Short Stay Visa C 'Family visit': Finance proof for retired parents

You can find the relevant info here https://india.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/ … visa/india

Bank income statements of the last 3 months are OK. It shouldn't matter where the money comes from but if you wish you can add proof you are the one sending the money.Anyway, they have property and a sizable monthly donation from you, I wouldn't worry.Good luck and cheers.

It is better to show fixed deposits and bank balance. If you show remittances from Belgium, it is telling them they are dependent on you

You can show property documents, property evaluation certificate, any other assets (investments/mutual funds), etc as their strong reasons to go back to India.

For their subsistence (ability to cover their expenses during travel and stay) - You can say you will bear these expenses (mention in invite letter) and show your financial capacity to support (salary slips, bank statements, etc).

@VisaCMarriage Thanks for the response, fingers crossed:)

@Aneesh Thanks for the response Aneesh apologies for the late reply, had some network issues.

My father had applied for short stay visa on 9th Nov. under Visa C Family visit to Belgium, file was sent to Belgium Immigration on 11th Nov. and after checking on dofi website for the whole month, finally on 19th Dec. we found out the status as REJET/Rejection. The reason of rejection in the letter was only one:

You have not provided proof of sufficient means of subsistence, for the duration of the intended stay or for the return to the country of originor residence ...

Documentation submitted:

• I had filled-in the Pris_en_charge document and got my signature verified by the commune (stamped, etc.). Although I knew it might not be accepted, I had read this forum and found out that sometimes it goes without any issues so we submitted anyways, to be on the safe side.
• Next, I wrote a "Sponsorship Letter" stating I will finance the whole trip, got it stamped by the commune here in Belgium; submitted hotel and travel reservations (intended date of travel: 27th Nov.).
• The visa duration we asked for was 29 days (min. expense per day €95 X 29 days= €2755 for the whole trip) -> my finance statement in Belgium was about €6700 at the time of application (and remained the same throughthe decision). As I needed some funds here, I didn't send much to my parents.
• My father's bank statement submitted: around INR 30k. at the time of application.
• He didn't submit his ITR and the property documents as I was the one sponsoring (=>doesn't make sense).
• My father submitted a letter stating his travel itinerary, stating his son will finance the whole trip; mentioning explicitly that he will come back to his wife (my mom) after the visit => family ties.
• He also submitted my Apostled birth certificate=>proof of family relation
• He had submitted my current and past work contract for 2 years (contract ending on 31st May 2023), my 6 months payslips, 6 months bank statement (monthly balance went never below 4000€).
• He has traveled to gulf countries before -> tried submitting the entry/exit stamps of travel (proof that he did not overstay) as in the passport but unfortunately, VFS refused to take them.

We had been really disappointed. Then, while researching through this forum, I found comments stating that no matter if a Belgian resident is the sponsor, the bank statement of the applicant should be sufficient- does this not defeat the purpose of 'sponsored visit'?

We are really scared applying for the second time as we might think he got rejection for the first time so the Immigration will reject again.

Could you (if possible) or people reading this thread please provide some clarity or correct way out of this situation?

Should he submit an appeal by resubmitting my bank statement submitted during the visa processing, a detailed letter explaining why the visa should be granted? Should he apply again, afresh with min. INR 10,00,000 balance.

Next time, we plan to submit family visit visa application for my mother and father both this time-> should both of them individually have the min. INR 10,00,000 balance? Or should they just submit a normal Tourist visa application without mentioning me-> this time for an even shorter duration of 7-10 days?

Any suggestions/comments on the possible way forward will be highly appreciated

Thanks again, apologies for the very loong message, just needed to be as clear as possible.

Have a nice day!

@Professor123

I applied for a visitor visa for my mother back in August to visit me.

My situation is similar to you, have been working in Belgium >2 years now, parents retired.

I have done the following:

• I went to the commune and asked them if there is anything to accelerate the application for visitor visa for family since I'm working here in Belgium.
• they suggested that I wrote an invitation letter so they can stamp it, and the original copy of this invitation letter should be used by mom as part of of the application paper
• it happens that I went to vacation to my home country and I brought this letter with me, I went to th embassy of Belgium there with mum and applied for visitor visa.
• the visa was ready in 2 weeks' time for mum and she came with me in my way back to Belgium.
• there was no question about mom's income as she was retired. I, however, bring my own bank statement confirming my income and I wrote in my invitation letter that I will be responsible for my mother's expenses while in Belgium.
• of course a copy of my Belgian ID, job offer, tax of last year...etc

It went smoother than I thought.

Good luck

@najlaaalyamani Thanks for the response!

I had also written an invitation letter stating that I will best all the expenses, got it stamped by the commune and submitted it to the embassy.

Still, it seems like the Belgian immigration never really read the letter and did not assess all the documents and rejected the visa.

Also, there is no way we can go to the Belgian Embassy at the application is completely handled by the extremely irresponsible and inexpensive 'courier company' called VFS.

Thanks anyway for your time!

@Professor123 has anybody here ever done an Appeal against the visa refusal decision and has that Appeal been successful in overturning the decision and getting the visa approved? If so, your valuable suggestions will be highly appreciated:)

Thank you in advance!

@Professor123 ok, I went through the refusal letter again and it says that as a guarantor, I had submitted pris_en_charge to bear all the costs of my father but I cannot be a guarantor since I don't have right to unlimited stay in Belgium. Hence, I cannot sponsor my father although I signed and submitted a sponsor letter promising up to cover all costs. Because of this, my back statement and salary proof does not matter and only my father's bank statement matters.

People, be careful not to submit pris_en_charge if you are NOT entitled to unlimited stay in Belgium.

Thanks everyone who commented, more feedback is welcome too!