Schengen visa refused on box 3: means of subsistence
Article 32(1)(a)(iii). The consulate multiplies the daily amount its member state publishes by the days you asked for, compares it with the balance you evidenced, and looks for the return ticket.
Paste your refusal letter. See the grounds they used and the route you have. Free, no email.
What the ground says
Box 3, Article 32(1)(a)(iii)
you have not provided proof of sufficient means of subsistence, for the duration of the intended stay or for the return to the country of origin or residence
Whether you can pay for the stay at the member state's published daily rate, and get home.
It is arithmetic, and the number is published
Spain expects well over a hundred euro a day. Germany expects around forty-five. France sits in the middle and varies with whether accommodation is booked. Find your member state's figure, multiply, and compare it with what your statements actually show on the day you apply.
The balance is not the only thing read
A balance that appeared last week does not read as means of subsistence. It reads as a balance arranged for the application. Six months of statements with income arriving is worth more than a larger number with no history behind it.
Sponsors count, if they are evidenced
Most member states accept a sponsor, and several have their own formal undertaking document. Whichever form it takes, the sponsor's own statements, payslips and residence status have to be in the file. An undertaking on its own adds nothing to the arithmetic.
What answers it
Three to six months of statements, stamped or officially downloaded. Payslips for the same months. A return reservation. A stated source for any large recent credit. The daily calculation set out in the cover letter so the consulate does not have to do it.
Evidence that addresses it
- 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
Your route
Reapply
You may apply again at any time. A new application is decided on its own evidence, so it only helps if the ticked boxes are answered.
Remonstration, within 30 days
A remonstration asks the same consulate to look again, with the evidence that was missing. Some member states offer it, some do not, and the deadline differs by state. The deadline on your refusal form governs.
Appeal, within 30 days
Every member state must offer an appeal against a Schengen visa refusal. The body and the deadline are named on the refusal form. Appeals are formal and most are decided on the papers.
This route needs a regulated adviser.
The refusal is given on the standard form in Annex VI of the Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009. The ticked boxes are the grounds. The appeal route, its authority and its deadline are printed on that form and the printed version governs.
Reapply, £49
We read the refusal, name the grounds and the route, check every ground against your documents with the refused ones held open, and write the reapplication letter that answers each one by its reference. Re-runs and second-refusal handling included for 30 days.