At the same time, he stressed that the country is already seeing signs that the relationship between the two countries is deepening, suggesting that good now should be expected.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Minister Jaishankar said that India and Spain have decided to mark 2026 as a dual year while noting that during 2025, they will be working together to prepare for the next year.
On the other hand, the Spanish authorities have not made any official statement on the matter yet. It is still to be seen what Spain will say about the opening of the consulate in Bengaluru and share more of its plans.
Opening of Consulate to Deepen Relationship Between India & Spain
Consulates mainly focus on providing services to their citizens in the host country. This means that the opening of a Spanish consulate in Bengaluru will mainly benefit Spanish nationals residing in India.
The consulate issues passports and provides assistance during emergencies. At the same time, consulates also promote relations, meaning that the opening of the Spanish consulate in Bengaluru will also be of benefit to India.
As for visa application centres, there is still no plan to make another addition to the territory in India, despite applicants complaining about long waiting times.
While there is still no available data for 2024, it is believed that the number of applications filed by Indians for a Spanish visa was high, similar to the previous years.
As for 2023, data from the Schengen Statistics Portal show that Indians applied for a total of 91,863 Spanish Schengen visas. Of the total number of applicants, 77,1194 of them were granted a Spanish Schengen visa in 2023, of which 11,288 where multiple entry visas. On the other hand, 13,447 Indians had their applications rejected by Spain.
