u/FinanceEmbarrassed92

35mm Summicron Asph

Hi guys, we’re honestly in a bit of shock and could really use some advice.

For context - I’m a Polish citizen, my wife is Thai, and we both live in the UK with permanent residence. We applied for a Schengen visa through the Polish consulate under the family member of EU citizen route, as we are travelling together.

We’ve done this before multiple times, my wife has had several long term Schengen visas (1 year +) issued by Polish consulate, Spain, Austria, etc., and she has always complied with all rules (no overstays, no issues).

This time we submitted all required documents for the family member route (marriage certificate, proof of travel together, etc.), which is supposed to be a simplified process compared to a standard tourist visa. However, her visa was refused on the grounds of insufficient financial means,doubts about intention to leave Schengen.

To make things worse, we were supposed to travel in 2 weeks to Poland to announce her pregnancy to my family after years of trying, and then go to Italy in May for her 35th birthday. Right now everything feels completely ruined…

We’ve contacted the consulate and are waiting for a response, but time is very tight.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

- Is an appeal worth it in this situation?

- Is there any realistic chance of getting this overturned quickly?

- Or should we just reapply / try another Schengen country?

Any advice would really mean a lot right now. Thanks guys