‘We have had to reject more visa applications this year than the year before. However, the total number of people who have been refused a visa still comes to only 2% to 2.5% of all the applicants. Most of the refusals have to do with the applicants providing inaccurate information. Nevertheless, there can also be some ‘technical’ reasons, for example, people not submitting a particular document,’ the Consul General of the French Republic in Yekaterinburg Claude Crouail said at a recent press conference in Yekaterinburg.

‘One example of inaccurate information is some fictional hotel booking. We call the hotel and it turns out they have never heard of the applicant. I would understand if the applicants honestly declared they were going to rent a car and travel around Europe. What matters to us most is the people’s honesty. Such small lies are the main reason for denying someone a visa. Under the new visa code, an applicant has the right to know why he or she has been rejected. Still, people usually know the reason themselves,’ M. Crouail added.

Now the new EU Visa Code came into effect in the summer of 2010 and it states that a consulate must explain in writing why a certain applicant was rejected.