A visa application is rejected if the consular/visa officer isn’t presented all the needed information about the applicant. Visa officer in absence of complete information, will be unable to decide if the applicant fulfills the requirement and visa may be approved. There are scenarios where the officer has information from the applicant that helps him decide to reject the visa application. Poor past records or involvement in illegitimate and/or dishonest activities, in these conditions the officer is led to DENY offering a visa to the applicant.

My office has processed thousands of visa and we like to share the Most Common Reasons for Schengen Visa Applications Being rejected below:

Criminal Actions

The past and current profile and actions of the applicant makes a lot of difference in the decision of the consular officer in issuing a Schengen visa. Refusal might occur because the applicant is considered a threat to the public, public property, public policy, internal security or public wealth of Schengen Area (i.e. terrorism, drug abuse, child abuse, addiction, other serious crimes).

Travel Document

There is a common decision for all the individuals (applicants) who attempt to present fake travel documents to the embassy or consulate, trying to misrepresent their identity, using fake travel documents – and that is an absolute visa denial and/or other accompanying unfavorable consequences.

Purpose & Circumstances of The Planned Trip

An important motive to lead the Visa office to Reject your Schengen Visa is the absence of justification for your purpose and conditions of the planned travel and stay.

• Employment and professional qualification that doesn’t matches with the presented financial situation
• Missing documents that support the purpose of travel and stay in the Schengen Area
• Difference between visa period requested with the presented travel itinerary and holiday right or revenue situation
• Cover letter doesn’t provide clarity

Damaged Passport

A reason for a visa refusal could be presenting a passport that is not kept in a good condition, making it invalid e.g. passport pages are detaching or missing, cover of the passport is damaged and so on, water marks on data pages

Passport Invalidity

Presenting a passport that isn’t valid due to below-mentioned reasons

• Presenting a passport that does not have a valid period less than three (3) remaining months after the return from the visit in the Schengen Area
• Presenting a passport that does not possess two back to back blank visa pages
• Presenting a valid passport that is older than ten (10) years
• Handwritten passports

Travel Itinerary

Visa applications are rejected in absence of proper plan of your travel within the Schengen Area. Such cases include:

• Applying at the wrong Embassy of the Schengen state
• In adequate hotel booking
• Missing Flight reservations

Letter of Reference

Schengen Visa application is unsuccessful if a formal letter of reference is not authenticated by the issuing authority or issuer.

• Cover letter not issued on an original letterhead with the address and contact details of the company or the issuer
• Cover letter that’s not recent

Means of Subsistence

One of the major reasons the embassy/consulate of the Schengen state rejects your visa is missing or insufficient proof of means of existence for the duration of stay in Schengen Area, nor for the return to home country.

• Failing to offer financial statements not older than a fortnight from the application date
• Inadequate funds in financial statements presented

Invalid Travel Insurance

Schengen Visa application is rejected, due to the inability of the applicant to present the appropriate travel insurance coverage for the duration of stay in the Schengen Area.

• Provide a travel insurance cover of less than Euro 30000/-
• Provide a travel insurance that does not cover the return of the applicant’s home country
• Travel insurance policy isn’t valid for entire Schengen Area
• Travel insurance that doesn’t covers the entire days of the trip in the Schengen Area

Travel history

Last, not the least to destroy one’s Schengen Visa application is earlier history with the Schengen Visa.

• Failing to previously respect Schengen Visa limitations (i.e. Overstay in the Schengen Area, failing to follow the presented travel itinerary – by skipping to stay mostly in the main country of destination in the Schengen Area, and so on).
• Holding a passport with an active Schengen Visa.
• No travel history
• Visa rejected in recent times

Note:  The information provided here is intended for assistance only and might be usable NOT ONLY for the purpose of applying for Schengen Visa but for any visa type of any world country. Govisago.in provides Visa assistance in Delhi NCR even for cases with prior Visa rejection at an affordable cost starting at INR7000/- +++.