Belgian Schengen Visa from India — Freelancer, 3 prior rejections, family application, parents approved & dispatched, mine still under review. Honest inputs needed.
Hey everyone, sharing my situation in detail and looking for honest inputs from people who’ve been through something similar.
Applied for a short-term Schengen visa through the Belgian Embassy via VFS Global, Mumbai — family application (myself and my parents) on an invitation basis.
We all walked into VFS on 2nd June together. My parents’ file reached the embassy the same day, mine was forwarded on 4th June — a one day internal lag at VFS, likely due to my rejection history triggering an additional check. This was not a separate application — we applied as a family on the same day.
Current Status:
Parents — passports dispatched
Me — Still under review at the Belgian Embassy
My Profile
• Occupation: Freelancer
• Financials submitted: 6 months bank statements, ITR,m
• Investments: Shown my investments in equity market and PPF ( a good amount 25L plus)
• Trip funding: Father is sponsoring my trip — however his bank statements and ITR are part of his own application file, not separately included in mine
• Visa history: 3 prior Schengen rejections — 2x Greece, 1x Switzerland
• Travel history: Successful Schengen travel on record + travel to multiple other countries
The Gap I’m Aware Of
My father is declared as my sponsor but his financial proof exists only in his application — not duplicated into mine. My own file shows freelance income and ₹38 lakhs in investments but no liquid sponsorship documentation from my father specifically attached to my application.
My Questions
1. Does the Belgian Embassy cross-reference family applications filed together, or does each passport get assessed in complete isolation regardless of family context?
2. My parents are approved and their passports dispatched — does this positively influence my file in any way, or is it entirely irrelevant to my assessment?
3. For a freelancer with 3 prior rejections but strong investment ties to India and successful prior Schengen travel — what’s the realistic read here?
4. The missing sponsorship financials in my file — is this likely to be a decisive factor or will the embassy consider the family application context?
5. Any specific experience with the Belgian Embassy Mumbai on how they handle rejection history and freelancer profiles?