application. The Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi recently reminded applicants that they should apply for a Swedish visa “if the main purpose of travel is to actually visit Sweden”. You will need a transit visa if you’re travelling via the UK If you’re flying to any of the Schengen countries via London or any other airport in the UK, you will have to get a transit visa even if you don’t leave the airport. The type of visa you require depends on if you’re passing through an immigration check in the UK. You will require a direct airside transit visa if you’re not going through immigration. Apply for a visitor in transit visa if you must go through border control but plan to return to the airport within 48 hours. You will need to go through border control if you’re leaving the airport, or you need to check in your bags for an onward flight, or your onward flight leaves on a different date from when you arrive in the UK. Transit visas are processed within a period of three weeks. A direct airside transit visa costs Rs3,713, while a visitor in transit visa costs Rs6,970. More information here. A Schengen visa does not mean you will be guaranteed entry A Schengen visa does not guarantee entry into a particular country. The Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi also reminded travellers that if the authorities suspect that the purpose of the trip is not in accordance with the information stated in the application then it could be refused. Entry checks are also done at external border points. “Border controls may result in you being denied entry and a decision to revoke your visa will be stored in the Visa Information System,” the embassy stated in the notice. On returning, you could be asked to report to the embassy You’ve done endless paperwork, submitted your biometric information and received your visa, but there’s a chance that the process doesn’t end there. On 28 June, Preetham Nath posted a photo on Twitter of his visa stamped with “Please present yourself at the Consulate General of Spain (Mumbai) upon your return”. If the consulate general is located in another city from where you reside, this means you may need to report to another city. The criteria for the applicants who receive this stamp are hazy; we wrote to the Consulate General of Spain on 5 July, but there’s been no comment.