Rs 61,800 appeal fee, but no fresh documents? Indian traveller's cautionary tale for Switzerland application

A Reddit post by an Indian applicant has sparked fresh scrutiny of the Swiss tourist visa process after his family’s application was rejected and an appeal proved both costly and futile. The post titled “My Experience Appealing a Swiss Tourist Visa Refusal at the Embassy in India – Important for First-Time Applicants” on r/schengenvisa highlights how a lack of procedural clarity left three first-time travellers stranded.

“I applied for a Swiss tourist visa along with my mother and younger brother,” the Reddit user wrote. “Our applications were refused with one of the reasons being ‘weak home ties to the home country.’”

Surprised by the refusal, the family decided to appeal and were ready to pay CHF 200 (approx. INR 20,600) per person – a total of INR 61,800 for three applicants. However, their experience at the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi on August 5 revealed a major roadblock: no additional documents could be submitted at the appeal stage.

“When we reached the visa section of the embassy… we were told that no additional documents would be accepted with the appeal letter. This was surprising because: The official SEM (State Secretariat for Migration) checklist that we used to submit our original application did not request documents like property papers or evidence of home ties,” the user wrote.

In fact, the checklist “clearly stated: ‘Only the documents mentioned in the checklist are accepted.’” As a result, documents that could have addressed the refusal – such as property ownership or employment ties – were left out.

Compounding the problem was the embassy’s refusal to allow any new documentation during the appeal process. “We decided not to proceed with the appeal… The appeal fee of INR 61,800 was too high a risk considering no new evidence could be submitted.”

The user also highlighted inconsistencies across Schengen states: “Other Schengen countries (like Austria and Norway) do allow additional documents during appeal, which seems far more reasonable.”

There was also no official from the Swiss side available at the visa section in New Delhi to handle grievances. “It’s disappointing given the impact on applicants’ time, money, and efforts,” the Redditor noted.

Further raising eyebrows was the applicant’s past travel record. “It’s worth noting that I was granted a Norwegian tourist visa last year using the exact same documents that I submitted for this Swiss visa application. This further shows that the documents were genuine and complete.”

The post ends with a word of caution for other travellers: “My only reason for sharing this is to warn other first-time travelers to check the process thoroughly and not rely solely on the official checklist.”