Dutch visa was annulled on entering France

Question

Sorry for the lengthy post. So I planned for an Europe trip and applied for my schengen visa at the Dutch embassy in Tokyo. I applied at the Dutch embassy because I was planning on staying for 6days in the Netherlands. My itinerary was, arrive at Paris (4 days), then Lux (1 day), Brussels (1 days) and Netherlands (6 days) and depart back to Tokyo.

I presented the itinerary and the necessary hotel bookings and supporting documents at the Dutch embassy. I got the visa after 2 weeks or so. I noticed that my name was spelt wrong in the visa and informed them immediately. They apologised and stroke out the visa that had incorrect spelling and a new visa was issued the very next day and the visa sticker was stuck on the next page.

I got my visa 1 and a half months before and everything was fine until I landed in france. The immigration officer checked my visa and told me that my visa was cancelled by the Dutch embassy that issued my visa and that he can't allow me to enter France. They detained me for 16 hours, confiscated my phones, and I was put back on the next day flight to Tokyo. They did not even make an attempt to contact the Dutch counterparts to check about my visa. I was basically treated as if I was some terrorist. This was a very horrifying experience for me and I don't know how long it is going to take for me to come out of this gruesome experience.

I'm totally perplexed. All my documents were genuine, I did not submit any fake documents. I did not even receive any intimation that my visa was cancelled. I spent money to book hotels, flights etc and it is a waste now. Below are my questions

1. What should I do now? Can I take it up with someone or should I file a complaint or law suit?

2. The immigration officers in Paris have printed "ANNULLED" on top of my Dutch visa. Will this affect my future travels to other countries?

Answer 1

There are many ways to skin a cat. Bearing in mind that there is virtually zero chance that France (or for that most other countries) will reimburse a visitor their cost for being unfairly denied entry, and a lawsuit has almost zero chance of success, my suggestion is what I believe is the most low cost option to remedy your situation

What should I do now? Can I take it up with someone or should I file a complaint or law suit?

My suggestion is apply for a Schengen visa from France. You will have a chance to talk to an actual human being and if upon explaining and you are granted a French Schengen, you can be confident your subsequent visit to France or other Schengen country will be relatively hassle free.

Alternatively you can retain the services of a French immigration lawyer to take up your case, it will likely cost you a pretty penny and end nowhere but a suggestion to apply for a fresh French Schengen visa.

The immigration officers in Paris have printed "ANNULLED" on top of my Dutch visa. Will this affect my future travels to other countries?

I have a German Schengen in my passport which was annulled by the French embassy when they issued me a new one to replace the German one after I changed my itinerary. Mine says ANNULE SANS PREJUDICE. Visas are annulled for a variety of reasons, some of which do not reflect poorly on the applicant so you should not be overly worried about that particularly if you follow my advice and apply for a French Schengen and are approved.