Top Reasons for Schengen Visa Rejection-
Reasons for Schengen
visa rejection: Applicants looking to visit one of the 27 Schengen countries
should note that obtaining a Schengen visa can be a complex process, and there
may be various reasons why your application could be denied. In this article,
we have tried to enumerate the top Schengen visa refusal reasons for applicants
to steer clear during their visa application process. Reasons for Schengen visa rejection: There could
be multiple reasons for your Schengen visa refusal. From missing out on travel
insurance to not showing the right funds - the Schengen visa applicant process
is both complicated and daunting, to say the least. However, we have tried to
mention the most common mistakes that applicants tend to make during their
Schengen visa application process. And steering clear of them should enable
applicants to receive their Schengen visa without much hassle. 13 Reasons for Schengen Visa Rejection Below, we will
explore the top 13 reasons for Schengen visa refusal that travellers aiming to
visit any of the Schengen countries may encounter:
1. Providing Inadequate
or False DocumentsAmong the most common
grounds for Schengen visa refusal is the submission of incomplete, inaccurate,
or falsified documents. This includes missing or incorrect information in the application
form, counterfeit or altered supporting documents (such as bank statements or
hotel reservations), or a failure to provide mandatory documents, like travel
insurance. Visa denial is the inevitable consequence for individuals attempting
to present fraudulent travel documents, misrepresent their identity, or use a
fake identity. 2. Insufficient Financial Requirement Applicants must
demonstrate their ability to financially support themselves during their
Schengen visit. If the provided bank statements, pay slips, or other financial
documents fall short of the minimum requirement, the visa application can be
declined. Lack of or inadequate proof of means of sustenance for the duration
of the Schengen visit and the return to your home country can be one of the top
reasons for Schengen visa rejection.
3. No Travel Insurance
Comprehensive travel
insurance that covers medical emergencies and repatriation is mandatory for
Schengen visa applicants. Failing to provide adequate travel insurance or
presenting a policy that does not meet Schengen requirements can lead to visa
rejection. Note: Applicants travelling on an Indian Diplomatic Passport are not
required to have travel insurance for travel to the Schengen countries.
4. Suspicious Travel
ItineraryA clear and realistic
travel itinerary, including entry and exit dates, destinations, and
transportation arrangements, is essential. A vague or implausible itinerary
could raise doubts about the purpose of your visit and result in Schengen visa
refusal.
5. No Proof of
Accommodation Applicants are
required to provide confirmed hotel reservations or an invitation from a known
person from the Schegan area to make their application more genuine. Applicants
not being able to provide these documents during the visa application process
can become one of the reasons for Schengen visa rejection.
6. Weak Ties to Home
CountryDemonstrating strong
ties to your home country, such as family, employment, property, or other
commitments, is crucial to assure authorities that you will return after your
Schengen visit. A failure to establish these ties can result in your Schengen
visa refusal.
7. Criminal Record or Security Concerns
A criminal record
or potential security concerns can lead to visa rejection, as Schengen
countries prioritize safety and security for both residents and visitors. Past
and current actions of the applicant matter significantly in the consular
officer's decision.
8. Visa Violations
A history of
overstaying or violating visa regulations can significantly reduce your chances
of obtaining a Schengen visa. Your visa application must clearly state the
purpose of your visit, whether it is for tourism, business, studying, medical
treatment, or attending an event. An unclear or inconsistent explanation may
lead to visa rejection. 9. Previous Visa Rejections A record of
previous visa rejections, especially within a short timeframe, can raise doubts
about your intentions and credibility, potentially leading to becoming one of
the reasons for Schengen visa rejections
10. Damaged Passport
Presenting a passport
that is not in good condition, with issues like detaching or missing pages or a
damaged cover, can lead to visa rejection.
11. Passport Invalidity
Submitting a passport
that does not meet specific requirements, such as having less than three months
of validity remaining after the return from the Schengen Area, lacking two
different blank visa pages, presenting a Travel Document Booklet instead of a
valid passport, or providing a passport older than ten years, can lead to visa
refusal.
12. Invalid Letter of Reference
Providing a formal
letter of reference that is not properly authenticated, including lacking an
original letterhead with the address and contact details of the issuing company
or author, presenting a letter issued more than three months before the
application date, or missing the stamp and signature of the author, can result
in visa rejection.
13. Unacceptable Birth or Marriage
Certificate Failure to provide
birth or marriage certificates that are accepted by the embassy or consulate,
such as lacking certificates endorsed by official authorities or failing to
offer certificates in a non-English language translated by an authorized
translator, can lead to visa refusal. Ensuring that your documentation meets the
embassy or consulate's requirements is crucial to prevent a visa rejection. What if my Schengen
visa is rejected? In the event of a Schengen visa rejection, the
applicant will receive a standardized form explaining the grounds for refusal.
To challenge this decision, the applicant can file an appeal within 15 days of
receiving the visa refusal notice, either in person or by traditional mail (not
email). The appeal must bear the original signature of the appellant, including
the applicant's name, and provide reasons for believing the refusal contradicts
the law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review the appeal within 35 days
from the date the Consulate receives it. Subsequently, the Consulate will
notify the applicant of the outcome of the review.
Today I am bringing you another one of the most commonly asked questions
that we get.
And this question is, "What are the reasons why my Schengen Visa
applications would be refused, rejected or denied?"
Right now, this is very important because
Why It Is Important to Know the Reasons for Rejection
it's almost like going back to school, understanding what the wrong
questions
or what the wrong answers to the right questions look like is sometimes
more
important than understanding exactly what success looks like.
But it also helps everybody sort of have a barometer or a bit of a
temperature
around what is acceptable and what's not acceptable.
Like with many things, you are able to not so much twist
the rules, but understand when there's might be like a little gray area.
And that's what we really kind of specialize in, helping
Schengen Visa applicants actually
understand exactly what they need to do and sort of where those lines are
that they can kind of push and pull in regards to their application.
So in this video,
we're going to be running through the twelve largest items
that cause a lot of these refusals or rejections, if you will.
There are a lot more, but these are the ones that we commonly
see, but also people in the industry that we talk to, they commonly see as
well.
So, strap yourself in, pull up the boots and where applicable,
I'll refer to other videos and things like that as we go on.
All right. So let's jump into it.
1. Current or Past Criminal Activities
One of the first ones that I just want
to mention is and it's not applicable to too many people.
Is if you have current criminal activities or any previous legal cases or
law suits
or otherwise, it does impact your ability to travel to the Schengen region.
And this is not sort of directed at people, particularly.
It is more an assessment of the Schengen region and the probability or
possibility
of that criminal activity being applied within the country.
And so they're not looking at specific
individuals suggesting, hey, they're going to do it again or they're
not suited for us because of something they did 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago.
Usually the reason for this is because
people have them and they don't call them out.
And so there have been people who have got
a history in these kind of actions and they do actually get in and get a
Schengen Visa because of so long ago or it was not that important.
Or it was sort of quite a small crime.
But I do know that if you have had any
criminal activity or anything sort of tagged to you relevant to the police
or otherwise,
just please include it in your application process, because the embassy
does have
the ability to dive a little bit deeper into your personal profile.
And if they find out that or they deem that you've been trying to lie or
been
trying to not provide them with all of the truth, it will work against you.
So this one is quite small.
But just know that depending on the scale
of activity, just try and call it out, please.
2. False Travel Documents (which is a criminal offence)
So second one that we just want to run through is falsifying travel
documents.
This is probably the number one thing that frustrates me the most is
in a previous sort of conversations and videos, we talk about
where you can go and get your flights or your accommodation through a
reservation
company, which is what Visas Association does as well.
And so because we go and formally communicate with the airlines,
with the hotels and get you an actual reserved ticket that is valid
for the duration of your application process so that you can go and book
your
own flights, go into your own whatever you need to.
That's not a false travel document that is legitimate.
The other approach that people can take is
actually paying for the flights and accommodation 100 percent upfront.
And that, again, is not false documents.
What a false document is if you go to 80 percent of the Web
sites that are out there where they say, hey, reserve flights and reserve
hotels
and they actually just make a fake reservation for you.
The reason that this is a false document is
because the embassy and consulate will go into the appropriate booking
website
you have used and will literally copy
the booking reference that you get and put it into the flight company or
the organizer or the accommodation or the hotel just to see, hey,
does this ID actually match any valid booking that is under this person's
name?
And so if they find out that you don't
have that, they'll obviously refuse or deny your Schengen Visa application.
Now, do note, this is a criminal activity.
Doing and applying fraudulent documents or
lying on your application is... and because it is a
Formal visa application...
It is a criminal offense.
Right, so don't do it.
Don't risk it.
Pay that little more to get a real reserved
flight or real reserved accommodation or pay for them yourself.
It doesn't matter if you use us or use someone else.
Just do not use fake flights or fake accommodations.
It is wrong and it will get you into a lot of trouble, even to the extent
that they
might blacklist you and never be able to enter the Schengen region ever
again.
So don't use false travel documents.
3. Insufficient Explanation or Purpose For Planned Stay Within Europe
The third one is insufficient explanation
for the purpose and circumstances of your planned stay.
So a lot of the time where people have
been refused entry and they come to Visas Association for some assistance
is where
we see them not providing adequate reasoning as to why they need to travel.
Most people get like a tourism visa with multiple entry.
This is a great visa.
It is fantastic.
And it supports most of the situations of why people go into the Schengen
region.
But do note that the number one question when you
apply for that type of visa is
why are you not just applying for a single or a double entry?
Why your point for multiple, which is three plus entries
and what is the purpose for it?
And so what they're really looking for is
the countries that you're going to, the exact activities that you are going
to and hopefully they can get some booked activities or booked tours
to validate that you are going to go to these countries
and looking for all that kind of validation, if that makes sense.
So when you apply for one of the Schengen
Visa types, whether even be for work or business.
They just want to validate that that is
what you're doing and that's what you're going for.
So sometimes we recommend people to have tour bookings.
Like, so, for example, if you're going to Italy, book
the Colosseum tour, book the tour to wherever you're going.
Because you can attach that activity and the booking to the exact tour to
say,
hey, I am going here and seeing this, this, this and this.
So if you're applying for a multiple
entry, try and have activities across three or more countries don't just
say
I'm flying into Italy and I'm leaving from Italy, please give me a multiple
entry because that probably deny and refuse your entry
4. Damaged Passport
Number four is having a damaged passport.
This might sound silly,
but if you've got a rip in your passport, if you've got missing pages in
your
passport or it looks like it could have been damaged.
The reason that were rejected is because
typically that is what fraudulent documents look like.
So when people are trying to travel internationally and they don't want
people
to know who they are, they are trying to damage their passport
a little bit because it sort of takes the attention away from where they've
replaced a photo, replace the name or otherwise.
So if your passport is damaged, just go and get a replacement.
There is no other fix to it.
You can't put sticky tape on it.
You can't do anything.
Just go and get a new passport.
5. Passport Invalidity
Number five is passport invalidity.
What do we mean by this?
It is if you are coming back
from the Schengen region on the 30th of September,
you need to make sure that your passport is still valid for three months
beyond that.
And so even though your trip is finishing
at the end of September, you need to make sure that your passport
is going to be valid until the end of December.
And the reason for this is because a lot
of times when people travel, they have situations that they can't avoid.
So they might get sick, they might get hurt, they might have whatever.
And so what they're trying to do here is
just make sure that you can have enough time on your passport to get home,
if something bad happens and funnily
enough, this is not just the Schengen region that needs this.
If you're traveling
to any countries, it's usually three to six months validity
that you must have on your passport.
So if there is even two months
and three
weeks, they're not going to negotiate with you.
They would just refuse entry.
Just going get the renewed passport and bring that into your application.
6. Lack of Proof via a Travel Itinerary
Number six is the lack of travel itinerary.
So previously for number three, we talked about the insufficient
explanation, which aligns highly to the type of visa you're getting.
This one is the lack of proof of your travel itinerary.
And I'll actually link to a video that walks through how to create your own
itinerary yourself so that you can understand exactly what you need to do.
But the lack of proof is really relevant to people going and creating a
spreadsheet
or word document that says, I'm going to go from Italy to France and then
Spain.
It doesn't help anybody.
Your travel itinerary needs to have a day by day breakdown.
Of where you are going to stay?
What flights are going to take and what activities are you going to do?
They are literally looking for a full
planned out activity schedule for your travel through the Schengen region.
And the reason for this is because, again, they know that you've thought
about this,
they know that you're actually going to be real about it and that you're
not just
trying to get to the Schengen region for another reason.
So you need to have proof, but you also need to have the detail behind it.
And the proof can just be reservations
of tours or activities, as we've spoken about prior.
7. Insufficient Means of Financial Subsistence
Number 7 is insufficient means of substance.
This is for your financials.
So if you are travelling to the Schengen
region, as we've talked about in previous video,
you must be able to pass the financial means test.
And so every single country within the Schengen region has different
financial amounts by the day that you need to have a bank account.
So, for example, they usually sit between 50 to 80 US dollars.
So if you're gonna be in Italy for call it 10 days and that's all,
you're going to be going to take 10 days and tons of by about 80.
And it requires you to have 800 U.S. dollars in a bank account.
And we even recommend everybody to increase that by 50 percent.
So in that situation that you need
to at least have 1,300 U.S. dollars in a bank account,
because what they are looking to do is say if something goes wrong, can you
do X?
But also, do you have enough money to eat, live, breath, stay and travel in
that country.
And so each country has got sort of different
socio-economic status, which means in some
countries are cheaper for food, cheaper for transport than other countries.
And so again, they fluctuate by country.
But, do note, all they are looking for is
to make sure that you've got enough money to travel through those
countries.
And so if they see bank statements
and payslips that don't support you travelling through these countries
they will reject it and you won't be able to go.
8. Lack of Evidence and Proof of Accommodation
Number 8 is lack of presenting proof for your accommodation.
When we say this, it's if you're traveling by yourself in your application,
they need to see the hotels or the AirBnB's that you have reserved or
you're
fully paid for within the application process.
If you just include a line in your cover letter saying, hey, I will book it
after I
get an approved Schengen Visa, they're not going to approve it.
And really, you need to show that this whole holiday has been planned,
this whole trip has been planned, whether it be work, business study or
otherwise.
And the reason that your going is this and that you can go and support it.
So, again, there are companies that help provide you with reserved hotels
and accommodation, like Visas Association, but do not use fake bookings.
Don't use fake documents at all. Always provide it.
And then every single night that you're there in the Schengen region,
provide them with proof that that is what you're going to be doing.
And we're going to be staying. And one of the last ones,
So hopefully this has given you a little bit of insight into sort of the 8
top
reasons for refusal, rejection or being denied a Schengen Visa.
Now, if this has helped you at all, or even if you've still got some
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So, thank you very much for joining
and hopefully this has been very
educational and is helping you through your Schengen Visa application.