Getting to travel to Schengen countries and explore different natural, historical, and cultural places can be memorable experiences. This is the reason why many people go to Schengen countries for tourism purposes to take a break from their busy schedules and relax in the beautiful places of Europe. The only hurdle towards achieving the dream of traveling in Europe is to get a tourist visa. Schengen tourist visa can be applied if you wish to travel to many European nations in one go. To get this visa, you would need to write a cover letter to the visa officer explaining your intentions behind visiting these countries. However, many people face visa rejection and do not get approval for their application on the first try. If you are also someone who has faced this, then do not worry, you are not the only one. The most common reason for refusal is the lack of necessary details in the cover letter. On your next try, you have to write a cover letter for a Schengen tourist visa after refusal addressing the previous concerns raised by the visa official and assuring that you meet all the requirements.
Through this blog, we aim to help you write a cover letter for a Schengen tourist visa after the refusal and explain how this justification letter can get you an approved visa. We will also discuss how you can take the help of sample cover letters of successful applicants who got their tourist visas approved after a refusal.
What is The Purpose of a Cover Letter for a Schengen Tourist Visa After Refusal?
The purpose behind writing a cover letter for Schengen visa after refusal is to clarify your intention behind visiting the Schengen countries. This also presents an opportunity to come clean about why your previous application was rejected and how after learning the previous shortcomings of your application, you have addressed those issues with more clarity or information. In the tourist visa case, you offer clarity about your travel plans and how you fulfill all the requirements of being a genuine tourist.
Write an Effective Cover Letter to Get Your Visa Approved after Refusal
The question is how can you improve your cover letter for Schengen visa after a refusal? There are three important things that you need to keep in mind: be honest, give details about each component of your travel, and be professional. If you are still confused, we have broken down each of the components of a personal covering letter for Schengen visa so that you can effectively address the previous concerns raised in your tourist visa application.
First, in the introduction itself, the purpose of your travel should be stated clearly by mentioning the type of visa you are applying for and the Schengen countries you wish to visit. You also need to tell when and why your previous application was rejected.
When visa officers reject an application, they provide specific reasons as to why your application is rejected. Now, in the cover letter for Schengen visa you would be writing after the refusal, you need to address each of the refusal reasons one by one. The key is to be clear with your details and give as much factual information as you can to support your claims. This will help you in resolving the previous issue. For example, if the refusal reason was insufficient financial means, then you can provide additional details about your sources of income or assets that you own.
One of the common reasons why a Schengen tourist visa gets rejected is applicants fail to provide their detailed travel plans. When writing about a travel itinerary in your cover letter for Schengen tourist visa, just the name of the cities or countries where you would be traveling is not enough. Your detailed itinerary should also mention the date of arrival and departure as well as the places you would be staying. The copy of your flight tickets and hotel booking attached also provides evidence of your well-organized travel plans.
If your previous tourist visa was rejected because your intention of returning to your home country was not clear, then the most effective way to address this concern is to tell all the reasons that bind you to return. If you look at the sample cover letter for Schengen visa application such as provided in this blog, you can see that there are no off-limits to what the reasons for returning could be. You can mention the bond or responsibility you have towards your family, work commitments to resume after returning, or any other reasons such as taking care of your properties in the home country.
Take Help From Schengen Tourist Visa Cover Letter Sample
Sometimes it happens that you know what to include in your cover letter, but do not know how to structure all the information you want to provide. For somebody like you who is stuck in the writing process and does not know how to start, you can take the help of a Schengen visa covering letter sample to take inspiration to write an appeal letter for a tourist visa. Taking help from such samples can make it clear to you about the cover letter format for Schengen visa.
However, a sample cover letter for Schengen visa application should only be used for reference and to get ideas about how to address the earlier concerns and not as content to copy from. Your situation and the issues addressed in the sample would be different, therefore, write according to the things which you have to focus more on. Highlight more about how the new information you have mentioned will justify previous refusal concerns. Taking the help of a Schengen visa cover letter sample will make it clear to you how personal situations have been demonstrated and the previous refusal reasons have been addressed.
Below is the Sample Cover Letter for the Schengen Tourist Visa After Refusal
To, Date: 8, May 2024
The Embassy of France,
Bangkok, Thailand
Subject – Cover Letter for Tourist Visa Application to Travel France, Italy and Greece
Dear Sir,
I am Tharika Srisawatwongchai, a Thai Citizen, bearing passport No. CD5576062, living and working in Bangkok. The purpose of writing this cover letter is to present our profile and intent to travel to three beautiful European Countries – France, Italy, and Greece along with my husband Mr. <add name> for 15 days. We have been waiting for a long time to have this holiday to spend some leisure time together. I got married to him 14 months back but due to work commitments, we could not get a chance to honeymoon and relish our relationship. We both are working hard and thus we hardly get time to spend with each other due to our tight schedule thus we decided to have this holiday in Europe which has been on our bucket list. We have traveled to Japan before because of my business and small trips.
My Profile
I have been working in Thailand as an Online Sales Representative for “FWX Finance Ltd.” since 13th May 2021 till date. I have worked virtually with the company while I was in Japan for approximately 2 months. My job profile here is to provide online sales support and communicate with clients using phone calls, chatting, and replying to their emails. I am also responsible for giving advice, information, and consultation to clients and managing Rental and Lease agreements for commercial and residential properties. Apart from my full-time job, I have also invested in a business with my friends in Thailand which is an online store “Let’s Love Japan” where we provide imported goods from Japan on pre-order. We have a Facebook Page and Instagram with the same name on which we generate good sales. I take care of the online sales, ordering goods from Japan, and managing the shipping of the products.
My Husband’s Profile
My husband owns an apartment building called <add address>. I also help him in managing the apartment, taking care of the tenants and its maintenance. The permanent address on my Thai ID Card and house registration is the same as that of my husband’s apartment. He also manages his family-owned Resort. The resort has a Thai Traditional Style Resort with contemporary Thai-style Deluxe Rooms and Thai Cuisine and my husband takes care of reservations and guest assistance services. They are also into wedding planning and event organization for those who are looking for an authentic traditional Thai Wedding Experience. I have been a part of a few weddings during my free time and it’s very exciting to be there working behind the scenes to create unforgettable experiences. My husband has also registered a partnership company <add name of the company> in Tokyo, Japan with me and a senior relative, where we run a Thai Restaurant in Tokyo. The restaurant is mainly managed by our relative, my husband takes care of branding and business and I did research and development of restaurant menus, graphics designs, and online marketing. My husband has multiple sources of income but he majorly relies on Thai Wedding Events which makes him earn a profit of 50,000-75,000 THB per wedding his family hosts in the resort. He also earns around 37,000 TBH from other family businesses. The revenue he earns from Apartments is sent to his parents.
Our Relationship
I went to Japan to attend a Music Festival in 2020 since I am a music lover but unfortunately, just 3 days after my arrival, the lockdown was announced in Japan and the music festival was canceled. I got stuck because the flights were also cancelled and I was very worried about this unfortunate event but the Japan Immigration Bureau accounted that those Foreigner who are stuck in Japan because of the pandemic situation request permission to do a part-time job. I applied for a Visa extension and work permit to survive and work there until the situation becomes favorable. During this, I met with my husband in Tokyo while roaming around the city by myself and we fell in love after having a few dates. We stayed together until he completed his specialized MBA degree in Tokyo and then we decided to start a business together. We got married in Bangkok we lived at my husband’s apartment . Currently, we stay at <address>
Our Family Background
My husband has a great family which consists of 6 members including him, his parents, two brothers, and one sister. The Sister is married and lives with his husband while both the brothers together manage the family business of resorts and restaurants. My husband has one son from her previous partner and she stays with her grandmother. We together take care of her and take care of her expenses – we have a common bank account for this purpose and we both contribute together. I also have one son with my ex-partner and she stays with her grandmother as well and we spend summer holidays together and meet on festivals and holidays. I am the only living child of my parents, they were divorced when I was very young but they raised me together and they are still good friends since they are growing old, they require my attention and I must take care of them. Me and my husband are very well socially connected in Thailand owing to our business and work.
Our Financial Details
I am engaged in 3 different types of work one is my permanent full-time job and rest two are part-time in the business. I earn a fixed salary from FWX Finance every month and I also earn a good amount from different businesses that I assist or engage in, but the amount is variable and depends on the business. I earn 37,290 THB per month from my regular job, approximately 90,000-120,000 THB per month from business in Japan, and around 25,000-35,000 THB from online shop business. My husband has multiple sources of income but he majorly relies on Thai Wedding Events which makes him earn a profit of 50,000-75,000 THB per wedding his family hosts in the resort. He also earns around 37,000 TBH from other family businesses. The revenue he earns from Apartments is sent to his parents. I have a savings of XXXXXX TBH in my savings account and my husband has a savings of XXXXXX TBH in his account. We have attached our bank statements, pay slips, and credit card statements with this letter.
Previous Schengen Visa Refusal
I wish to inform you that I have had two previous Schengen visa refusals in the past because of my lack of understanding and mistakes. For the first time, somehow my hotel reservation was canceled but for the second time I have attached my hotel reservation, flight ticket, concert ticket for which I was willing to travel, and EU rail pass as well, but still, I was not able to present my case properly due to lack of my English writing capabilities. I have travelled to The Netherlands before on a Schengen Visa (Mention Date) came back to Thailand on (Date) after 32 days of 90 days visa offered. I applied back for a visa extension of 30 days to travel remaining parts of Europe but I received a refusal because of a poorly prepared travel itinerary. In the visa refusal letter, it was mentioned about a lack of financial resources because I was not able to present all my income sources of mine. Also, I had to transfer some funds to my partner in Japan due to some accident in the restaurant business there and we had to close the restaurant to fix the issues and had to pay yearly compensation to the Japan Auditor for submitting the company’s tax to the Revenue Department. I had to bear all the prepaid expenses by myself which was later reimbursed from the company and I got my funds back. Since I was unaware of the details to be shared, I did not mention my child, family, and business details in detail and I only shared the marriage certificate.
Our Previous Travel History
Me and my husband have traveled to different places in the world and being law-abiding citizens, we have followed all the laws of the foreign land. We have traveled together mostly in Japan covering more than 25 major cities and tourist attractions. I have also traveled to Schengen Countries – Country Names.
Finally, I would like to conclude that this application for a Schengen tourist visa is to travel to the places I have always romanticized while watching European movies and since my and I husband were never able to spend so much time together leisurely, we wish to have these holidays together to strengthen our relationship bond and embrace each other presence away from work and family commitments.
List of Documents Attached to this letter
- Our Travel itinerary
- My Pay Slip
- My Bank Statement
- My Credit Card Statement
- Medical Health Insurance of 30,000 Euros
- Travel Tickets to France, Italy & Greece
- Hotel Reservations in the respective places
- Euro Rail Ticket Pass
- Our Company Registration Certificate in Japan
I would be happy to submit or share any other information or details which is required to obtain this visa.
Thank You
Tharika Srisawatwongchai
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Download Sample Cover Letter for Schengen Tourist Visa After Refusal PDF
Conclusion
You can overturn your Schengen tourist visa refusal into a success by following the steps highlighted in this blog. Additionally, you can take the help of our Schengen visa cover letter samples for a tourist visa to see how you can justify and clear any misunderstandings that previously flagged your application. Your cover letter must be well crafted not only in terms of details but also in the structure of your letter should be clean. The writing style of the cover letter for a Schengen visa after refusal for a tourist visa should be professional, showcasing your commitment to following all the visa requirements, without sounding sounding too emotional.
If you are someone who just finds the task of writing to be tiresome or does not know how to start with another cover letter after your previous refusal, you can take the Schengen visa cover letter samples on the webpage of Contentholic as your guide. If you still feel that you will not be able to write a convincing cover letter to justify your previous visa refusal, you can take the help of cover letter writing services such as those offered by Contentholic. They can help you with writing personalized letters so that your tourist visa refusal can turn into an approval.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why does a Schengen tourist visa application get rejected?
A Schengen tourist visa application can be rejected for several reasons such as lack of documents, insufficient information, lack of financial capabilities to visit and sustain in the Schengen countries, or lack of intention of returning to the home country.
2. Is it necessary to mention the reason for my previous visa refusal in the cover letter?
Yes, you have to mention the reasons based on which your previous tourist visa for Schengen countries was refused. In your cover letter for Schengen visa after refusal, it is important that you acknowledge your previous shortcomings and demonstrate how you have corrected them.
3. Can I use a sample cover letter for Schengen visa application?
Yes, you can take the help of a sample cover letter for Schengen visa when reapplying for a tourist visa after refusal. By help, we mean to get an idea about the format and how to address the previous concern, not to copy the content of the sample.
4. What documents should I include in my cover letter for Schengen visa after refusal?
You need to attach additional documents to address the previous refusal reasons such as updated bank statements, travel insurance, leave of approval from the employer, flight tickets, or any other documents that will make your application stronger.
5. What documents should I include in my cover letter for Schengen visa after refusal?
6. How helpful can be hiring visa refusal consultants when reapplying for a Schengen tourist visa?
Visa refusal consultants like Contentholic have years of experience in handling visa refusal cases. They will not only guide you with the reapplication process but will also help in writing an effective cover letter for Schengen visa after refusal.
