Netherlands Visa not processed even after 25 days

Question

My sister and I applied for Netherlands visas on 3rd August 2023, and the same was received on 4th August 2023 by the embassy in Delhi.

We received her passport on 23rd August, but it still shows that it's under processing. There were other friends who applied on the same day or the next day and even the next week - all of them received their passports last week but there is no intimation on mine.

There is always a standard reply of the timeline being 15-45 days but the 45th day is when my travel is planned. How can we know the status of my visa, I am getting really anxious as to where my passport is stuck.

Answer 1

Processing times can vary for many reasons, and people applying at the same time may typically receive responses around the same time, but it's far from unheard of that some applications take longer without any clear explanation.

There is always a standard reply of the timeline being 15-45 days but the 45th day is when my travel is planned.

You say you've been waiting for 25 days. That's comfortably within the range of processing times they consider normal. It's nearly three weeks away from the end of that range. There is no reason to believe your passport is "stuck".

As for how you can get further details on the status of your application: the embassy is likely the only place. You can contact them in whichever way you feel appropriate and request whatever updates they can give you. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's unlikely you will receive any additional information beyond the standard reply you have already received. The staff have more important things to do than thoroughly investigating the status of an application that's still three weeks away from exceeding the timeline they consider normal.

If you explain about your planned travel dates, it's possible somebody may be more inclined to look a little deeper and help make sure your application is processed before you intend to travel. The chance of that probably improves the closer you get to the travel dates.

Answer 2

How can we know the status of my visa, I am getting really anxious as to where is my passport stuck.

Just to expand on Chris's answer, this is how workflows work in a typical bureaucracy:

1. An employee sorts all applications into "straightforward" and "complex". Your case likely went into the "complex" bucket for whatever reason.
2. Another set of employees processes the "straightforward" applications first and then handle "complex" cases slowly, as they take up more time.
3. No one really cares that you have travel plans or about improving their SLAs. Remember that the people processing visas are salaried and work for the government, so they have ~zero motivation to do beyond the absolute bare minimum. It's not like the embassy will go bankrupt if they do a bad job. Government jobs (with the exception of high ranking diplomatic positions) likewise lack prestige and often attract the least talented and laziest employees from the talent pool.
4. Eventually an employee will reach your application in the "complex" pile (possibly towards the end of the 45 day limit or even later) and issue a decision.

If you're really lucky it might help to send the embassy a polite email asking for assistance due to your travel dates approaching quickly but I wouldn't count on it. To add injury to the insult, you're likely to receive a visa for the exact days of your travels, rather than a multi-year, multi-entry visa, so it would be hard to reschedule your flights if the visa arrives too late. This is unfair and makes no sense but that's how most government entities operate.