Schengen visa refused on box 9: intention to leave
Article 32(1)(b), printed on the form as the box about your intention to leave the territory of the member states before the expiry of the visa. First-time applicants from countries with high refusal rates see this box most often.
Paste your refusal letter. See the grounds they used and the route you have. Free, no email.
What the ground says
Box 9, Article 32(1)(b)
your intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa could not be ascertained
Whether your circumstances at home give the consulate a reason to be sure you will go back.
What "could not be ascertained" actually means
Not that the consulate believes you will overstay. That nothing in the file let them conclude you would not. It is a statement about the evidence, not about you, which is why the answer is more evidence rather than a stronger assurance.
The evidence that moves it
Employment with approved leave dates. Salary arriving monthly in the statements you sent. Property in your own name. Dependants who stay behind. Previous travel to any country, with the stamps showing you returned. A business with registration and filings.
What does not move it
A letter promising to return. Consulates read hundreds a day and the promise carries no weight, which is why we will not write one. A large balance on its own, with no income behind it, does not move it either.
Your route and your deadline
Reapply, or challenge the decision with the member state that refused you, inside its deadline. The route and the time limit are printed on your refusal form. We read them from the letter and put the deadline at the top of the remonstration.
Evidence that addresses it
- 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
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.