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The Netherlands flag — visa destinationSchengen Short-Stay (Type C) — Seafarer / Blue Carpet Verified 2026-04-24

Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme (Schengen Type C)

Facilitated Schengen visa for Indian seafarers joining a ship in a Dutch port under the Blue Carpet Programme. Priority processing, multi-entry visas, 9-month advance application window. Complete documents and invitation requirements.

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Processing time
Up to 45 days
after you submit

No visa is ever guaranteed — the final decision always rests with the The Netherlands visa authority. We make sure your file is presented at its strongest.

Processing

Priority under Blue Carpet

Stay Duration

As required for the voyage

Starting Fee

₹9,790

Apply At

12 VFS centres

Done-for-you · End-to-end filing

Your whole The Netherlands Seafarer Visa, handled for one honest price.

A strong The Netherlands file clearly explains your travel purpose, funds, and ties to India. We structure and submit everything properly — so your case is presented clearly and professionally.

All-in · 18% GST included · no hidden charges

₹14,999all-in · GST incl.

File-ready in 3–5 working days after documents

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Everything below — included, nothing extra

  • Document checklist
  • Application form guidance
  • Document review
  • Cover letter
  • Purpose of travel structure
  • Financial proof review
  • Sponsor document guidance
  • Submission & appointment support
  • Post-submission guidance
Licensed consultant files it Govt/VFS fees paid direct — never marked up

Not sure you qualify? Start with a refundable ₹499 possibility report — an honest Yes / Maybe / No, credited to this fee.

Price is for our consultancy service only and includes 18% GST. No agency can guarantee a visa — the final decision rests with the visa authority.

Your fee, in one glance

What the ₹14,999 fee covers for a The Netherlands file

  • We work out what your case actually is, before touching a form
  • We build the checklist around your profile, not a template
  • We read your documents against each other, not against a list
  • Financial proof review
  • Purpose of travel structuring
  • Cover letter / explanation support
  • Return ties review
  • Sponsor / invitation guidance
  • Application form guidance
  • Submission & appointment support
  • Biometrics guidance
  • Post-submission support

Government, VFS, insurance, ticket and hotel costs are separate and charged at cost. Read what each item means, in full.

Good to know before you apply

Rules that apply to every The Netherlands visa type — worth a quick read so nothing trips up your file.

  • 1Your travel document (passport) must NOT be more than 10 years old, have at least 2 blank visa pages, be valid for at least 3 months after your intended departure from the Schengen area, and carry your signature.
  • 2Not all travel documents are recognised by the Netherlands — non-recognised documents will result in an INADMISSIBLE application. Check the European Union website if you are uncertain.
  • 3Diplomatic and Official passport holders can use the walk-in facility at all Netherlands VFS centres between 09:00 and 10:00 on working days — no prior appointment needed.
  • 4In most cases you must submit your application in person. This applies to babies and children too.
  • 5Pilots and flight attendants do NOT need to hand over their passport during processing — all other applicants must submit it for the duration of processing.
  • 6At the appointment you will sign a declaration acknowledging (a) you understand that all documents must be submitted for the application to be processed, and (b) an incomplete application may be rejected with no refund of visa fees.
  • 7If you overstay a Schengen visa, you risk a two-year visa sanction across all Schengen countries.
  • 8If you notice a mistake on your visa when collecting it at VFS, notify the agent immediately. If you notice it later or received the visa by courier, contact the Dutch embassy without delay.

Who Can Apply

  • Indian seafarers joining or leaving a ship in a Dutch port (regardless of the ship's flag — Dutch, foreign, or third-country)
  • Seafarers attending maritime training or courses in the Netherlands
  • Cadets and trainees travelling for genuine maritime training or to join a ship

Not eligible under this visa:

  • Seafarers whose port of embarkation/disembarkation is in another Schengen country (apply to that country instead — e.g. Spanish port → apply to Spain)
  • Seafarers whose primary purpose is not maritime (e.g. tourism on a cruise ship as a passenger)
  • Family members of seafarers — they apply under Tourist or Family & Friends categories

What it costs

Government & VFS fees

Paid directly to The Netherlands / VFS — these are not our service fee, and we never mark them up.

ItemAmount
Schengen visa — adult (normal fee)₹9,790
Schengen visa — child 6 to 11 years₹4,890
Schengen visa — child under 6 yearsFREE
VFS service charge (per application, with biometrics)₹1,855

Fees effective 1 April 2026 as published by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Payment accepted in cash, debit/credit card, or UPI at VFS. All fees (visa + service charge) are non-refundable, regardless of visa outcome. Schengen "low fee" of €35 applies only to citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus under visa facilitation agreements — not applicable to Indian nationals.

Flights · Hotels · Insurance · Itinerary

What The Netherlands actually requires — and what it does not.

The Netherlands applies the Schengen rules, so travel insurance is not a nice-to-have — it is a legal condition of the visa.

2 of 4 are compulsory for The Netherlands

Expected

Flight reservation

The The Netherlands consulate wants a return itinerary with a real PNR covering your exact dates. It does not want a paid ticket, and buying one before a decision puts your money at risk for nothing.

Where people slip: Flying into one city and out of another with nothing showing how you travel between them. Officers read the whole route, and an unexplained gap reads as a plan that does not hold together.

How to hold a flight without paying
Required

Hotel booking

Accommodation for EVERY night of the stay. Not most nights — every one. A gap is a documented refusal ground under the Schengen code.

Where people slip: Free-cancellation bookings are accepted, but if the entire file is free-cancellation the officer sees a trip nobody has committed to. Some of it should be real spend.

Refundable hotel booking, explained
Required

Travel insurance

Minimum EUR 30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen state, including repatriation and emergency medical evacuation, for the full period of stay. Regulation (EC) 810/2009 — this is law, not preference.

Where people slip: Buying cover for the adults and forgetting the children. Every traveller needs their own EUR 30,000, infants included — a real refusal we have seen on a family of four.

What the cover must actually say
Expected

Travel itinerary

A day-by-day plan matching your flights, your hotels and the country you applied to. The Netherlands must be your main destination or your first point of entry, or you are at the wrong consulate.

Where people slip: Spending more nights in another Schengen country than in The Netherlands. That gets a file rejected before it is even assessed.

The letter your itinerary attaches to

We arrange all four for your The Netherlands file.

We are a B2B travel agency as well as a visa consultancy, working with partners including Riya Travel — so the flight, the hotel and the policy all come from us, issued the same day, and you deal with one team instead of four. Every booking is a real one under your own name.

What to gather

Documents required

Having a document isn't the same as presenting it right — that's the part we handle.

Personal documents

4 items
  • Completed and signed Schengen visa application form (with unique code)Required

    Filled ONLINE only.

  • Valid passport + colour copy of bio-data page + last page + previous Schengen stampsRequired
  • Biometric photograph (3.5cm × 4.5cm, white/light background, ≤6 months old)Required

    May be waived if biometrics given for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months.

  • Proof of legal residence in India (original + colour copy)Required

Ties to India

3 items
  • If employed: employment contract + employer NOC + payslipsRequired
  • If self-employed: company registration + GST + business bank statements + ITRRequired
  • Seafarer's Record Book / Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC)Required

    Original + colour copy. The central identity document for seafarers.

Invitation from Dutch shipping company (core requirement)

1 item
  • Signed and stamped invitation letter from the Dutch shipping companyRequired

    Must include ALL of the following: your personal details, date of issue and validity of your passport, date of issue and validity of your seafarer's book, your job title/rank, ship name, place of embarkation and disembarkation, entry/exit dates in/out of the Schengen area, entry airport (if travelling by air), travel route to the Netherlands, name and address of the Indian shipping agent assisting with the visa, the shipping company sponsoring you, and flight reservation (if by air).

Travel documents

5 items
  • Cover letter detailing the voyageRequired

    Reason for visit, duration, fellow travellers, transport, accommodation.

  • Proof of accommodationRequired

    Hotel reservation for the pre-embarkation stay, OR specified in the invitation letter from the shipping company.

  • Proof of financial meansRequired

    Personal bank statements (last 3 months, stamped + signed) OR Indian ITR for the last 2 years. If shipping company is covering costs, state this in the invitation letter.

  • Proof of transport and itineraryRequired

    Flight ticket and itinerary — can also be provided in the invitation letter.

  • Travel medical insurance (minimum €30,000)Required

    Valid across Schengen, covering the entire pre-embarkation period.

Required · optional / if applicable

The journey.

8 steps from intake to approval. Curved spine on the right shows the natural pace — never as linear as government sites pretend.

  1. 01

    Confirm port is in the Netherlands

    Blue Carpet via Dutch embassy applies if your port of embarkation/disembarkation is in the Netherlands — regardless of ship flag. Other Schengen ports → apply to that country.

  2. 02

    Obtain the invitation letter from the Dutch shipping company

    Ensure it contains ALL required elements (passport details, seafarer's book dates, rank, ship name, ports, dates, airport, route, shipping agent, sponsor, flight reservation).

  3. 03

    Complete the online Schengen application form

    Fill online, print, sign.

  4. 04

    Gather supporting documents

    CDC (original + copy), bank statements, travel insurance, cover letter, flight/accommodation proof.

  5. 05

    Apply up to 9 months before departure

    Blue Carpet allows an extended window — apply early, especially for complex crew-change schedules.

  6. 06

    Book VFS appointment (or waiver)

    If biometrics given for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months, in-person submission may be waived. Otherwise book via the VFS portal.

  7. 07

    Submit + pay fees

    €90 visa fee + ₹1,855 VFS service charge.

  8. 08

    Track + collect

    Priority processing under Blue Carpet — often faster than the standard 15-day window.

What works

12 levers that flip a borderline case.

  • Complete the Schengen visa application form ONLINE only — forms without a unique code can cause processing issues. Handwritten forms are rejected.
  • Travel medical insurance covering minimum €30,000 is MANDATORY and must be valid across all Schengen states for the entire duration of your trip, including arrival and departure dates.
  • Personal bank statements must be from the last 3 months, stamped and signed by your bank. Plain print-outs without a bank stamp are not accepted.
  • Photo must be colour, no more than 6 months old, 3.5cm × 4.5cm, with a white or light-coloured background. If applying through VFS, a digital photo may be taken at your appointment instead.

What kills cases

Top 3 refusal triggers we see.

  • 1Invitation letter missing required fields (rank, ship name, ports, dates, etc.)
  • 2Seafarer's Record Book / CDC not submitted or expired
  • 3Port of embarkation is not in the Netherlands (should apply to the correct Schengen country)

VFS application centres

VFS Global AhmedabadVFS Global BangaloreVFS Global ChandigarhVFS Global ChennaiVFS Global CochinVFS Global HyderabadVFS Global JalandharVFS Global KolkataVFS Global LucknowVFS Global MumbaiVFS Global New DelhiVFS Global Pune

Quiz not yet available for this visa type

We're actively building per-visa quizzes. For now, the best way to assess your eligibility for Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme (Schengen Type C) is a 1-on-1 consultation with our team.

Frequently asked

Questions, answered straight

No. Blue Carpet applies to any shipping company — regardless of the ship's flag — as long as your port of embarkation or disembarkation is in the Netherlands.

Yes. Entry point doesn't matter for Blue Carpet. What matters is that your port of embarkation is a Dutch port. You can enter Schengen at any airport — Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, etc.

Up to 9 months before departure — one of the key Blue Carpet advantages (vs the standard 6-month window).

No. If you've given biometrics for a Schengen visa within the last 59 months, personal appearance may be waived under Blue Carpet.

Yes — provided they are travelling for genuine maritime training or to join a ship. An invitation from the Dutch institute/company is required.

The visa's "From" and "Until" dates govern your entry window. Minor schedule changes within that window are fine. Major changes (different port country, long delays) may require re-application — contact the embassy/shipping company.

Typically 1 to several years, depending on your maritime travel history and employer profile. Blue Carpet is designed for frequent crew-change scenarios.

Reviewed by Sherbir Singh Grewal, SureshotVisa — a government-licensed consultancy (Licence 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024). Verify us.

How we get it done

Your The Netherlands Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme, from your first message to your passport back.

6 questions about this visa specifically. The first two are open — tap any other to read it.

Refused? Our full service fee comes back.Government and visa-centre fees are the one part nobody can refund.

+Do I actually need a The Netherlands transit visa?

Often not — and we will tell you so rather than file something you do not need. It depends on your nationality, the airport, whether you stay strictly airside, whether you change terminals, and whether your bags are checked through. Change of terminal or an overnight connection usually tips it into needing one. Send us your itinerary and ticket and we will read the actual routing; this is one of the few questions with a clean yes or no answer once someone looks properly.

+How long can I actually stay on a The Netherlands Schengen visa?

As required for the voyage — typically aligned with embarkation/disembarkation schedule. The window rolls: on any given day the authorities count backwards 180 days and add up the days you were inside. It is not 90 days per country and it does not reset when you leave and come back. Entries are multi-entry with longer validity, as granted under the blue carpet programme. Getting this arithmetic wrong is how people end up overstaying without realising, which follows you into every future application.

+Should I apply to The Netherlands or to another Schengen country?

You apply to the country you will spend the most nights in. If the nights are equal across several, you apply to the one you enter first. Applying to the "easier" consulate when your itinerary says otherwise is a well-known refusal ground and, if the mismatch looks deliberate, it reads as misrepresentation rather than a mistake. Send us your itinerary and we will tell you which mission is the correct one for your trip — sometimes that is not The Netherlands.

+How long does a The Netherlands Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme take, start to finish?

Three things sit between today and your trip: preparing the file properly, waiting for an appointment, and the mission's own processing. The Netherlands currently states Priority under Blue Carpet — often shorter than 15 days. Maximum 45 calendar days. for the decision itself. We control the first, which is usually days. The middle depends on slot releases. The third is entirely the mission's and no consultant can shorten it — anyone telling you otherwise is selling something they cannot deliver. Tell us your travel date and we will tell you honestly whether it is realistic.

+How much of what I pay for the The Netherlands visa is actually your fee?

Most of it is not ours. The The Netherlands government fee (currently ₹9,790) goes to the mission and the visa-centre fee goes to VFS — both charged to you at cost, never marked up, and shown as separate lines on one GST invoice in the registered company name. Our service fee is the only part we set, and it is published rather than quoted case by case.

+How does SureshotVisa handle my The Netherlands Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme, from first message to passport back?

You send what you have on WhatsApp and a licensed consultant says the same working day whether the case is ready. We build the file around your profile, check every document against the others, write the cover letter to match them, and hold the file complete so the first workable appointment can be taken the moment it appears. You attend biometrics; we track the file to the decision (The Netherlands currently states Priority under Blue Carpet — often shorter than 15 days. Maximum 45 calendar days.). Government and visa-centre fees (₹9,790 for this visa) are charged at cost; our own fee is published, and if the visa is refused that fee comes back in full.

Before you file

A The Netherlands Netherlands Seafarer Visa — Blue Carpet Programme goes one of two ways.

Filed on a guessed checklist, the government fee is gone on a refusal and the refusal follows every future application. Filed after a licensed consultant has read the papers against each other, the file answers the officer's questions before they are asked. Same The Netherlands rules, different outcome. How we do that is written once, in full, on the method page rather than repeated here.

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Source & Disclaimer

Data on this page is sourced from the official VFS Global The Netherlands website and Embassy of The Netherlands. Last verified 2026-04-24. Always verify with the official embassy before applying — fees and requirements change without notice.

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