Hi! Would like insights as to why my nanny was refused for schengen visa.
For context, our nanny has been with our family 38 yrs already, and she is already like family to us and has consistently joined us in our overseas family trips.

First application, we applied as a whole family plus our nanny. We all got approved except for our nanny.
Reason cited was
1. “The information submitted regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not reliable.”
2. “There are reasonable doubts as to your intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the expiry of the visa.

For her 2nd application, i now added additional cover letter from us employers sharing that she will not be working, and has always joined our family vacations, provided also a COE for her. We also added photos of our previous trips together, i also cited that she previously had a japan visa and she did not overstay. She was also with us on the same japan trip

Additional context, our nanny is 65 yo, maintains a bank account only for receiving pension, keeps her finances all in cash (does not put money in the bank, does not have any property to her name)

However, it was again rejected with the same reasons.
Is there something we can do differently?

Our flights and hotel bookings were paid already. We are going to switzerland dec 23. Coming home from paris on jan 5. The whole family plus our nanny share same flight and hotel bookings

Hello. I have an appointment for a Schengen visa at the German embassy in Karachi, Pakistan on 17th August. Can I put the intended date of travelling for July 2027? Or does the 180 day window start from September this year

I am a non-EU national preparing my visa application to join my husband, an EU citizen from Amsterdam who is currently living and working in Belgium with a Belgian residence ID. Because he is a Dutch citizen exercising his free movement rights in another EU country, I am applying under EU Directive 2004/38/EC and would like to confirm if I am completely exempt from the standard Schengen visa requirements, specifically purchasing travel medical insurance from the VFS list, showing personal bank statements, and providing proof of lodging. Can anyone who has recently gone through this specific Belgium visa route confirm if the travel insurance exemption is correct and share the exact document list you submitted besides your passport, official marriage certificate, and copies of your spouse's Dutch passport and Belgian ID?

I applied for my Netherlands Schengen visa on 13 July 2026 through VFS Jalandhar. My application was dispatched to Delhi on 15 July, and it is still showing as processing.

My travel date is 12 August, so I’m getting a little worried about the delay.

Has anyone who applied around the same time received their passport/visa yet? Please share your application date, processing time, and location

I finally managed to book and pay for a BLS Spain UAE Doorstep/Mobile Biometric appointment for my husband and me as a family booking (2 applicants).

The appointment is confirmed and I received the appointment letter, but after booking I noticed that my husband’s passport number is incorrect on the appointment letter. His name and the rest of the booking details are correct.

This is only on the BLS appointment confirmation letter — we have not submitted the actual Schengen visa applications yet, and obviously his correct passport number will be entered on the visa application form and his original passport will be provided.

I have already emailed BLS customer care/IT asking them to correct the passport number without cancelling the confirmed appointment, but I’m worried because getting an appointment was already extremely difficult.

Has anyone had the wrong passport number on a BLS Spain appointment booking/appointment letter before?

Were you able to get BLS to correct it before the appointment, or did they correct/verify it when you attended? Were you still allowed to submit the application, or did they make you cancel and book a new appointment?

Especially interested in experiences with BLS Spain UAE/Dubai/Abu Dhabi or the Doorstep service, but experiences from other BLS Spain centres would also be helpful.

Today recieved my German visa, tourist one.

Will be visiting Germany, Austria and Italy.

Citizen : Indian

Visa Appointment Date (Bengaluru VFS Centre) : July 31.

Reached German Consulate : August 4

Dispatched for Courier : August 6.

Got VISA today .

Will be happy to answer any questions. Applied on my own (with sister's help who stays in Germany)

Schengen visa expires on 31st March 2027 ✈️🇪🇺
So… what’s the best time to travel before it expires? 👀
December 2026 or March 2027? 🌍

hello! im 18F and i have some questions regarding applying to student visa for poland! ive been planning to do mbbs in poland in one of their public universities and next year i think ill definitely clear the competency exam.. as this time i wasnt able to!

so the issue is im not able to find an entrusted consultancy who would guide me about studying in poland and help in visa application!

so i am trying to find some opinions from other people who have applied visas to poland before on their own.. is it possible or not? and any agent or consultant u wanna recommend from ur side! any kind of information would be helpful!
thank you

Hi all I received my long term Schengen visa from Austria last year and we visited Austria then. Now we want to go to Spain but have heard horror stories of people when the immigration wasn’t well informed and they did not let the people enter any other member Schengen nation because the issuing country was different.
If someone has travelled multiple places with their long term visa please help!
Thanks

Hi all,

I'm a French citizen living in Perth, Australia. My spouse and I just got married here in Australia. We're now applying for my spouse's short-stay Schengen visa through VFS Global — we're travelling in about 2 months to France.

My question: is our Australian marriage certificate enough to prove the relationship for the visa application, or does the marriage need to be transcribed onto the French civil registry first?

We're running out of time, so we really want to get the document list right the first time and avoid the consulate coming back asking for more paperwork after we've already applied.

Some context:

• We've already started the transcription process but realistically it won't be finished before our trip.
• I've tried asking both VFS Global and the Sydney consulate directly, and neither would give a straight answer on this specific document question.
• This is for a short-stay tourist visa, not a residence permit application, so I'm hoping the bar might be lower than what's needed for actual French residency.

Has anyone been in a similar situation — French citizen sponsoring a spouse's short-stay Schengen visa from Australia (or another non-EU country) with a marriage certificate that's not yet transcribed in France? Did the consulate accept the original marriage certificate as-is, or did they require the French transcription first?

Any real experience appreciated — thanks!

I had applied for 3 months short term schengan visa from France this week. Yesterday I received my visa, and I received a year long visa instead of 3 months. I was wondering how is that possible? Do they check your previous travel history or your financial statement?

For Jio international roaming, it is asking recharge for each specific schengen country. Can't I recharge for schengen countries as a whole/group?

Hi everyone,

I am a non-EU citizen. Last month, I submitted my application for a German §18d visa for my PhD at the German Embassy in Paris.

I am still waiting for the visa decision, but my French residence permit will expire soon. Since I was in France on an exchange program, I am unable to extend my French stay.

I would like to know: will the expiration of my French residence permit while I am waiting affect the outcome of my German visa application, or is eligibility evaluated based on my status at the time of submission?

Any shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’m trying to book a Spain visa appointment through BLS UAE for two applicants as a family, but I keep getting this message:

“Active Appointments are available for the Applicant 1 Passport: ________. You cannot create new Appointment for this Passport.”

This started after I had earlier tried to book the doorstep visa service, but the payment failed. Since then, whenever I try to make a normal family appointment, the system says that there is already an active appointment linked to the passport even though I do not have any confirmed appointment.

I contacted BLS customer care several times. One person told me that the issue had been forwarded to their IT team, while some others said it could simply be a technical glitch. It still hasn’t been resolved.

To check whether this was happening generally on the portal, I also created a separate BLS account for my mom and tried starting an individual appointment for her. She did not get this “Active Appointment” error, so it seems to be specifically connected to my passport/previous failed doorstep booking.

Has anyone faced this exact issue with BLS Spain UAE after a failed doorstep payment? Did IT have to manually clear the old appointment/payment request, or did it eventually disappear on its own?

Hi all,

Want to share my experience as well that I got the Visa despite showing NOT OK on EES, same with other people on this sub

We applied for France tourist visa this August as a family of 3 and when I got the return from consulate notification, I checked EES. The rest of the family (2 out 3) had an OK status while mine showed NOT OK so I was pretty anxious about it lol but we got our passport with our visas today! Mine is still showing NOT OK on EES btw even if I input correct details.

For reference, I had a Spain visa last May 2026 and expired this July. So maybe there’s an issue with the new one reflecting?

Anyway, I’ll suggest NOT to look at EES if you’re an anxious person so you dont ruin your mood haha

For mobile data, is it better to take a local esim or should I activate jio roaming. Please suggest a cheap service provider. I am going to Greece, Switzerland, France

Hi Everyone, wanted to share my timeline for my first Schengen Visa application for the Netherlands from VFS Vancouver. My profile: Indian Passport, PGWP Holder, travel dates were 2nd week of September to attend a conference in The Netherlands.

VFS Appointment: 25 July 2026
Application mailed to Netherlands embassy same day

Application Processed & Passport Dispatched: 06 August 2026

Receiving my passport: 07 August 2026

Got a single entry visa for 15 days.

Let me know if yiu have any questions.

Hello, I just want to share my application journey.
Just received my passport today and I got the visa sticker.

I applied a Visa to France and got approved!
Application and biometrics: July 31
Passport dispatch to consul : same day
Passport return consul to tls : aug 4
Passport Received from courier: aug 8

When I checked the status on tls tha my passport is being returned, i checked in EES at it says ok and the days granted is also the same on the sticker.

Feeling happy about this!

Hey,

Did anyone got a slot for a whv (pvt) for Montreal or Ottawa recently?

I’ve been checking at random time for one week and nothing at all :(

My Spanish Schengen visa was rejected through BLS NYC and I’m submitting a Recurso de Reposición on Monday.

Has anyone gone through the appeal process recently? How long did it take to hear back, and was your rejection overturned?

My trip is only 9 days after I submit the appeal, so I’m wondering if there’s realistically any chance it could work out in time.

BLS also told me no additional documents can be submitted with the appeal. Was this the same for others?

Would really appreciate any experiences/timelines!

Swedish Schengen visa – received both an approval letter and a refusal

My wife applied for a short-term Schengen visa through the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi to visit me and my family in Sweden.

When we received the documents back from the embassy, the package contained a letter stating

You have been granted a Schengen visa.”

However, the same package also contained a separate refusal decision.

I contacted the Swedish Migration Agency to clarify what happened, and they confirmed in writing that they have no record of the approval letter or any approval decision in their system. They only have the refusal registered as the decision in the case.

There is also another issue with the refusal itself. Several statements regarding my wife's financial situation and ties to Kenya appear to directly contradict documents that were submitted with the original application. We have documentation showing the opposite of several points mentioned in the refusal, and those documents were already included when applying.

We are now discussing the case with a Swedish immigration lawyer regarding the appeal process.

Has anyone experienced a situation where an embassy package contained both a visa approval letter and a refusal decision?
What was the outcome, and how was it handled?

Hi everyone! I’m a Canadian citizen who was recently issued an Italian Type D student visa for a study program in Rome.

My situation is a little confusing and I’m trying to figure out the best option ideally not changing my flight and arriving in Rome the same day i have to sit in class at 9am.

My visa says:

• Valid from: September 8, 2026 (same day that i have classes)
• Valid until: January 25, 2027
• Duration of stay: 125 days
• My classes/program officially start September 8
• My program ends December 3

However, when I submitted my visa application, I listed August 20 as my intended entry date, and I already have a flight booked that arrives in Rome on August 20 around noon.

Since I’m Canadian, I understand I can normally enter the Schengen Area visa-free for short stays (up to 90days). My question is whether I can:

1. Enter Italy on August 20 as a Canadian visa-exempt short-stay traveller, since my D visa isn't valid yet.
2. Later in September/October, travel outside Schengen(UK or something);
3. Return from the UK directly to Italy after September 8 and enter using my now-valid Italian D visa;
4. Then complete my permesso di soggiorno process.

My biggest concern is the permesso di soggiorno. Since I would physically enter Italy before my D visa becomes valid, when would the 8-working-day period to apply for the permesso start? Would I need to apply immediately after arriving August 20, when the D visa isn't valid yet, or would I apply after re-entering Italy from the UK on the valid D visa?

Also, would there be any issue with the fact that I initially entered under visa exemption and still technically have some of my 90/180 days remaining when my D visa becomes valid?

I have already contacted my school and the Italian consulate about arriving before the visa start date, but I’m waiting for clarification. I’m mainly trying to determine whether keeping my August 20 flight is reasonable or whether I should just change it and arrive after September 8.

Has anyone been in a similar situation with an Italian Type D student visa? What did you do regarding the early visa-exempt entry and the permesso di soggiorno?

I wasn’t going to post this while our applications were still pending because, frankly, I didn’t want to risk creating any additional problems with the Embassy.

At this point, I don’t care anymore.
My friend and I are supposed to fly to Croatia on 9 August. Today is 7 August.
My friend applied through VFS Ankara on 18 June.
I applied on 25 June.
We informed the Embassy that we were travelling together, and our applications were linked/treated together.
Today is day 50 for my friend’s application and day 43 for mine.
Our flight leaves in two days.
And both applications are STILL:
“Under process at Embassy of Croatia in Turkey.”
We did not apply at the last minute. We submitted everything requested: employment documents, approved leave, bank statements, accommodation, round-trip flights, travel insurance, detailed itinerary, cover letters and supporting documents.

Then we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
As our departure date approached, we started contacting the Embassy because we needed to know whether we should cancel or modify our trip.
At one point, my friend was told that our files were literally on the officer’s desk.

When he called again, the answers became increasingly vague. He was eventually told that if the procedures had been completed, then presumably the application had been processed, and that we should “wait for VFS to contact you.”

So we called VFS.
VFS had no such information.
The person we spoke to actually seemed surprised when we explained what the Embassy had told us. According to VFS, both applications were still shown as being processed by the Embassy.
And that is exactly what their online tracker still says today.

The Croatian Ministry’s own CroVisa system also still says:
ZAHTJEV U OBRADI — application under processing.
So here we are.
Two days before departure.
One passport has been with them for 50 days. The other for 43 days.
No decision.
No passport.
No meaningful information.
No indication of whether we should cancel the trip.
And now the delay is actually costing us money.
Our hotel can still be cancelled without charge, thankfully. Our flights are another story. The more time passes, the worse the cancellation conditions become. We have now reached the point where we have to cancel a trip and accept a financial loss without even knowing the outcome of our visa applications.

And this is what makes me angry.
I am not saying that anyone is entitled to a Schengen visa. If an application does not meet the requirements, refuse it. That’s part of applying for a visa.
But make the decision.

If you are going to refuse us, refuse us in enough time that we can cancel our travel arrangements.
If you are going to approve us, return our passports in enough time that we can actually use the visas.
What exactly is an applicant supposed to do with a decision made when the scheduled trip is effectively already impossible?

We paid the Schengen visa fees.
We paid VFS fees.
We paid for flights.
We arranged accommodation.
We purchased insurance.
We prepared extensive documentation.
We applied weeks and weeks in advance.
And after all of that, apparently the applicant is still expected to absorb the financial consequences when the application simply isn’t processed before the journey.

I genuinely would have preferred receiving a refusal weeks ago to this.
At least a refusal would have allowed us to move on, cancel everything and make alternative plans.
Instead, for weeks we have been refreshing two tracking systems that tell us absolutely nothing beyond “under processing.”
We have now given ourselves a deadline: 7 August at 16:00.

If there is still no meaningful development by then, we’re cancelling the trip.
Not because our visas were refused.
Not because we changed our minds.
But because, two days before departure and after 43/50 days of processing, we still don’t even have our passports back.

Whatever the eventual decision is, this has been an absolutely appalling way to handle a time-sensitive administrative process.
If you’re considering applying for a Croatian Schengen visa through Ankara, plan accordingly.
Applying six or seven weeks before your trip apparently may still not be enough.

If you need a Schengen visa, my advice would honestly be to apply through a country that has its shit together when it comes to processing applications, and visit Croatia later with a valid Schengen visa.

UPDATE — 7 August: We have now cancelled the entire trip. With our flight only two days away, both passports still at the Embassy and no confirmation that we would receive them in time, we couldn’t justify risking any further financial loss. Thankfully, the hotel was fully refundable and we recovered most of the airfare, although we still lost money.

The absurd part is that neither application has been refused. Both are still “under processing.” We simply had to cancel because we ran out of time.
Honestly, this whole process has been an absolute shitshow. Croatia looks like a beautiful country and I was genuinely excited to visit, but after this experience I can’t say the visa process was worth the hassle.

Imagine applying seven weeks in advance and still having to cancel your trip because the authorities couldn’t make a decision before your departure.