u/Fearless-Power9981

My first Spain Schengen visa application (15-day trip) was refused under:
“Purpose and conditions of intended stay were not reliable.”

Now I’m reapplying and considering reducing the trip duration to maybe 7–8 days so the itinerary looks more realistic for a first-time Schengen applicant.

My question:
Do Spanish consulates compare the new application closely with the previous refused one?

For example, if I previously applied for 15 days and now apply for 7–8 days, would that create suspicion/inconsistency? Or can a shorter trip actually help?

Would appreciate insights from people who reapplied after refusal.

Need advice from people experienced with Spain/Schengen visas.
My first Spain Schengen visa application from India was refused under:
“Purpose and conditions of intended stay were not reliable.”
In my first application:
travel duration was 15 days
dates were 4 July – 19 July
I applied with hotel bookings only
Now I’m reapplying and I’m considering reducing the duration to maybe 7–8 days to make the itinerary look more realistic/credible.
My question is:
Do Spanish consulates/VFS cross-check the new application with the previous refused application in detail?
For example, if last time I applied for 15 days and now I apply for 7–8 days, would that create suspicion or inconsistency?
Or is reducing the duration actually seen positively for first-time Schengen applicants?
Would appreciate insights from anyone who has reapplied after refusal.

Need advice from people experienced with Spain/Schengen visas.
My first Spain Schengen visa application from India was refused under:
“Purpose and conditions of intended stay were not reliable.”
In my first application:
travel duration was 15 days
dates were 4 July – 19 July
I applied with hotel bookings only
Now I’m reapplying and I’m considering reducing the duration to maybe 7–8 days to make the itinerary look more realistic/credible.
My question is:
Do Spanish consulates/VFS cross-check the new application with the previous refused application in detail?
For example, if last time I applied for 15 days and now I apply for 7–8 days, would that create suspicion or inconsistency?
Or is reducing the duration actually seen positively for first-time Schengen applicants?
Would appreciate insights from anyone who has reapplied after refusal.

Hi everyone,

I’m from India and I’m applying for a Spain Schengen tourist visa. I already hold a valid 10-year US visa, but this is my first time applying for a Schengen visa.

My first application was refused under the reason:
“Purpose and conditions of the intended stay were not reliable.”

I’m trying to understand what may have gone wrong and what I should do now before my next appointment.

Here are the details:

- My original travel dates were 4 July – 19 July
- My actual planned trip now is 4 July – 21 July
- I’m going mainly to meet two of my friends who were exchange students at my college and are currently in Spain
- However, in my previous application, I selected hotel stay instead of “staying with friends/family”

The reason I avoided the “staying with friends” option was because I learned that Spain requires a formal invitation letter (“Carta de Invitación”), which involves:
- my friends getting an appointment with Spanish police
- paying fees
- waiting for processing
- and possibly physically mailing the original document to India

At that time, it felt too complicated, so I simply booked hotels through Booking.com.

The hotels were:
- decent, well-rated hotels
- mostly in city centers
- BUT they did not require prepayment

Now I’m wondering if that made my itinerary look weak or non-credible.

Other than that:
- I had bank balance above INR 2.5 lakhs
- I submitted employment documents
- I showed my valid US visa as well

After refusal, I immediately re-applied and my new appointment is on 20 May.

But now my friends are telling me that even they underestimated the invitation letter process. They still haven’t managed to secure the police appointment yet, and even after that there may be another 10–15 days of processing. I also heard that Spain may require the original physical invitation letter, not just a soft copy.

So now I’m confused between:

1. proceeding with the current appointment using hotels again
2. postponing/cancelling the appointment and waiting for the invitation letter
3. applying again purely as a hotel/tourism itinerary but making it much stronger

This time, if I proceed without invitation letter, I’m planning to:
- book higher quality hotels
- maybe use partially prepaid/refundable bookings
- include tourist attraction bookings within Spain
- provide a more detailed itinerary
- include additional proof of assets (vehicle registration etc.)

My biggest question is:

If this time I apply for a shorter duration (say 7–8 days instead of 15 days), will the embassy compare it with my previous refused application where I requested 15 days? Would that create suspicion/inconsistency?

Also:
- Has anyone successfully received a Spain visa with only hotel bookings and no invitation letter?
- Is a scanned copy of Carta de Invitación sufficient, or is the physical original mandatory in India?
- Does Spain generally scrutinize Booking.com unpaid reservations negatively?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone experienced with Spain Schengen visas, especially from India.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m from India and I’m applying for a Spain Schengen tourist visa. I already hold a valid 10-year US visa, but this is my first time applying for a Schengen visa.

My first application was refused under the reason:
“Purpose and conditions of the intended stay were not reliable.”

I’m trying to understand what may have gone wrong and what I should do now before my next appointment.

Here are the details:

- My original travel dates were 4 July – 19 July
- My actual planned trip now is 4 July – 21 July
- I’m going mainly to meet two of my friends who were exchange students at my college and are currently in Spain
- However, in my previous application, I selected hotel stay instead of “staying with friends/family”

The reason I avoided the “staying with friends” option was because I learned that Spain requires a formal invitation letter (“Carta de Invitación”), which involves:
- my friends getting an appointment with Spanish police
- paying fees
- waiting for processing
- and possibly physically mailing the original document to India

At that time, it felt too complicated, so I simply booked hotels through Booking.com.

The hotels were:
- decent, well-rated hotels
- mostly in city centers
- BUT they did not require prepayment

Now I’m wondering if that made my itinerary look weak or non-credible.

Other than that:
- I had bank balance above INR 2.5 lakhs
- I submitted employment documents
- I showed my valid US visa as well

After refusal, I immediately re-applied and my new appointment is on 20 May.

But now my friends are telling me that even they underestimated the invitation letter process. They still haven’t managed to secure the police appointment yet, and even after that there may be another 10–15 days of processing. I also heard that Spain may require the original physical invitation letter, not just a soft copy.

So now I’m confused between:

1. proceeding with the current appointment using hotels again
2. postponing/cancelling the appointment and waiting for the invitation letter
3. applying again purely as a hotel/tourism itinerary but making it much stronger

This time, if I proceed without invitation letter, I’m planning to:
- book higher quality hotels
- maybe use partially prepaid/refundable bookings
- include tourist attraction bookings within Spain
- provide a more detailed itinerary
- include additional proof of assets (vehicle registration etc.)

My biggest question is:

If this time I apply for a shorter duration (say 7–8 days instead of 15 days), will the embassy compare it with my previous refused application where I requested 15 days? Would that create suspicion/inconsistency?

Also:
- Has anyone successfully received a Spain visa with only hotel bookings and no invitation letter?
- Is a scanned copy of Carta de Invitación sufficient, or is the physical original mandatory in India?
- Does Spain generally scrutinize Booking.com unpaid reservations negatively?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone experienced with Spain Schengen visas, especially from India.

Thank you!