Greek visa application centres across nine Indian cities are back online after a five-week suspension triggered by a cybersecurity breach at subcontractor servers. Global Visa Center World (GVCW) confirmed that as of 12 February all appointment systems and biometric stations are operational, with the Embassy in New Delhi and Consulate General in Mumbai once again issuing decisions within the standard 15-calendar-day window.
The outage had stranded thousands of leisure and MICE travellers; some corporates rerouted conferences to Turkey and the UAE. With services restored, trade groups expect pent-up demand to spill into shoulder-season bookings, aided by IndiGo’s upcoming direct Mumbai–Athens flights and a new IndiGo–Aegean codeshare that creates one-stop access to 40 European cities.
For applicants who prefer a guided approach, VisaHQ can streamline the entire Greek Schengen application—from document pre-checks to appointment scheduling and courier return of passports—saving valuable time as slots quickly refill. Learn more at https://www.visahq.com/india/
Applicants can lodge files up to six months before travel, but officials caution that peak-season slots (June–September) could still sell out quickly as backlogs clear. Priority processing—five working days—has been reinstated on a limited quota, useful for last-minute executive travel.
Mobility teams should refresh invitation letters where original travel dates have lapsed and consider drafting dual-dated meeting agendas to avoid re-submissions. Finance departments should also note that the temporary outage does not pause the 180-day Schengen validity rule; previously-issued but unused visas continue to count down.
The incident underscores growing cyber-risk in outsourced visa logistics; EU missions are accelerating migration to the bloc’s new fully digital Schengen platform slated for late-2026 rollout.