5 Reasons Why Your Visa Got Rejected

By Mosimileoluwa Alabi

20 January 2020

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Planning a trip, either for business, study or vacation, involves a visa application process except if the country you are applying to offers visa-free entry for Nigerians.

Visit here to check visa-free countries for Nigerians.

Applying for a visa is not as complicated as people think but doing the wrong things can lead to a visa rejection. People feel their visa rejection came to be as a result of the ?forces from their village? or most times they accept is as ?God?s will? while failing to realize that the visa rejection could have resulted from a lot of wrong doings on their part. I heard the story of a man that failed to answer the questions asked during his visa interview and when he was advised by the interviewer on how to reply to certain questions, he brought up the issue of respect. The Nigerianess in us can sometimes be detrimental. Of course, he was denied the visa.

Most times, the Embassy officials may be unwilling to give a reason for the visa rejection and it can be depressing considering the amount of work you would have put into the application process. This is why we have curated common reasons why your visa was rejected/how you could get your visa rejected.

Going Unprepared To The Interview

In going for a visa interview, you need to have all the necessary documents carefully and chronologically placed in a folder. You will also need to call the embassy ahead of time to ask about the documents needed so that you do not miss anyone out. You also need to check questions you would likely be asked online. It is also important that you do away with nervousness as this can make you lose track of what you plan to say.

Poor Communication

Poor communication leads to miscommunication and that can lead to visa rejection. This is why if you do not know enough English to engage in a conversation, you should ask for a translator or ask to be interviewed by someone who knows your language. It is best to learn the language of the country you would be travelling to because that would boost your chances of getting a visa.

Over-confidence

People who go to an interview being over-confident are likely to have a visa rejection. The interviewer would definitely be able to tell whether you are confident or over-confident-these are absolutely two different things. It is good to be confident but over-confidence is a sign of a ticking time-bomb.

Insufficient and/or Incorrect Information

Submitting a wrongly-filled application form is one of the major reasons why you get a visa refusal. Your visa application should be done carefully and after filling the form, it is necessary that you read it as many times as possible before submitting it. The application form is important because it is what the embassy official will use to determine whether you would be granted a visa or not. Inaccurate information such as spelling errors, invalid addresses and wrong passport numbers could lead to a visa refusal. Once the visa application form is submitted, it cannot be revised. Also make sure you are consistent when providing information in your personal statement.

Before submitting your application form, it is very important that you check for the application requirements for your visa type and attach them to your application.

Applying for the Wrong Type of Visa

Most people fail to identify the visa category they want. Each visa type has certain requirements that should be met. Applying for the wrong visa means that you would most likely not meet these requirements and this would lead to visa denial.

Other reasons include:

Lack of Sufficient Funds/Proof to Support Your Entire Stay

You must be able to prove that you have enough funds to finance the entirety of your trip and your return home. As a student, one of the major reasons why your visa application for a student visa gets rejected is inability to tender proof of sufficient funds to support your education. There are several ways to prove that you have sufficient funds. This could be in form of recent financial statements, credit card statement with sufficient available limit or a supporting document that proves a sponsor?s willingness and ability to cover the expenses of your trip.

Insufficient Proof of Relationship

If you plan on securing a spouse visa or any relationship related visa, the most common reason for visa denial is insufficient evidence of relationship. You need to be able to prove that your relationship is genuine by providing the necessary supporting documents.

Not Seeking Advice from Experts

As Nigerians, when planning a trip to another country, we prefer to keep it secret because we believe seeking advice from people would hinder ?our progress?. It is right to not going around telling people about your trips for safety reasons, but seeking advice from experts is way safer. Reading from a website of the Embassy or just listening to friends would not help you properly fill your visa application form. You should ask experts as they know the basics of applying for visas.

Click here to meet with a visa expert

The Interviewer is Not Convinced of Your Intention To Return To Nigeria

Most embassy officials want to avoid people overstaying their visa/ or working without authorization. You should be able to tender evidence that you would return to your home country and sometimes a return flight itinerary is not enough. During visa interviews, they would ask questions regarding your return to Nigeria. Do not get too carried away and start saying that the system in Nigeria is not working and you need to look for a better life. You would only be doing yourself more harm than good.  You will have to give strong reasons that would compel you to come back at the end of your stay.

Error Arising From The Official Processing Your Visa Application

Finally, we should not overlook the fact that Embassy officials are humans and at one point or the other, would make mistakes. This does not happen often but sometimes, they overlook certain information in your file and skip a procedure. There is no exact way to avoid this human error. However, the best thing to do is to make sure your visa application is unquestionable and that you follow all instructions to the letter so that if a mistake is made, you have the grounds to file for an appeal.

People believe that if their visa application gets rejected once, they get blacklisted and cannot apply again. This is a common misconception. However, before applying again, analyse the reasons for the visa rejection and work on them. Others believe that the person before them messed up and made the interviewer angry, that even though their visa application was accurate, it was rejected because the person that went in for the interview before them angered the interviewer. All these are myths and should not be believed.

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