What is meant by "Visa Shopping"? Why is the method a means to enter the Europe?

Visa shopping as a method is getting popular day by day in many states of India. Such practices are also fond in the Indian state of Punjab. Various travel companies are making use of the method to make travelers enter European countries. Let us understand the method better. 

Understanding Visa Shopping

Visa shopping as a method means getting visas for countries that a person may or may not vising in the time period for which the visa is being granted. Such visas can help make a gateway for people to step inside the country they wish to visit, especially in Europe, despite holding a visa for another European country.

Moreover, this proves to be helpful for the ones who actually do not have any immediate plans to go to a particular area and such individuals are also buying visas for such countries. Why? Well, this enhances the chances of getting the visas for their preferred countries in the coming future, as the application process is a long process and sometimes also hold a chance of getting rejected. Moreover, visas typically remain valid for some years post getting issued.

Are there any legal issues in visa shopping?

No matter how strange it sounds, such a practice is not illegal, as far as the  the traveler follows the guidelines and norms of the visa process and received valid permission for staying in that country.

The issues regarding legalities come up in cases when a person seeks visa for a specific country but remains in another country, or, demonstrates the fact that the person did not intend to stay in the country for which he has the visa, but simply wanted to use is to get the entry.

For instance, in the month of May, a statement was issued in New Delhi by the Embassy of Estonia which said that according to the rules of Schengen Visa rules, if an individual is travelling to more than one nation, one should apply for a visa from the nation with the maximum stay.

Embassies then comes with a warning saying that it is conducting a deep inspection of the travel plans. “There might be more severe consequences – starting with the refusal of the visa and if travelling with different itinerary, ending up to be offloaded from the plane or returned back home from the EU borders.” it further said.

In case any individual incessantly does visa shopping, the matter may get suspicious in the eyes of officials. In some cases, countries put objections.