SUMMARY
What may be the reasons for visa refusal
Preparing to lodge an appeal
Send the file to the lawyer
Have you applied for a visa for France and have you been refused? When your passport was returned to you, you also received a document called Visa Refusal which you countersigned, with one or more reasons indicated.
1 WHAT MAY BE THE REASONS FOR VISA REFUSAL
It is essential to understand the reason for refusal of your visa. Indeed, this will allow you to formulate an appeal adapted to your case, and you will have a better chance of obtaining your visa.
Reason 1: “the travel document presented is false/falsified”
This means that the consular services have considered that your ticket (your plane ticket) or your passport is not valid or authentic.
We can help you with our appeal models to challenge this ground for refusal.
Reason 2: “the purpose and conditions of the planned stay have not been justified”
This means that the consular services considered that you did not give enough explanations on the reasons for your coming to France, that the reasons for your request are unclear and that, based only on the information provided, your stay in France is not justified.
We can help you with our appeal models to justify the purpose of your stay.
Reason 3: “you have not provided proof that you have sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the planned stay or means for returning to the country of origin or residence, or for transit to a third country in which your admission is guaranteed, or you are not in a position to legally acquire these means”
This means that the consular services have considered that you do not have sufficient means for your arrival in France.
That is to say that you do not have enough cash to ensure your everyday life in France during your stay.
The consular services check that you have sufficient means to travel, lodge, feed and return to your country of origin, i.e. 65 euros per day if you plan to stay in a hotel and 33 euros if you are hosted.
We can help you with our appeal models to justify the sufficiency of your resources for the duration of the stay.
Reason 4: “you have already stayed in the territory of the Member States for more than three months during the current six-month period, on the basis of the issue of a uniform visa or a visa with limited territorial validity ”
This means that the consular services have considered that you have already stayed in France or in a Member State during the last six months.
If this is not the case, we can help you with our appeal models to challenge this error by the administration.
If this is the case, you must wait six months after your return to submit a new application for a short-stay visa.
However, you can apply for a long-stay visa.
Reason 5: “you have been the subject of an alert for the purpose of refusing admission to the Schengen Information System (SIS)”
This means that the consular services have considered that you represent a danger to security and safety on the national territory.
A foreigner is generally present in this file if he has been convicted of a criminal offense punishable by at least one year of imprisonment or if there are serious reasons to believe that he has committed serious acts punishable by law .
There are approximately 1,300,000 reports in France within the SIS file.
A serious act committed in a member country of the Schengen area other than France may lead to your registration in this file.
The report is normally kept for three years. However, this period may be renewed.
You can consult the Commission Nationale Informatique et Liberté (CNIL) in France by post to find out if your identity has indeed been reported in this file.
If this is not the case, we can help you by appealing against this visa refusal.
Reason 6: “one or more Member States consider that you represent a threat to public order, national security or public health, within the meaning of Article 2.19 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 (Schengen Borders Code ), or for the international relations of one or more of the Member States”
This means that the consular services have considered that you represent a danger to security and safety on national territory.
You have probably been the subject of an alert by a member country of the Schengen area other than France.
If this is not the case, we can help you with our recourse models to dispute this error.
Reason 7: “you have not presented evidence that you hold adequate and valid travel health insurance”
This means that the consular services have considered that you have not provided documents proving that your expenses, health and repatriation are covered by an insurance company.
We can help you with our appeal models to challenge this ground for refusal.
Reason 8: “the information communicated to justify the purpose and conditions of the planned stay are not reliable”
This means that the consular services have considered that you have not provided documents verifiably attesting to the conditions of your stay and of his motive.
This is a vague reason for refusal which results from a concrete assessment of your request.
The documents communicated are insufficiently substantiated and verifiable.
We can help you to compile a complete file justifying the purpose of your stay and to challenge this reason for refusal.
Reason 9: “Your intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa could not be established”
This means that the consular services have considered that you may intend to remain in France when your visa expires. Visa.
The documents communicated do not sufficiently show your attachment to your country of origin and your definite desire to return.
We can help you to compile a complete file justifying the purpose of your stay and to challenge this reason for refusal.
It is essential to understand the reason for visa refusal. Indeed, this will allow you to formulate an appeal adapted to your case, and you will have a better chance of obtaining your visa.
2 PREPARING TO APPEAL
Every year, about 10% of visa applications are refused by the French Authorities.
If your visa is refused to you in writing for one or more reasons, or implicitly by a lack of response in the two months following the request, it is possible to make a free appeal to the consulate or the French embassy which sent you refused the visa, or a letter of appeal to the CRRV.
Is the appeal likely to prevent me from having a visa later? Appealing does not present any risk for your future visa applications.
What makes a good appeal?
An appeal must respond exhaustively to the reasons for refusal of the consulate or embassy, and be drafted in clear and concise terms; repetitions should be avoided.
It must be argued in fact and in law, ie it is necessary to recall the applicable texts and demonstrate how they are applicable to the situation of the person making the appeal. Above all, it must be accompanied by useful supporting documents, and in particular the visa application file, the refusal decision and the useful documents for contesting the grounds for refusal.
What are my chances of success?
Many of the appeals submitted to the consulate or to the commission do not succeed because they do not respect the format, quality and attachments expected by the administration. The complexity of these procedures often explains the low success rate of appeals presented to the CRRV in particular. You need a seasoned professional to assist you.
Indeed, unlike the ready-made appeal models that you can find on the internet, the appeals established by our services systematically include legal arguments validated by professionals specialized in the right of entry and residence in France, and will be perfectly adapted to your situation. In addition, we suggest the attachments that can support your arguments.
Note that the CRRV only studies one out of 3 appeals and that a lack of response from it within 2 months is to be taken as a refusal. Our team carried out more than 200 appeals in 2016 and won their case in more than 75% of cases, compared to a 20% success rate for appeals in general. You therefore have 3 times more chances of success with our service.
In addition, if you obtain your visa following an appeal to the CRRV or the Administrative Court, you can be compensated for the legal costs incurred in the dispute procedure. Indeed, the French State may be ordered to compensate you as the victim of an administrative error, if you have committed funds to appeal.
3 HAND OVER THE FILE TO THE LAWYER
When you apply for a visa at a consulate or embassy, you will receive an answer within 2 months.
In the event of a negative response, you can choose to make a formal appeal to the consulate or embassy that refused you the visa. You will also have an answer within 2 months. If this appeal fails, you can then file a letter of appeal with the Visa Refusal Appeal Commission (CRRV). Note that it is possible to appeal directly to the CRRV, which is recommended if the initial visa application was complete.
There is also a 2 month wait for an answer from the CRRV. If this appeal also fails, it is still possible to appeal to the Administrative Court, which will give an answer within 6 to 12 months. If you do not obtain your visa at the end of this procedure, you will have as a last option the possibility of seizing the Administrative Court of Appeal.
Why was my visa for France refused?
A visa may be refused for various reasons such as an incomplete file. In the case of short-stay visas, you should have received a document at the same time as your passport, on which one or more reasons appears. It is necessary to study what the meaning of these motives is.
What are my solutions to obtain a visa in case of refusal?
To make an appeal, you have a period of 2 months:
- from the notification of the decision of refusal for an express refusal;
- from the end of the 2 month period without response, for an implied refusal.
If you have been refused a visa because you forgot a supporting document in your application, or because there is only a short time left before the planned date of your stay in France, you can appeal to the consulate.
If not, we recommend that you file a letter of appeal with the CRRV. If you have not obtained your visa after appealing to the CRRV, which unfortunately happens in the majority of cases (about 90%), you can then appeal to the Administrative Court. Appeals to this Court are successful in 40%, but it is necessary to go first to the CRRV.
Get prepared
You will have to send to the law firm the following documents:
- A brief note laying out your professional and personal circumstances
- A copy of your application and documents submitted
- A copy of the Visa denial along with letters and emails received from the French authorities.
* We will schedule a videoconference before moving forward.
The scope of my assistance covers the following:
- review of your initial Visa application
- preparation of the documents to be submitted,
- drawing up of the petition filed before the Commission
- representation before the Commission and the Court.
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