Schengen Visa Rejected – My mistake story
Introduction
I am a frequent traveler (25 countries and counting) and am always filled with envy when I meet my friends abroad who hold passports from USA / UK / Singapore / Japan etc. Little do they know of the struggles we Indians face in managing Visa applications every time we think of going abroad.
Europe is one of our favourite destinations to experience natural beauty (Trip reports on Svalbard / Faroe Islands / Iceland coming soon) but they are some of the most conservative in granting Visas. USA grants a 10 year Visa and UK grants it as long as you can cough up the steep fees. France has a reputation for being one of the most liberal of the EU Nations in this regard and one of my friends in fact managed to get a 5 year tourist Schengen visa (he had already completed 50 countries and lives in the USA )
My Plan
I wanted to have the flexibility of booking tickets at will and traveling to Europe. In my Visa application I wrote about my upcoming tentative travel plans and requested the embassy to grant me a 5 year Visa. I was literally waiting with excitement for my long term Visa to arrive. I had traveled extensively and in very offbeat places in Europe as well.
The moment of Shock
Upon collecting my passport I was shocked to see a letter stating my Visa was rejected due to 2 reasons
- You have not provided sufficient proof of means of return to country of origin – I had shared two round trips in business class and a one way booking in first class. Despite having mentioned that I was still planning my return journey of the 3rd round trip which was more than 9 months ahead, it seems there point was missed completely by the Visa officer who probably had a checklist which I did not meet
- Information regarding justification of purpose was not reliable – I had simply mentioned the purpose as tourism and only provided details of hotel booking for the first round trip. It probably did not go down well with the visa officer at all.
Immediate reaction
I went into a state of panic as I simply could not believe what had happened. My thoughts ranged from could the visa officer not have asked for clarification, shouldn’t VFS have pointed this out if they saw a flaw in my application to should I just go to his office and meet him. I spoke to VFS who mentioned that I could lodge a formal appeal with the embassy. That was out of the question as my first trip was commencing in 2 weeks and I did not know how much time this was going to take. The VFS team suggested that we could file a new application addressing all deficiencies highlighted by the visa officer.
Patch up Plan
I decided to file a visa for the next available date. The challenge was that I could not come up with firm plans for the next 2 trips as we had not exactly firmed up on a detailed itinerary. So I simply mentioned about my next trip where all details were available and asked for only a 1 week visa. In addition I also shared details of local tours booked to justify my purpose.
Fresh Application & Result
The fresh application went smoothly. I did have to mention that my previous attempt was rejected and I had to write a detailed cover letter addressing how I have rectified all the issues highlighted in my rejection letter. The application was processed quickly and I received my 6 months visa in 4 working days.
Lessons Learnt
The French embassy in Mumbai, India is probably one of the most busy during peak season travel (summer months) and the entire process is extremely fast. I guess this efficiency in process requires them to follow certain rules very strictly (the last trip does not have a return leg = application rejected). What I am trying to say is giving extra information here which was not complete in all respects hurt my application even though I did mention that in my cover letter. Always be extra careful when submitting visa information. Only submit details that you can justify fully. Plans not yet finalized don’t have a place in a Schengen visa application
Conclusion
While this issues was extremely stressful, I was really relieved at the end of it. While I would have to explain a Visa rejection in most of my future applications, the subsequent approval will at least give me a way to explain this fiasco. We all mistakes, mine just turned into an unexpectedly big one. Let’s hope you can avoid the mistakes that I did. Did you find this article useful ?
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