Need to understand why my Schengen visa was refused

Question

I applied for a schengen visa, to attend some interviews in Germany. I am a doctor, and a recruiting agency is arranging all the interviews. They provided me with an invitation letter, stating they would pay for my accommodation and expenses in Germany.

I submitted this letter with other documents; I had hotel confirmation from booked.com.

My visa was rejected due to three reasons.

1. Justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not provided
2. The information submitted regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not reliable
3. No proof of accommodation

What does it mean - was my invitation letter not good, or was it that the company just stated they would pay for accommodation and did not actually provide the proof of accommodation?

I can get a detailed invitation letter stating where my interviews will be, and also proof of accommodation. Is there anything else required? I'm sure no company that invites a person would give me their bank statement.

Any input will help me a lot.

Answer 1

First I am a Doctor, of Indian origin. I had some interviews in Germany, and the interviews were being organised by a recruitment company. They were taking care of my accommodation and my transportation. They had sent me an invitation letter stating "we invite so and so for interview and we provide accommodation and transport". They had not mentioned the dates nor had they mentioned exactly where they were providing me accommodation, so my visa was rejected. The reason was justification for the intended stay was not provided, the document given for justification was not reliable and lastly proof of accommodation was not provided.

What I did right the second time was: I asked the company to write a detailed invitation letter mentioning the dates of invitation, and also to mention exactly where they give me the place to stay. Also I asked them to tell about the company in the invitation letter and lastly to give the contact number of the person whom they can contact.

From my side, I wrote a detailed letter (it was 3 pages long). I had mentioned every small details. When I wrote I was constantly thinking what the visa officer will be questioning. So a detailed covering letter mentioning every detail about the trip. Along with it I gave my bank statement and provided 4 separate documents to prove that I am leaving the Schengen Area.

They gave me a visa for 90 days even though I had asked only for 32 days and they gave it me in 24 hours.

So moral of story, write a really good covering letter and think of every small detail and provide proof of justification. I hope this helps people who faced or will face my situation.

Answer 2

I am in Germany now. I come back to this website to see if I can help anyone. Because when I needed help i got a lot of info on how to do the write things.

I want to write on what the invitation letter must contain, because my visa was rejected mainly as the invitation letter was deemed not reliable.

If you can speak to the company which is providing you the invitation letter then ask them these things that need to be included if you want to apply for business visa.

1. the letter should be on official letter head.
2. it should clearly mention your name as the person who is being invited.
3. the dates should be clearly mentioned. The day when they want you to be in Germany and the day when they are sending you off.
4. if accommodation is provided clearly write where it is provided. In my case the company gave me the house they owned for me to stay. They mentioned the address of the house clearly and stated I will be staying there throughout the desired period.
5. ask the company to state the reason why you are being invited.
6. If possible the company can give 2-3 lines about what they basically do and why you are being invited. For me I think this helped me a lot as the consulate gave me 90 days visa even though I had asked for 30 days visa.
7. if additional things like transportation and food is being provided ask that to be mentioned clearly.
8. Last but not least ask the company to provide the details, including contact address, phone number and email id of the person whom they can contact or u will be in contact when you reach Germany. They call this "Ansprechpartner". This is a must if you want your visa.

I hope this is of some use to people who are seeking for business visa.