Tag Archive: denied

  1. What to Do when a Visa has been Denied

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    It is unfortunately not a rare incident, not only in Thailand, that visa applications are denied although all legal requirements were met and all requested supporting documents were provided to the respective embassy. The reasons for denying the applications are often elusive for the applicants and include standard wording that seems inappropriate.

    Moreover, the application procedure is generally speaking complicated and difficult to understand for inexperienced or first-time applicants. Many applicants have followed the guides and instructions of the embassy and were still not granted the visas.

    Regardless of the type of visa that has been applied for, there are four options for the applicant in this situation:

    Not React and Take No Action

    Depending on the country for which a visa was applied for, normally the file including the refusal will be saved in the database of the respective ministry of foreign affairs. In Schengen countries, the data will be saved in a database called SIS and will be available for all other Schengen countries.

    Therefore, it will not be possible to simply obtain a new passport to avoid that the denial stamp is visible in your passport. For any future visa application, the previous denial will be taken into consideration.

    Simply accepting ones fate is therefore not a good way to deal with the situation.

    Submit a New Visa Application

    Submitting a second visa application makes sense if there has been a change in the circumstances and/or in the facts relevant for the visa application. For example, if the applicant has been able to remedy certain issues and is now able to meet legal requirements he has previously not been able to meet.

    Otherwise, the probability of getting another, second refusal is very high. The time and money that is spent again would then be futile and without any gain.

    Moreover, there will be a similar situation as described above, since the applicant will have implicitly accepted the first refusal of his application.

    Therefore, this is not a recommended way to go either.

    Objection Against the Refusal by the Embassy

    By submitting a formal objection against the notification of refusal by the embassy, the embassy is requested to review its own decision. In most legal systems, there will be a formal procedure for this objection, which the embassy will follow. Please note that this objection should be prepared and submitted without delay, as, depending on the country, certain prescription periods need to be met.

    Such an objection has particularly good prospects for success if the embassy has made obvious mistakes or if important circumstances for the decision or relevant facts have not been considered.

    The disadvantage of this procedure is that the embassy may require a long period of time to process the objection, sometimes several months. We have even heard of cases where applicants have not received any response at all from an embassy. The prospects of success certainly depend on the case, however generally speaking they are relatively low. The reason for this may well be that many applicants do not seek legal advice before submitting the objection and instead try to approach the embassy on their own.

    In any case, we highly recommend seeking legal counsel from a reputable law firm before preparing and submitting an objection. Ideally, applicants should be legally represented by an attorney who acts on their behalf during the objection procedure.

    Our firm is specializing in visa matters of this kind, in particular when related to visa applications for Germany. We would be pleased to provide you with further information about our legal services.

    Submit a Complaint at the Administrative Courts

    From our experience, taking legal action at the administrative courts of the country for which a visa is applied for, has by far the best prospects for success and is the best option for any kind of visa rejection and in all visa categories.

    Such procedure increases the level of transparency of the decision significantly. The procedure is formalized and clear. There will be an independent court of law that reviews the decision of the embassy, not the embassy itself.

    In many cases, the embassies err in their application of the law and sometimes the applications are not examined thoroughly enough. Taking legal action in the country for which the visa is applied for is not as burdensome as it may seem and the prospects of success are among the highest compared to other administrative court procedures. In Germany, for example, more than 50% of the plaintiffs succeed with their efforts. In case a prevailing judgment can be obtained, the administrative courts of Germany and many other countries will rule that the state bears the court fees and the legal fees of the plaintiff.

    This kind of procedure has proven to be very efficient, and many disappointed visa applicants were eventually proven to be right and were granted their visa.

    Please let us know if you have any inquiries regarding visa related legal matters, we will be pleased to assist you.