3

Context:

I am a Chinese passport holder living in the US with a green card. in 2018, I applied for a Schengen Visa from the Spanish Consulate and was approved for about a month. I initially intended to go to Spain but had some last minute change of itinerary so ended up going to Italy, not Spain at all.

This year, I applied for another Schengen Visa with Multiple entries from the Spanish Consulate in the US for two separate trips:

  1. Trip #1: to go to a wedding in Spain in late June for 5 days; then come back to the US for a month
  2. Trip #2: to go to Belgium in late July for 4 days;

During the application, the Spanish Consulate saw that I did not enter Spain last year and was only visiting Italy. The consulate said I was not being truthful and reliable with them last time, and proceeded to deny my visa for the following reason -

  1. The information submitted regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not reliable.

I was confused because I thought plan change after a Visa was approved is okay, thinking isn't that the whole point of getting a Schengen Visa vs a country-specific visa.

Question

I would like to get advice on what to do after my Schengen Visa denial. It seems like I have three options:

  1. Abandon both trip #1 and trip #2; only apply after 6 months and prepare an explanation for the incident; There is little chance my application in the near term will be considered
  2. Abandon trip #1 but pursue trip #2 at the Belgian Consulate - be truthful about the situation with the Spanish Consulate and let them know about the reason why trip #1 was denied.
  3. Repeal/re-apply for both trip #1 and #2

Other Info

The Consulate in fact called me to let me know why my visa is denied. My friend, out of despair, wrote them a letter hoping they could consider. I attached an apology letter explaining situation and thought process from last year. But this proved to be no avail.

I go to Europe a lot - having traveled to Europe extensively in the past 5 years with 5 different Schengen visa. I am so scared that I am now on a travel ban, by all the Schengen member states. I don't know what I would do to overcome this setback.

Part of me is really upset at myself but also at the process. I wish I spent more time perusing the rules and regulations, but I did not. I actually googled this forum to see if it is okay to change plan after visa was issued and saw a post saying that is okay.

UPDATE: I spoke with the Consulate when I picked up my passport; the woman said I can re-apply only after 6 months at this Consulate, but for other consulate I can re-apply whenever. I think it is fairly obvious that I am no longer able to go to Spain for the wedding, but possible for another Europe trip in the summer.

Improve this question
9
  • This question already has an answer here: Schengen visa denied because of fake bank statement
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 2:36
  • Schengen does not have a ban which is binding on all members so that’s a good thing. Secondly Spain did not ban you, they would have told you with paperwork if there was a ban. But you are in the system so all Schengen consulates will know you had a refusal from Spain. I don’t know if the reason is annotated in the database however don’t attempt to lie on your next application. Now on to my opinion. If you reapply to Spain again immediately it’s highly unlikely you will be approved. My advice would be wait a while then apply to visit a different Schengen country and tell the truth.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 2:38
  • 1
    What reason was given/ticked on the standard Schengen refusal form?
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 2:42
  • 1
    Alternatively if you’re close to USA citizenship and intend to become a citizen, wait until you become a citizen then visit without a visa like I did. See my case travel.stackexchange.com/questions/87121/…. So either that, or your option #3. Don’t be too worried, you don’t have ban.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 2:43
  • It is ok to change plan, but your changes were very substantial. For the second visa, you should have explained why you changed the plans. You know, people should trust you, so if you change opinions often, it is also a proof your opinions are weak. Ev. try with Italian consulate, and go also in Italy (and Spain), to clean up your status.
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 12:24

0

Reset to default