Probability of getting long-duration multiple entry Schengen visa

Question

I hold an Indian passport and am working/living in Kuwait (on a residence permit). I have an active multiple-entry Schengen visa (short stay/tourist) that will expire on Sep 1. This was a 1-year visa granted by NL Embassy. Also, this was my second Schengen visa (previously had a 45 day single entry visa from Italy in 2015)

I utilized this visa to make three trips to EU in the last 9 months (port of entries being - Amsterdam, Spain and Germany). In addition, I also covered France, Belgium and Italy - although there is no proof as there aren't any border controls!).

I have an upcoming trip to Greece in Sep and was wondering if I will get another multiple entry Schengen visa for 1 year or longer this time? I was told that they look at your previous travel history (in addition to proof of funds and return ticket) to grant you long duration visa.

This being my 3rd Schengen visa application, how bright are my chances of getting another 1-year (or longer) multiple-entry visa this time? Is there a way I can present my intent of future travel to the Greek Embassy (VFS actually) to strengthen my application?

Answer 1

Probably not too bad, even though it's all very speculative and there are no guarantees. Unfortunately, if you look at the statistics, the Greek consulate in Kuwait seem a little more stingy than other consulates in the same country.

The Netherlands, Germany, France, and even Austria seem much more generous. One strategy could therefore be to postpone your Greece holiday and visit Austria (assuming you are not interested in going to France or Germany again). However, do not cook up some fake itinerary just to get the visa if your real intent is to go to Greece. That's a dangerous strategy and could backfire badly, annihilating the great history of compliant travel you have been building in the last few years.

But you should not put too much weight on such statistics. In theory, visa decisions depend more on your circumstances than anything else and differences between consulates could also result from the type and quality of application they receive. Importantly, short of a compelling professional reason to visit the Schengen area regularly, there isn't much you can do to strengthen your case (beside having a reasonably strong application, which seems to be the case given your past successes in securing visas).