"Visa Application Under Process at Embassy" — What It Actually Means

Short answer: “Under process at the embassy or consulate” means VFS has handed your passport and documents to the embassy, and the embassy hasn't finished with them yet. The status won't change again until your passport is sent back, so it tells you nothing about how close you are. The live numbers below do.

• Italy embassy (India): applications from 23–25 Sept are mostly out, about 26 days right now. Live Italy tracker
• Germany embassy (India): applications from 9–13 Oct are mostly out, about 10 days right now. Live Germany tracker
• France embassy (India): applications from 9–13 Oct are mostly out, about 10 days right now. Live France tracker

The full guide: what the status means and what to do

You submitted your passport at VFS Global. You paid the fee. You uploaded every document. And now, for the past two weeks, your VFS tracking page shows the same maddening status:

Your visa application reference number is under process at the embassy.

No progress bar. No estimated date. No indication of whether “under process” means they looked at it yesterday or it's sitting in a pile. If you're reading this, you're probably refreshing your VFS status page multiple times a day, checking Reddit, and wondering if something went wrong.

Here's what the status actually means, what's happening behind the scenes, and — most importantly — how to check if the embassy has actually reached your application date.

What “under process at embassy” means

When VFS shows this status, it means your passport and documents have been forwarded to the relevant embassy or consulate. VFS is a third-party service provider — they collect your documents and biometrics, but they don't make visa decisions. That's the embassy's job.

The status stays the same from the moment VFS sends your file to the embassy until the embassy finishes processing and sends your passport back. That could be 5 days or 30 days — the VFS status page gives you no way to tell the difference.

This is the single most frustrating part of the Schengen visa process from India: complete radio silence during the part that matters most.

Common VFS statuses explained

Here are all the VFS tracking statuses you might see, in the order they typically appear:

1. “Application submitted” — Your documents have been received at the VFS centre.
2. “Application forwarded to embassy” — VFS has sent your file to the embassy. Usually happens within 1–2 business days of submission.
3. “Under process at embassy” — The embassy has your file. This is where you'll be stuck for most of the waiting period. No updates until a decision is made.
4. “Passport ready for collection” or“Dispatched” — Processing is done. Your passport is either ready at VFS or being couriered to you.

The problem is step 3. It can last anywhere from a few days to over a month, and VFS provides zero visibility into what's happening.

Having trouble getting the VFS tracker to accept your number? See how to track your status on VFS Global.

How long does “under process” actually take?

This depends heavily on which country you applied for. Here's how long it is taking right now, from application to dispatch, based on our tracking of passports sent back from Indian VFS centres:

As of 20 Oct 2026, the fastest Schengen visas from India are France (about 4 days), Norway (about 4 days) and Spain (about 4 days). The slowest are the Netherlands (about 37 days), Italy (about 25 days) and Croatia (about 22 days). These are median waits across all Indian visa centres, from 203,340 passport dispatches we've tracked.

Median and 90th-percentile wait from application date to courier dispatch, for applications made 45–90 days ago. All Indian visa centres combined; countries with fewer than 30 such applications are left out. Live numbers, updated several times a day: compare countries.

These are based on real courier dispatch data, not estimates. You can see exactly how far each embassy has processed on our tracker homepage.

How to actually check your visa status (beyond VFS)

VFS won't give you granular updates, but there are two ways to get better visibility:

1. Check the processing frontier on VisaTrackr

We track which application dates each embassy has processed by monitoring public courier dispatch records. For example, if our tracker shows that the Germany embassy has processed applications up to 28 August, and you applied on 25 August, your passport has likely already been dispatched.

Go to the homepage, select your country and city, and compare the “processing reached” date with your application date.

2. Track your passport on BlueDart

Once the embassy dispatches your passport, VFS uses BlueDart to courier it. You can track the courier shipment directly on Blue Dart using the number on your VFS receipt. We've written a detailed guide on how to do this.

Should you be worried?

In most cases, no. “Under process” for a few weeks is normal, and how long depends on the country, as the table above shows. Here's when you might want to follow up:

• You're slower than 9 in 10 applicants — If you've waited longer than the “9 in 10 within” time for your country in the table above, your application is taking longer than most. The Schengen Visa Code requires a decision within 15 calendar days, extendable to 45 days in exceptional cases; if you're close to 45 days, contact the embassy directly.
• Our tracker shows dates well past yours — If the embassy has processed applications from dates after your application date and yours still shows “under process,” your application may have been flagged for additional checks. This isn't necessarily bad — it can happen for first-time applicants.
• You received an email requesting additional documents — Respond promptly. Delays in responding extend processing time.

Tips while you wait

• Don't call VFS repeatedly. They genuinely don't have more information than what's on the status page. The decision is with the embassy.
• Don't book non-refundable flights until your visa is confirmed. Book refundable or flexible tickets for the application, then switch once approved.
• Bookmark the tracker. Check our live tracker daily — it updates multiple times a day and tells you exactly how far the embassy has processed.
• Keep your phone on. BlueDart may try to deliver without much notice. Ensure someone is available at the delivery address.

Bottom line

“Under process at embassy” is the default status for 90% of the waiting period. It doesn't mean something is wrong — it means the embassy hasn't finished yet. Instead of refreshing VFS, use our processing tracker to see real-time progress, and read our BlueDart tracking guide so you're ready the moment your passport ships.