SCHENGEN VISA: On what grounds can your visa be refused? Pt. 3

Introduction

This is a continuation of our last two articles on the grounds for Schengen visa refusals.

In today’s article, we will consider the ground that the consulate will refuse you a visa if you are found to present a risk of illegal immigration or if the consulate is unable to ascertain your intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa.

How does the consulate assess that you present a risk of illegal immigration?

Generally, you may be considered a risk of illegal immigration if the consulate finds that you are using the travel purposes such as tourism, business, study or family visits as a pretext to permanently settle illegally in the territory of the Member States.

The consulate may create profiles of applicants presenting a specific risk according to local conditions and circumstances. This may be donetaking account of the general situation in the country of residence,applicants coming from a particular country or a part ofa country, politically unstable areas, high level of unemployment and wide-spread poverty. In addition, consulates may create profiles on the stability of the applicant’s socio-economic situation. However, consulates are required to consider each application on its own merits irrespective of the profiles they have drawn up.

For example, the Netherlands Embassy in Accra may draw up profiles of applicants from Ghana providing similar and particular set of documents to the consulate which are found to be generally unreliable or false. Therefore, if you present any such document falling within the profile, this may cause the consulate to doubt your intention to return even though your application will nonetheless be assessed on your own circumstances.

How does the consulate assess your intention to depart the Schengen territory?

The consulate will consider a number of factors in assessing your intention to leave the territory of the Member states. These factors are interrelated and no one factor may be considered weightier than the other. Again different socio-economic situations of applicants may present divergent aspects and conclusions.

For example, an unemployed applicant may benefit from a very stable financial situation whiles a well-paid applicant may consider illegal immigration for personal reasons. It is for the consulate to assess all relevant factors to come to a conclusion as to whether or not you intend to leave the territory before the expiry of the visa.

Some of the factors include family links or other personal ties to your home country, marital status, employment situation and level of salary, if employed. In assessing your income, the consulate will not only look at the level of income that is paid to you but also the regularity of the income.

These include income from employment, self-employment, pension, and investment. Again, the consulate may assess not only income paid to you but income received by any spouse, children or dependent.

The consulate may also assess your social status in your home country. In doing so, they will considerwhether you hold an elected public office, or an NGO representative, or a member of a profession with high social status such as a lawyer, medical doctor, university professor, etc.However, it is important to stress that the stated professions are not definitive of high social status.

In fact, social status may differ from one location to the other. It is for you to demonstrate that your circumstances are such as to be accordedrespectable social status.

Another consideration that may count in your favour is the ownership of real estate or what we commonly call a house

Factors that may cause the consulate to doubt your intention to leave the territory.

Some of the factors that may cause the consulate to doubt your intention include previous illegal stay in the Member States, previous abuse of social welfare, a succession of different visa applications presented for different unrelated purposes, and doubts on the credibility of the person inviting you.

To be continued…

By Emmanuel Opoku Acheampong