Indian applicants hoping to visit or work in the Czech Republic are facing a familiar hurdle: an acute shortage of appointment slots at VFS Global. A snapshot published by consultancy SureshotVisa on 30 September 2026 shows the earliest available tourist-/short-stay slot for the Czech Republic is now 1 October in New Delhi, with no earlier dates in Mumbai, Bengaluru or Kolkata. At the same time last year, Czech slots were available within three to five working days. The squeeze reflects a post-pandemic surge in Indian outbound travel—up 24 % year-on-year according to India’s Bureau of Immigration—combined with unchanged staffing levels at the Czech Consulate in New Delhi. Corporate mobility teams report knock-on effects: project engineers for Czech automotive plants are waiting up to three weeks for biometrics, forcing some clients to switch to short-term remote work or delay kick-off meetings. Recruiters warn that pending Czech labour-market reforms will add further volume once the new quota for the Qualified Worker Programme opens in mid-October. “If slots remain tight, we may have to route candidates via neighbouring Schengen consulates that accept ‘main-destination’ logic,” says a Delhi-based relocation manager. Practical tips for mobility managers: monitor the VFS portal several times a day as cancelled slots often re-appear briefly; be ready to book at any Indian centre (not just the one nearest the employee’s home); and where possible file for category C ‘business’ appointments, which historically release more capacity than tourism. Larger corporates may request group appointments via the embassy’s commercial section, but approval is ad-hoc. The Czech Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment but has previously said it reviews staffing levels quarterly. With the Diwali travel peak looming, pressure to act will only intensify.
Source: SureshotVisa appointment tracker
