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I've found myself in an 'interesting' situation regarding the difference between citizenship and residency requirements for a Schengen visa application.

I'm an Indian citizen, and I'm currently a student at a Canadian university. My program consists of 4 terms, of which I've completed the first three in Canada. For my fourth term, I'm required to go on an exchange in Austria. Once this exchange is complete, my program will be done, and I don't intend to go back to Canada afterwards.

My question is this: Having completed the Canadian part of my program, I have returned to India, and I now need to apply for a study visa for Austria. I know that the embassy will process applications only for people who are resident in India, regardless of citizenship; given that I no longer have a Canadian residence, and have returned to my family, would I be considered as an Indian resident? Is this something I'll have to justify in my visa application?

UPDATE: For anyone else who may be reading this question later, I applied for the visa from New Delhi, and received it in 8 working days (10 calendar days). I did not mention anything about residency requirements, and simply explained my situation as a student.

And to clarify, this was indeed a Visa D (stay up to 180 days), not a regular Schengen Visa, but the procedure is essentially identical to a Schengen visa.

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    Since you have no plan at the moment to return to live in Canada, it seems that India is the logical choice. Given your circumstances, I'd be very surprised if the consulate in India were to reject your application.
    – phoog
    Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 19:26
  • You were resident in Canada and you have already returned to India? Yes, you're an India resident. Your alternative is to fly to Canada to approach the Austrian embassy there which would be absurd.
    – user16259
    Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 19:28
  • Thank you @user16259 . I do agree that it would be absurd to go back to Canada just to submit a visa application, but I was concerned that they might question why I didn't just submit it while I was still in Canada in the first place (this was an oversight on my part; I didn't know at the time that there was a residency requirement, and I assumed that as an Indian citizen, I could just apply once I was back in India).
    – Nidhi K
    Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 19:34
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    Your best strategy is probably not to raise the issue at all. You are in a country where you have a right to live permanently, with no intention of living elsewhere other than for one term of study in Austria.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 0:14
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    @o.m. I meant not raising the issue of residence. I agree the OP should put the visa application in the context of a planned and almost complete program of study.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Commented Dec 31, 2017 at 9:02

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When you apply for a Schengen visa, you have to convince the officials that you are a genuine business traveller or tourist and not an illegal immigrant. You apply at the consulate for your place of residence because they are best suited to evaluate your documents.

In your case, that would be India.

By the way, if you want to stay more than 90 days you will need an Austrian national D visa rather than a Schengen C visa. Ask at Expatriates Stack Exchange.

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