Schengen visa approved by French embassy, verbally asking to not enter Norway
A friend of mine 'Yy' applied for a business visa to enter Norway. They were rejected. They appealed with the Norwegian embassy asking to change to a tourist visa to visit family. The appeal takes 3 weeks which is past their travel date. So, Yy changed their plans a bit and decided to visit France and Norway and applied for a Schengen visa to the French embassy because they have 3 days of processing time. Yy got a Schengen visa from the French Embassy. In addition, they also got a phone call from a 'French officer' asking to promise them on the phone that they will not visit Norway. Yy was surprised at that sudden question but said okay. Yy is confused that there is no place mentioned on the visa about this restriction (that they cannot enter Norway). Yy even called the Norwegian Embassy who told them on the phone that they can travel to Norway but they did not give it in writing. Yy has not received a reply on their appeal to the Norway embassy yet.
Question is: Can Yy travel to Norway via France to meet family? Yy plans to spend some days in France, meet family in Norway, head back to France and head home.
Best Answer
It is a requirement of the Schengen visa that you apply to the country that is your main destination. Your friend has already broken the rules by applying to France when he wants to visit Norway. You are also required to state your travel plans in the application, which your friend did not do. French authorities are already aware of your friend's desire to visit Norway, which is why they called him, to establish beyond doubt that he did not intend to visit Norway, and your friend lied to them a second time on the phone.
Can your friend legally use this visa to travel to Norway? No absolutely they can not. Doing so would mean that they had broken several rules and lied to immigration officials, both in the application and in person. The normal punishment for such violations is a long ban from entering the Schengen area. Immigration authorities are obviously aware of the situation and are in a position to make checks, such as monitoring internal flights.
Your friend's best option is to either visit France (and only France) as he requested, or to abandon his travel plans.
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Can visa be rejected after approval?
After relevant information is reviewed, the application is approved or denied, based on standards established in U.S. law. While the vast majority of visa applications are approved, U.S. law sets out many standards under which a visa application may be denied.Do I have to enter the country that issued my Schengen Visa?
It does not need to be the country that issued you with a Schengen Visa, as you must apply with the nation where you are planning to spend the majority of your stay in the Schengen Area.Can you enter Norway with Schengen Visa?
Visiting Norway on a Schengen VisaTo travel to Norway for a short trip lasting fewer than 90 days you will need a Norwegian Schengen Visa, as it is part of the Schengen Area of European countries that have abolished border controls between each other.Do embassies know about visa refusal in other countries?
The embassy doesn't track your refusal, CLASS does. That's a database accessible to every American consular officer in the world at the click of a mouse, so it's not just the embassy where the visa refusal takes place.REASONS WHY SCHENGEN VISA APPLICATIONS GET REJECTED (Highly requested)
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