What can I do to get a refund if my visa was denied?

Question

I'm from Ethiopia and I got an invitation letter from my sister to visit her in Malta. Since Malta does not have an embassy or consulate in Ethiopia, we are supposed to get it from the Austrian embassy in Addis Ababa. I made the application with all the necessary documents, and I got the Schengen insurance. The embassy also told me to buy a ticket because they don't accept a reservation without a ticket. So, I purchased a ticket.

After 2 days, the embassy called me and they told me that the ticket I bought was for 91 days, longer than the 90 days ordinarily permitted. Also, by mistake the agency through which I bought my ticket spelled my name wrong. The embassy told me to buy a new ticket with the correct name and a stay 90 days or shorter. So I bought the new ticket and brought it to them, and they told me they would call that week.

My flight was on October 13, 2017, but I was forced to miss that. The embassy called me that day and told me they would give me the decision on October 15. That day, I went there and they told me my visa had been denied. They didn't tell me why my visa was denied and why they didn't tell me until after the day of my flight, and why if they were going to deny the visa they told me to waste money on a new ticket with the correct dates and names. What can I do to get my money back?

Answer 1

The application fee for the visa is non-refundable, it is a processing fee

My visa has been refused. What can I do? Will the visa fee be refunded?

The visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. The visa fee covers the cost of the examination of the visa application.

The cost of your ticket for travel depends on whether the ticket you purchased is refundable or not - it is always advisable to purchase refundable tickets when applying for visas, as visas can always be refused (as you have found out).

The embassy was correct in advising you to correct the errors in your booking, as they could not issue a visa given the current booking exceeded their limits. However, this does not place any burden on the embassy - you could have amended the current booking to correct the name and reduce the period spent within the Schengen area rather than purchase a new ticket.

From the above link, Schengen visa processing usually takes up to 15 days, but can take up to 60 days. It also states that you should not apply for a Schengen Visa any closer than 15 days to the day of travel, but as you can apply up to three months prior to day of travel, the earlier you apply the better.

It sounds like you simply ran out of time while the embassy came to its decision.

You need to speak to your travel agent regarding any refund of travel costs, but as the travel date has already passed this may not be possible.

You may also want to consult any travel insurance you have taken out, as they may cover this situation.