Watch Out for These 20 Blunders if You Don’t Want Your Visa to Get Rejected

 Last Updated: 22 Jan, 2019 By Jatin

We all are a bit apprehensive when called for our passport verification. But not as nervous when called for a face-to-face round for visa issuance, that was probably the toughest interview situation so far. Well, if you believe that it was or will be the most intimidating meetings of your life then I wouldn’t hesitate even a little bit to say that you are absolutely right. But what if for your next visa application, we can make this whole scenario a bit calm and easy? Wondering how? Well…it’s simple, you just have to make sure that you don’t do these blunders that most of the people do while filing an application for an international visa.

1. Not Following the Visa Rules Sternly

Rules are not always meant to be broken, so make sure you follow each and every rule in the guideline while filling a visa application form. A lot of applications get rejected because of either incomplete or incorrect information provided in the application form by the applicant. Even if your application will get accepted, consulates might ask you for additional documents in order to verify the information.

For example, most of the countries grant visa maximum for 30 days, so don’t show them an itinerary which is more than the days of a visa validity.

2. Showing an Incomplete Itinerary

Though this is a very silly mistake that a lot of visa applicants do. Just remember, wherever you are going, a consulate would ask you a complete itinerary of your trip which must be like Home – Destination – Home. For example, if you are visiting Australia from India, just show your itinerary like India – Australia – India.

Similarly, if you are planning a multi-country trip then your itinerary must include the home destination (which would be your starting and destination point) as well as the countries where you will be vacationing. But to avoid any hassle or chances of visa rejection, it is better to just show the tickets and itinerary for that particular destination where you will be going from your home country.

For example: If you are visiting Australia and New Zealand from India and you are applying for a New Zealand visa, it would be nice to show itinerary from India – New Zealand – India. In the same way, you can show the itinerary India – Australia – India for an Australian visa.

3. Submitting an Application at the Last Moment

That’s true! Your procrastinating approach towards your visa will certainly leave in a trouble situation, maybe it could become the reason for visa rejection. So, before waiting until the last time to submit your visa application form, it’s better you do it ASAP. Since hundreds of people file their applications each day, hence, there is always remain a long queue of the application. This is the most important point to look into if you are already in some other country.

Suppose if you are in a country for some business or travelling purpose and want to extend your duration of stay in that particular nation, in that case, you must file you visa extending application before the expiration of your current visa. And waiting till end sometimes gives you a no chance to rectify the mistakes or to submit the missing paper to reconsider your application which eventually results in visa rejection.

For example: If you have gone to Indonesia on a 30-day visa for some business purpose and are required to extend your staying duration for another 30 days then, in that case, you must ensure that you file an application for visa extension before the 25th day of stay in Indonesia. Doing so could give you a chance to rectify your mistakes (if any) or to provide the missing information/document in your visa extending application before the 30th day of your stay in Indonesia.

4. Leaving Information Columns Empty on Your Form

Even if you hate to rechecking, make sure you do once during visa application form. Sometimes we undesirably leave some important columns or just simply forget to sign. This most of time give visa official a reason to reject an application. A good way to getting rid of this is that do a detailed rechecking after filling a visa application. Also, make sure all the asked documents should be attested with the form.

5. Owing an Expired Passport or Your Passport Having No Blank Page

Even after carefully filling up the application and providing all the true information and documents, your visa application can still get rejected because of the most ignored mistake as having an expired passport. And if you think that your application would not get rejected because your passport still has a validity of 4-5 months then I am sorry to say this you are wrong. A passport needs to have a minimum of 6 months of validity and at least two blank pages; if not then your application will be denied.

6. Writing Errors

One of the silliest and also the most common visa application mistakes done by numerous applicants is misspelling their names. The visa officers are very much stern when it comes to the spelling of your name. Doesn’t matter if your actual name if Michael, if it is Michal in your government IDs then make sure your name should match with your government IDs. Also, double check the spelling of all the major information provided in the form.

7. Criminal Records

This is the most important point which is strictly kept into consideration by all the applicants. If you have any criminal records then there are greater chances of your application getting declined. This point gives a clear-cut view that those with a criminal record in past are not eligible to get a visa, whereas, those having a clear record are the ones who can apply for the visa to any country.

8. Insufficient Bank Balance

Before granting a visa, the official checks your bank statement and ascertain whether that balance would be enough to sustain a lifestyle in a country for a particular period of time. This is certainly the most important aspect which is taken into consideration by the visa official to make sure that you will not become a liability for the country. So, getting a visa would be easier if you will have a sufficient balance in your bank.

9. Approaching Travel Agent for You Visa Application

Well, there is nothing wrong with choosing a travel agent to get a visa of a country as soon as you are choosing a right one. But sometimes, either a travel agent turns out to be a fake one or it just give up and left you alone if any critical situation arises. Having a travel agent is always an asset as you don’t have to stand in those long of queues, but, it is very important to be sure on your choice. So, what I suggest you is that research well and make a list of several authentic the travel agents and choose the best out of them.

10. Inconsistent Signatures

I believe, most of you have already faced this situation wherein some documentation work, you must have pointed out for your inconsistent signatures. Well, it has happened with me a lot of time but eventually, that does not turn out to be a rejection. But unlike other documentation works, there is no room for any errors while filling an application for an international visa. So, make sure that your signatures must match with each other otherwise you will be declined for your application.

11. Age

Even after filling all the information unerringly and submitting all the valid documents, there is still a chance of your getting rejected for your visa application because of your age factor. The main reason behind considering age as an important is that there are chances that a young person would not return to his home country. Lately, a number of such cases have been reported where people who visit other countries for wrong intentions, and thus, they indulge in illegal activities like drug trafficking and prostitution. So, to avoid such a situation, either travel with your family or provide documents such as a letter from the employer or from school.

12. Providing Unnecessary Details

Do not speak until and unless you asked for! Whether admit it or not but sometimes giving too much or unnecessary information in your application could result in rejection. With unnecessary information, I mean to say that do not attest documents that are not asked. Similarly, during the interview, speak only when you will be asked to, unnecessary talking is one of the top mistakes to avoid during a visa interview.

13. Communicate Properly

This is one of the most common reasons for visa rejection. We have always taught by our teachers and parents to be a good communicator, especially during an interview. If you have taken that seriously then you will not find any difficulty while communicating with the visa officer. It is very important that the visa officer must understand you. However, make sure that you must be prepared beforehand as the visa officer can be very unnerving. Besides being a good communicator, you also have to make sure that your answers do not sound rude. It’s just, be calm and clear.

14. Nervous During the Visa Interview

Almost all the embassies asked you to present physically to verify documents and also to ask you some questions, which is basically a visa interview. A visa interview is like a job interview so you have to ensure that you don’t get a feeling of nervousness. Moreover, make sure must be ready with spontaneous answers of every question. While going for the interview, it is also important to carry yourself in the most presentable manner. Formals are the best wardrobe option for both men and women to wear for the visa interview.

15. No Funds to Pay for Visa

Always carry some cash (not digital cash) with you while going for a visa interview. If you fail to provide cash at that particular time could result in the rejection of your visa. Therefore, it is wise to always have cash in hand to pay the visa fee. Another thing to make sure here is that you should have the exact amount as the change can be an issue. Here a point to keep into consideration is that do not try to bribe the visa officer, doing so could lead you to the permanent suspension of visa for that particular country.

16. Using a Sponsor for Your Visa Application

Now, if you are using a sponsor then the chances of your application to get approved depends on the sponsor’s previous track record. For that, factors like legal status, prior visa denials, tax obligation and more are considered before approving the visa. You are taking a huge risk if you don’t know much about your sponsor. To be honest, it’s always easier if you just apply for the visa on your own because if you have all the documents and employment proof and also enough funds to sustain a lifestyle there, there is no point in going for a sponsor.

17. Mentioning about Volunteering, Digital Nomad or any Remote Work

There are different types of visa like student visa for those who are going abroad for the study purpose, business visa for those want to travel to some other country for business purposes and tourist visa which is meant just tourism purpose. In order to fill your visa form properly, you need to be clear about the visa categories. Since the tourist visa is just for the tourist purposes, thus, indulging in any sought of remittance activity is considered illegal on a tourist visa. Therefore, in your tourist visa application form, you cannot mention about the work away, house sitting, volunteering, and digital nomad. These are considered as the red flags, and hence, mentioning these points would surely result in tourist visa application rejection.

A number of incidents have been reported where people on a tourist visa have been fined, deported and rejected at the immigration office because of mentioning that they are visiting the country for a particular remuneration work or volunteer.

18. Mentioning Hitchhiking and Couchsurfing

Whether you like it or not but if you are on a tourist visa, you cannot tell the visa officer that you will be couchsurfing or hitchhiking in that particular country. As per them, these are all red flags, and hence, you will be getting rejected for your visa application. Even if you are planning to do couchsurfing or hitchhiking, do not mention it as it would be seen as your mistake in tourist visa application form. The better way is that do a refundable hotel reservation so that you can show a proof of residence to the officer.

19. Correct Size Picture

Like almost all the government documents, visa application also requires a correct size picture of yours. There is one thing which you should need to keep in mind that the image you are providing must be in the correct size and also should be well-clicked passport size photo with a plain background. Fancies photos, selfies, cropped and blurred pictures are strictly not allowed in the visa application. In the application form, authorities clearly mention the specific photo requirements which must be followed by the applicants. Also, with the new and more strict immigration rules, embassies also focus on not using a photograph which is older than 3 months.

20. PO Box Number Can Cause Trouble Too

A minor thing as post office box number can also cause a visa refusal. Well, we all know a PO Box number is not the whole part of our residential address but visa official needs precise and correct details in every column including the address one. So, before writing anything in that PO Box number column, confirm it by your regional authority. Doing so could reduce the risk of getting declined.

Now, you got some pro tips for not getting rejected for your visa application. Follow these while applying for visa and do let us know, how was your visa approval experience after following all these guidelines?

Published: 10 Jan, 2019By Jatin