FAFE Conseil
← Back to home
🔄 Intention to leave territory not established
Understanding and contesting the most frequent refusal reason for Schengen visa applications
What is this refusal reason?
The refusal reason “There are reasonable doubts about your willingness to leave the territory of Member States before your visa expires” (reason 13 or 5 depending on consulates) is one of the most frequent in Schengen visa refusal decisions.
⚠️ Warning: This reason means that consular authorities suspect an intention of illegal immigration or misuse of the visa purpose to settle permanently in Europe.
Specifically, consular services believe that:
- You risk staying illegally after your visa expires
- Your ties with your country of origin are insufficient
- You have not convincingly demonstrated your intention to return
- Your profile presents a “migration risk” according to their assessment
📊 Statistics: According to official data, this reason represents about 35-40% of Schengen visa refusals, particularly for tourist and family visas.
How do consulates assess “migration risk”?
Consular authorities analyze several elements to assess your real intentions:
1. Ties with country of origin
2. Identified risk factors
🚨 Profiles considered “at risk”:
- Young single adults without strong family ties
- Unemployed persons or those in precarious situations
- Applicants without real estate in their country
- History of overstaying previous European visits
- Nationals from countries with high irregular migration rates
- Significant gap between local standard of living and destination
3. Specific elements examined
- Consistency between requested stay duration and declared reason
- Proportionality between your income and travel cost
- Realism of travel project (dates, itinerary, budget)
- History of foreign travel and compliance with conditions
- Economic and political situation of country of origin
How to demonstrate your intention to return?
1. Strengthen your ties in country of origin
👨💼 Professional ties:
- Permanent employment contract
- Employer attestation confirming expected return
- Approved leave for precise travel period
- Business justifications (if self-employed)
- Ongoing professional projects in your country
👨👩👧👦 Family ties:
- Birth certificates of school-age children
- School certificates with return dates
- Justifications for spouse remaining in country
- Family responsibilities (elderly parents, etc.)
- Strong social and community ties
🏠 Material ties:
- Real estate ownership deeds
- Rental contracts, ongoing loans
- Local investments, bank accounts
- Subscriptions, long-term commitments
- Movable and immovable assets
2. Build a credible travel project
- Plan a reasonable and justified stay duration
- Provide detailed program with precise dates
- Book fixed-date round-trip tickets
- Demonstrate consistency between your means and project
- Justify choice of period (vacation, season, event)
3. Avoid alarm signals
❌ Behaviors to avoid:
- Systematically requesting maximum 90-day duration
- Multiplying visa applications for different reasons
- Selling assets before travel
- Resigning from job before departure
- Lying or being evasive during consular interview
- Providing unconvincing or contradictory documents
Specific situations and solutions
1. Young single adults
This category is particularly scrutinized by consulates. To strengthen your file:
- Highlight your ongoing studies or training
- Demonstrate your family obligations (helping parents, etc.)
- Present your future projects in your country
- Provide certificates of associative or social engagement
2. Applicants without stable employment
If you are unemployed or in precarious situation:
- Present evidence of active job search
- Justify who finances your trip and why
- Demonstrate your skills and employability
- Provide certificates of ongoing training
3. First-time applicants
If this is your first Schengen visa application:
- Clearly explain why you are traveling now
- Demonstrate your knowledge of rules and your respect
- Present a very structured travel project
- Multiply evidence of local ties
💡 Expert advice: The key is to present a positive “ties balance” where your links with your country of origin far outweigh the potential advantages of settling in Europe.
How to contest this refusal reason?
1. Effective legal arguments
A well-constructed appeal can demonstrate that:
- The consulate’s assessment was excessive or ill-founded
- Your ties with your country of origin are sufficient
- The decision lacks precise and personalized motivation
- Your profile does not correspond to “migration risk” criteria
2. Favorable jurisprudence
Administrative courts regularly cancel this type of refusal when:
- Motivation is too general and stereotyped
- File elements sufficiently demonstrated ties
- Administration did not consider all elements
- Decision is disproportionate regarding the file
⚖️ Recent jurisprudence: The Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal has cancelled several refusals where motivation was limited to checking a box without personalized analysis of the applicant’s situation.
3. Appeal strategy
To maximize your chances:
- Precisely analyze weaknesses in consular decision
- Complete file with new probative elements
- Demonstrate administration’s assessment error
- Invoke violation of right to respect for family life if applicable
4. Procedure to respect
⏰ Mandatory deadlines:
- Administrative appeal: 30 days after refusal notification
- Contentious appeal: 2 months after administrative appeal rejection
- Competent court: Nantes Administrative Court exclusively
Our appeal solutions
RECOMMENDED – AI
Administrative Appeal by AI Agent
Our AI agent generates a personalized appeal with specific arguments for the “intention to leave territory not established” reason.
49€
⚡ Delivered in 5 minutes
- Arguments adapted to reason 13
- Analysis of family/professional ties
- Specialized jurisprudence
- Ready-to-send PDF document
EXPERT
Expert-validated Appeal
Your appeal is studied by our expert who analyzes your “migration risk” profile and optimizes your argumentation.
From $179
📝 Delivered within 24h
- Personalized file assessment
- Reinforced argumentative strategy
- Advice for future applications
- Follow-up and optimized reformulation
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this reason so frequent?
This reason is widely used because it allows consulates to exercise broad discretion. It’s a tool for controlling migration flows based on subjective assessment of “risk” each applicant represents.
How to prove my intention to return?
The strongest evidence are: stable employment with approved leave, school-age children in your country, real estate property, spouse remaining in country, ongoing professional projects, and financial obligations (loans, etc.).
Is being single a disadvantage?
Being single is not an automatic refusal reason, but consulates consider that married people with children have more ties. Compensate with other strong links: employment, studies, extended family, future projects.
Can I reapply for a visa after this refusal?
Yes, but wait until you have significantly strengthened your ties or can present new elements. A too-quick new application with the same profile risks another refusal for the same reasons.
Can an appeal really succeed for this reason?
Yes, many appeals succeed, notably when consulate motivation is too vague or when the file indeed contained sufficient evidence of ties that administration did not correctly assess.
How long for an appeal response?
The visa sub-director has 2 months to respond to administrative appeal. For contentious appeal to Nantes Administrative Court, count 8 to 15 months depending on caseload.
Contest your refusal effectively
Our expert AI agent generates a personalized appeal that demonstrates the consulate’s assessment error and highlights your real ties
Generate my appeal → Contact usOther frequent refusal reasons
Discover our detailed guides to understand and contest other refusal reasons:
📋 Purpose of stay not justified
Your explanations about trip reason deemed insufficient
Learn more →