Not living in India for 6 months? You might still get a Schengen visa under this rare rule

A recent X post from a travel consultant has thrown light on an unusual case that could offer hope to dependent applicants navigating Schengen visa rules. A student based in the US was allowed to apply for a Swiss visa from India, despite not meeting the standard six-month Indian residency requirement, thanks to embassy-level approval.

“#Switzerland in India doesn't allow applications to be submitted for Indian citizens to get #SchengenVisa if not residing in India from the last 6 months,” posted X user @outofofficedaku, who regularly shares insights on visa policy and embassy interactions.

The post continued, “But if the person is dependent on the parent/husband etc who resides in India, then you can apply post confirmation from the relevant Switzerland Embassy where he/she resides.”

The case in point involved a student studying and living in the United States, who was visiting India for vacation. Since the student was financially dependent on their father, who resides in India, the application was accepted by VFS, the external service provider handling Swiss visa submissions in India, on the basis of an email confirmation received from the Swiss Embassy in the US.

“Please do email the relevant country's Embassy on a case-to-case basis and take the reply along as proof when submitting the file in India,” the post advised.

The incident underscores what analysts describe as a “rare exception in Schengen visa policy,” where official discretion can override rigid rules in favour of dependent applicants, especially when backed by written embassy approval.

This also reflects the broader evolution of Schengen rules in recent years. According to a July 2022 report by Travel and Tour World, the Schengen region has been shifting towards a “cascade system,” designed to simplify travel among multiple countries by easing visa pathways for eligible applicants. The system encourages smoother approvals for frequent travellers and trusted applicants with strong documentation.

Still, not everyone can benefit from this kind of workaround. According to the Swiss government’s official portal (ch.ch), declarations of financial sponsorship, up to CHF 30,000, are subject to growing scrutiny. In this case, the student’s success likely hinged on clear financial dependency and solid proof of sponsorship, a requirement that’s often underappreciated in casual visa conversations.

What is the six-month rule?

Most Schengen countries require that applicants have been legally residing in the country from which they are applying for at least six months. This prevents misuse of temporary travel to submit visa applications from countries with higher acceptance rates.