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My Son Jayant is an Indian citizen living in Hong Kong for the last five years working for a multinational company. During the course of our conversation one evening, he told me that he was not joining his colleagues on a multi country road show as he was unable to process his travel visas in time. He went on to explain that his coworker from SIngapore was not even aware of what a visa meant !! Apocryphal as it may be it brings out the true standing of an Indian passport.

A little bit of searching on the net showed that a Singapore passport holder does not require a formal visa to enter 195 countries ( visa free or ETA or E Visa) and the balance countries are mostly strife ridden countries which would normally not form part of an ordinary tourist’s itinerary. As per the Guide Passport Index, a Singapore passport ranks number one amongst all passports in the world based on the number of countries offering visa free entry. Japan and South Korea rank a very close second.The next three places are occupied by UK and Schengen countries with the United States ranking number Six. What about India – India ranks at No 88 on the same index with visas required for 176 out of 229 countries and Visa free entry to only 53 countries most of which are in our neighborhood! Another similar index – the Henley Passport Index ranks India at no 85 .(as of 2021). Yet another ranks India at 145! Whatever the methodology or the ranking of these indices the message is clear. An Indian passport is not very visa friendly.

extracted from visaindex.com

While this information appeared to be trivia the real import of this struck me when my wife and I planned to spend our fortieth wedding anniversary, then three weeks away, in Switzerland. Inadequate notice for the visa we were informed. Switzerland is part of the Schengen declaration for the purpose of visas but is not part of the European Union. Swiss Visa application logistics in India are managed by a third party and processing and approval of such completed applications is done at the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi. And if I chose to transit via London Heathrow (which was the quickest and cheapest way to travel to Zurich) I would need yet another visa to transit through UK -The DATV -Direct Airside Transit Visa even if I did not leave the airport terminal.

Nevertheless on the appointed day and time I reported to present my documents. While I like to believe that my paper work is thorough and expected to go past the counter clerk without a hitch, there were additional requirements beyond the prescribed elaborate two page check list. I found many others in a similar situation and were directed to copiers, printers, photo-booths and such facilities ready on hand for an additional fee. We got past this hurdle as well and settled down to a wait which we were ambiguously informed that the visa reply could be expected in fifteen days but within thirty days and maybe even 60 days .

And so we settled down to waiting and hoping that the visa would materialize well before our departure now forty-five days away. Comfortable time lines it would seem! And in this while i stumbled upon an online travel forum of applicants awaiting their Swiss visa.The official online tracker would only state that the application was under process at the embassy. Through this forum I learnt that Schengen visa rejections by the Swiss embassy was of the order of 11% and for all Schengen visa applications it was 18 % . While the reasons were not specified I only hoped that mine was not one of those 11 % rejects. I empathised with those whose visas got rejected or with those whose visas did not make it on time for the travel date or those who had to reapply or those who did not wish to appeal and those who in frustration called off their trip with a “Never Again” .

As the days went by my patience was wearing thin and wondered whether i would need to create a Plan B in case of delay in receiving the visa. I sincerely hoped that there were no flaws in my application and that I had been able to satisfactorily demonstrate my honest intention to return, that i had adequate reservations in place, that i was financially able to support my short holiday, that i was neither a terrorist nor a fugitive from law and that i had a trouble free travel history. And that I was adequately insured for among other things including repatriation of my mortal remains! While this seems a reasonable requirement from the embassy I couldn’t help wondering WHY ME ? especially when Switzerland allows citizens of nearly a hundred countries to enter without a visa. Which brings me back to my first point that an Indian Visa ranks 88 in the world passport ranking and a holiday abroad must be planned well in advance. An on the spur decision to take a holiday outside the country “nahi chalega” !! Not possible for an Indian citizen holding an Indian passport.

I finally received my visa by courier forty five days after conceiving the thought of visiting Switzerland and am now on my way to Zurich to celebrate my fortieth anniversary albeit a month late . More from Switzerland in my subsequent posts.