Travel consultants in Dubai say families are locking in Schengen and UK holiday plans as early as January to sidestep lengthening visa-appointment queues and rising airfares, Khaleej Times reported on 20 January (khaleejtimes.com). Agents cite appointment lead times of 45–60 days at some European consulates, double the wait in early 2025.
Pent-up demand following last year’s record inbound tourist season has collided with tightened documentation checks, especially proof of accommodation and travel insurance that covers pandemic-related medical costs. Applicants missing a single item are being rescheduled to the back of the queue.
Airlines are capitalising: average economy-class fares to London, Paris and Zurich for July departures are already 18 per cent higher than last year’s January levels.
![Visa Delays Push UAE Residents to Book Summer Travel Six Months Early]()
For travellers keen to dodge those delays, VisaHQ’s UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) provides an end-to-end service that includes document pre-checks, appointment monitoring and courier pickup, helping families secure Schengen and UK visas without repeat visits to VFS offices or last-minute flight changes.
Corporates that allow employees to tag leisure onto business trips (‘bleisure’) should anticipate more requests to combine missions with family holidays to avoid separate visa filings.
Mobility managers can mitigate risk by encouraging staff to use the VFS Premium Lounge, which secures earlier slots for an extra AED 450, or by routing holidays through countries that accept biometrics on arrival, such as Türkiye. Some firms are also trialling virtual-reality destination previews to help employees commit to non-refundable bookings earlier.
Insurers warn that travellers rushing to secure air tickets before visas are issued should choose fares with change-fee waivers; the average Europe-bound visa refusal rate for UAE residents stands at 13 per cent, according to latest EU statistics.
Pent-up demand following last year’s record inbound tourist season has collided with tightened documentation checks, especially proof of accommodation and travel insurance that covers pandemic-related medical costs. Applicants missing a single item are being rescheduled to the back of the queue.
Airlines are capitalising: average economy-class fares to London, Paris and Zurich for July departures are already 18 per cent higher than last year’s January levels.
For travellers keen to dodge those delays, VisaHQ’s UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) provides an end-to-end service that includes document pre-checks, appointment monitoring and courier pickup, helping families secure Schengen and UK visas without repeat visits to VFS offices or last-minute flight changes.
Corporates that allow employees to tag leisure onto business trips (‘bleisure’) should anticipate more requests to combine missions with family holidays to avoid separate visa filings.
Mobility managers can mitigate risk by encouraging staff to use the VFS Premium Lounge, which secures earlier slots for an extra AED 450, or by routing holidays through countries that accept biometrics on arrival, such as Türkiye. Some firms are also trialling virtual-reality destination previews to help employees commit to non-refundable bookings earlier.
Insurers warn that travellers rushing to secure air tickets before visas are issued should choose fares with change-fee waivers; the average Europe-bound visa refusal rate for UAE residents stands at 13 per cent, according to latest EU statistics.
