An Indian professional has raised concerns over what he described as an “emotionally and financially taxing” experience with the Austrian visa process after his family’s Schengen visa application was rejected, despite having a strong travel history and providing all required documents.
The man, who shared his experience anonymously on Reddit, said the visa denial forced his family to cancel a long-planned European vacation meant to celebrate his mother’s 50th birthday.
“I would like to share a recent and rather frustrating experience regarding the rejection of my Austrian visa application, and I welcome your thoughts on whether my concerns are valid and should I be trying to publish these with relevant news agency, so that the injustice is well circulated among the genuine and honest tax paying Indians!” part of the person’s post read.
According to his post, the family had applied for a 14-day Schengen tourist visa on May 16, 2025, through VFS Mumbai. The itinerary included 10 days in Austria and four days in Budapest, Hungary, with entry and exit through Vienna.
The application was filed under Austria’s “cascade regime”, a system that prioritises granting long-term visas to applicants with strong profiles.
The applicant stated that he and his family had travelled to over 40 countries and held valid UK and Canadian visas, along with previously approved Schengen visas from Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.
The visa, however, was denied on May 28. The reasons listed included missing personal bank statements for his parents, even though a bank certificate showing INR 3 crore (USD 349,992) in funds from his company — which was sponsoring the trip — was provided.
Rejection of Austria Visa – Tourism
byu/Popular_Inspector614 inSchengenVisa
The embassy also raised concerns about the lack of employment letters and salary slips for him and his wife. The applicant clarified in his submission that he is self-employed and his wife is currently not working, with both being fully funded by his business.
“Asked for employment letter and salary slips, even though I had clearly stated I am self-employed, and my wife is unemployed and sponsored by me,” the post read.
After receiving the rejection, the family tried to contact the Austrian embassy through emails and phone calls, requesting that additional documents be accepted on an urgent basis. However, the embassy only responded after the intended departure date of June 10 had passed. On June 14, the embassy suggested that they reapply and pay an additional fee of 200 Euros (USD 234) per person.
The family had to cancel their European holiday and instead travelled to Thailand, incurring a financial loss of about INR 1 lakh (USD 1,166).
Meanwhile, the incident has drawn attention online from frequent travellers, some of whom pointed the chinks in the person’s application.
“I think it’s because you used your company to sponsor your family’s visas. In the eyes of the consulate, that doesn’t make sense unless they’re formally employed by your company. Don’t mix business with the personal. That comes off as sneaky to Austrians. You should have sponsored them using your private bank account only,” a Reddit user replied.
Another said: “Even if someone sponsors you you need to submit your NOC and bank statements. You also state: “explaining our requirement for a long-term visa to accommodate both business and tourism across the EU”. If you are applying for a tourist visa, you can’t use it for business too. I think you got overconfident and didn’t realize from a European view it’s sketchy to apply for tourism when you also intend to do business and also to use your company to sponsor a tourist trip.”
