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I am an Indian national living in US. I recently had a denial for Schengen visa from the Swiss consulate. The reason for refusal was:

The information submitted regarding justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not reliable.

I have been going to Europe extensively for the past 3 years (every 2-3 months or so) and have had 5 visa approvals prior to this rejection. So I was a bit stunned by the rejection. I am trying to decide whether to appeal the decision. I know that I will not get a response in time for the trip so this appeal is just to clear my name and not to answer any questions of visa refusals in future. I have following questions:

  • Does the fact that I cannot make the trip influence the final decision of the Swiss authority? As in, would they automatically reject my appeal knowing that the trip is no longer possible? I have non-refundable air tickets but have cancelled hotels since the flight is in 3 weeks.
  • I have a trip to Spain planned at the end of November and I am planning to apply to Spanish consulate in mid-September. Would a pending appeal influence their decision?

Just to re-iterate, I would like to appeal mainly to clear the refusal as I do think I provided all the documentation that was necessary. I will be adding additional documents to bolster my claim this time around. But judging by the time it takes to get a decision it won't be possible to make the trip. So I want to know if my appeal will still be valid and whether I can apply for a visa from a different consulate while the appeal is ongoing

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    What reason did they give for denying your visa?
    – user90371
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 0:00
  • @ReddHerring I have updated the question. According to other user on here this is the most severe form of refusal one can have. Is that really true? I am genuinely befuddled as to why I was refused. That's why my intention to appeal
    – Fizi
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 2:14
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    You haven't said what purpose you applied for. I'm assuming that it's for tourism, in which case I'd speculate that the Swiss have decided that the number of visas you've applied for, and the number of trips you've made over three years is not consistent with that stated purpose. I don't have an answer to your question though. You might find the Spanish are less sensitive, or you might just have to find some alternative destinations to go to for a while.
    – user90371
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 3:50
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    I am less concerned by the reason for refusal at this point and more about how to proceed hereon. The main question is whether an appeal will be denied solely on the fact that it won’t be completed in time for the trip
    – Fizi
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 10:37
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    It is far better to reapply. From your question, it seems you overthink: I travel a lot of time, so I should have the visa. Repetition of the same task often led to errors. Check again your application, and that you deliver the same documents as in the past. Or just bad luck. Do appeal only when you cannot reapply (e.g. for a strong rejection reason), in your case they just say documents were not enough.
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 12:48

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Appealing only makes sense if you are absolutely certain that the consulate did not process your application correctly. If you are 100% sure that, given the application and documents you submitted, that your visa should have been approved, then appealing can make sense. You should include a letter which explains all of the documents you submitted and how they demonstrate your circumstances.

If you were refused because some documents were missing, then appealing doesn't really make sense; you can and should just reapply. Remember that, even if you have had a refusal, each application is evaluated on its own merits. The same is true if you have had five applications approved. So, no matter how many Schengen visas you get, it is wise to take care with preparing them so as to avoid a refusal.

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    In particular, only appeal if you think they got something objectively wrong, not something subjective like them not trusting what you say about your visit.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 17:51

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