Check your Schengen short-stay application before you apply

The grounds, in the authority’s words

• A false, counterfeit or forged travel document was presented

  Box 1, Article 32(1)(a)(i)

  This box is about the passport or travel document, not about the supporting papers. It is the most serious box on the form.

• The purpose and conditions of the intended stay were not justified

  Box 2, Article 32(1)(a)(ii)

  This is the most commonly ticked box and it is usually about missing paper rather than an unconvincing trip. The consulate wants the purpose evidenced: the booking, the invitation, the event, the itinerary that ties the dates together.

• Insufficient means of subsistence for the stay and for the return

  Box 3, Article 32(1)(a)(iii)

  Each member state publishes a daily amount it expects a visitor to have. The consulate multiplies it by the days you asked for and compares it with the balance you evidenced, then looks for the return ticket.

• You have already stayed 90 days in the current 180-day period

  Box 4, Article 32(1)(a)(iv)

  The 90 in 180 rule is a rolling count, not a calendar one. On any day of the intended stay, the previous 180 days must contain no more than 90 days inside the Schengen area.

• An alert has been issued in the Schengen Information System

  Box 5, Article 32(1)(a)(v)

  An alert is entered by one member state and seen by all of them. Removing it means writing to the state that entered it, not to the one that refused you.

• Considered a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or international relations

  Box 6, Article 32(1)(a)(vi)

  This box is not about your documents. It is about a record held somewhere in the member states.

• Travel medical insurance was not provided or is inadequate

  Box 7, Article 32(1)(a)(vii)

  This is the easiest box to answer and one of the most commonly ticked, because policies are bought for the wrong dates or the wrong cover. The policy must run from the first day to the last day you asked for, cover all member states, and state the EUR 30,000 minimum.

• The information submitted was not reliable

  Box 8, Article 32(1)(b)

  This box is ticked where two documents disagree, where a document could not be verified by telephone, or where the account changed between the form and the interview. It is serious: it is one step away from the deception grounds, though it is not the same thing.

• Your intention to leave before the visa expires could not be ascertained

  Box 9, Article 32(1)(b)

  Like the UK ground, this is about ties evidenced on paper: work, family, property, study and a travel record. First-time travellers from countries with high refusal rates see this box most often, and the answer is to evidence every tie rather than to state them.

The boxes, not the letter

There is no paragraph of reasoning to read on a Schengen refusal. There is a standard form from Annex VI of the Visa Code with numbered boxes, and the consulate ticks the ones that apply. Box 2 is purpose not justified, box 3 is means of subsistence, box 7 is insurance, box 9 is intention to leave. Most refused applications are refused on two or three of them together.

The two that are pure arithmetic

Box 4 is the 90 in 180 count on your stamps, and box 7 is whether the insurance covers every member state for at least 30,000 euro across the whole period you asked for. Neither is a matter of persuasion. We count them for you, because both are refused every day on a policy bought for the travel dates instead of the visa validity.

The member state matters

The consulate of your main destination decides the application, sets the daily amount it expects you to have, and sets the route if it refuses. Germany takes a remonstration within a month. France sends you to a commission within two. We hold that table and print your state's deadline at the top of the letter.

What to have ready

• A dated itinerary covering every day of the stay
• Accommodation bookings for the full period, or an invitation with the host's address and status
• Flight reservations matching the itinerary
• Evidence of the reason for the trip: conference registration, event tickets, a business letter from both companies
• For a visit to family or friends, the host's proof of residence and their formal invitation where the member state uses one
• Three to six months of bank statements, stamped by the bank or officially downloaded
• Payslips for the same period
• A return or onward ticket reservation
• Where a sponsor pays: their formal undertaking in the member state's format, their statements, their payslips and their residence status
• Evidence of the source of any large recent credit
• A full set of entry and exit stamps, page by page
• A day count for the intended trip against the rolling 180-day window
• Revised travel dates that fall outside the used allowance
• A travel medical insurance certificate naming the insured person, the policy dates, the territory (all Schengen member states) and cover of at least EUR 30,000
• Proof of payment for the policy
• Documents that can be verified: letterhead with a working telephone number, an email domain that matches the company, a named signatory with a job title
• Booking confirmations that are still live on the day of the application, not cancelled reservations
• A short covering note explaining any inconsistency the consulate could see
• Original documents with translations by a certified translator where required
• Employment letter with role, start date, salary and approved leave
• Payslips and matching salary credits
• Property documents in the applicant's name
• Evidence of dependants and of care responsibilities
• Previous passports showing visas used and returns made on time
• Business registration and tax filings where self-employed

Review, £29

We read your documents, check every ground, tell you exactly what is thin and what would fix it, and write the cover letter, the sponsor letter and the employer letter from the facts you gave. One re-run included within 30 days.