Do you think applying to the French consulate is the right thing here
?
Yes, This is the only option because you are spending maximum number of days in France”According to schengen visa rules, you should apply where you would be staying maximum number of days. If you are spending equal number of days in schengen countries, then you will have to apply where you will be entering first.”
What are my other options ?
Multiple entry Schengen visa , because Bosnia and Herzegovina you have to have a multiple entry schengen visa .For Croatia you can enter with double or multiple entry schengen visa.
Source: http://bihembassyin.com/consular-affairs.php
Also Visa policy of Bosnia Herzegovina confirms the same: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina
What are the possible outcomes of my current plan of applying to the
French consulate?
This is an opinion based answer, still it is written in all Schengen visas application that
“Compliance with required documents does not necessarily means a visa would be issued”
What should I do to maximize my chances of getting a dual entry visa?
With provided itinerary, You must have a multiple entry schengen visa, I am afraid dual entry will not work unless you have a multiple entry visa from another EU country if you plan to enter Bosnia Herzegovina as well.
Or @ZachLipton Just commented, It is also possible to apply for an 2 entry visa than you will have apply for a Bosnian visa separately. personally it is just matter of writing two sentences in your application that you need a multiple entry visa in order to travel to Bosnia as well.
There is absolutely nothing wrong applying for a multiple entry schengen visa even on first time. Unlike USA and UK multiple entry visas, schengen multiple entry visas can be for 34 days with limited validity in schengen stay for 22 days like in your case
Here is 1 example of my schengen visas which I obtained for dual entry from Italy. First I entered montenegro, second Croatia and last I entered Slovenia with a limited stay of 12 days in schengen.
Here is another example of applying for multiple entry visa. I needed a multiple entry visa because of Bosnia Herzegovina. I entered Germany, Austria, Slovenia(Schengen), Croatia(Non Schengen), and Bosnia Herzegovina.
I think applying to the French consulate is a perfectly reasonable course of action. There is absolutely no reason for your itinerary to lead to a refusal. Assuming the rest of the application (financials, etc.) is fine, the worse the consulate could do is:
Both would be annoying because you would then need to lodge another application but it’s not as bad as a refusal.
Beyond that, I don’t know what the consulate is likely to do but there are many things that should play in your favor: going to a non-Schengen EU country (like Croatia) is the original purpose of two-entry visas, you obviously don’t have the time to come back to India and apply for another visa in-between. Also, unlike multiple-entry visas, two-entry visas do not require the applicant to meet any special condition. As far as the regulation is concerned, it’s just a slightly different flavour of single entry visa.
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