TL;DR
Greece refused 8,814 of the 36,089 UK applications it decided in 2025, 24.6 percent, more than double its 2024 rate. Your letter is the EU standard form with numbered reasons ticked; for UK residents they are usually 2, 3, 10, 12, 13 and 16. Read the number, change the evidence behind it, disclose the refusal, and either appeal within the deadline the letter names or reapply at once. Our desk prepares the new file for £99; the consulate alone decides.
The numbers
European Commission data for applications decided at the Greek consulate in London, which decides every UK application lodged through GVC World in London and Manchester:
| Year | Applications | Issued | Refused | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 36,089 | 27,064 | 8,814 | 24.6% |
| 2024 | 34,126 | 30,476 | 3,505 | 10.3% |
In 2025 roughly one UK application to Greece in four was refused. France refused 8.5 percent and Spain 6.1 percent in the same year; the full ranking is on Schengen visa refusal rates from the UK. The Commission publishes counts, not reasons, so nobody outside the consulate can say why the rate doubled. What the letters our desk sees have in common is ordinary: files that do not justify the stay, do not show the money clearly, or leave the consulate unsure the applicant will come back.
| Schengen short-stay visa (Type C) | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Visa fee (adult) | €90 |
| Visa fee (child 6 to 11) | €45 |
| Visa fee (child under 6) | Free |
| Maximum stay | 90 days in any rolling 180-day period |
| Standard processing | 15 calendar days (up to 45 in some cases) |
| Travel insurance, minimum cover | €30,000 |
| Passport | Issued within 10 years; valid 3+ months beyond your trip |
| Member states | 29 countries |
The numbered reasons on the standard form
Every Schengen state uses the same refusal form, Annex VI of the Visa Code, revised 2 February 2020. The consulate ticks one or more of 17 reasons. For someone applying from the UK, these are the ones that appear and what each means in plain words:
| No. | What the form says | What it means | What to change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not provided | The consulate could not see why you are going, where you will stay each night, or how the trip hangs together | A day-by-day itinerary, accommodation for every night in Greece, return travel, a cover letter that explains the trip in one page |
| 3 | You have not provided proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the stay or the return | Not enough money shown, or money that did not fit the trip or your income | 3 to 6 months of statements in your name, payslips, a balance that covers the trip; a sponsor's full set if someone else pays |
| 4 | You have not provided proof that you can lawfully acquire sufficient means | The consulate doubts the money is yours to spend | Evidence of where income comes from: employer letter, SA302s, dividend vouchers, explained deposits |
| 5 | You have already stayed 90 days in the current 180-day period | The dates on your passport stamps or previous visa add up to the limit | Count the days with the 90/180 calculator and move the trip |
| 10 | The information submitted regarding the purpose and conditions of stay was not reliable | Something in the file contradicted something else, or a booking did not check out | Every date, name and address consistent across form, bookings, letter and insurance; bookings that still exist on the day of decision |
| 11 | Reasonable doubts as to the reliability of the statements made regarding (specified) | A particular statement, often about employment, family or previous refusals, was doubted | Document the statement that was doubted; declare every previous refusal |
| 12 | Reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the supporting documents or the veracity of their contents | A document looked altered, a letter could not be verified, or a statement looked edited | Original documents, bank-issued statements, an employer letter with a contactable signatory |
| 13 | Reasonable doubts as to your intention to leave the territory of the Member States before the visa expires | The ties case failed: the consulate was not convinced you will return to the UK | Employer letter with approved leave and a return date, tenancy, family, UK status running well past the trip |
| 16 | You have not provided proof of adequate and valid travel medical insurance | Cover below 30,000 euros, dates that did not match, or a policy limited to one country | A certificate naming you, 30,000 euros of medical and repatriation cover, all Schengen states, every day of the trip |
The remaining reasons are rare for UK residents: 1 (a false travel document), 6 to 9 (a Schengen Information System alert or a threat to public policy, health or international relations), 14 and 15 (visas at the border and airport transit) and 17 (revocation at the holder's request, which carries no right of appeal). If 6 is ticked, see the section on SIS alerts below.
Reading your letter
The form comes back with your passport from GVC World. Read three things: which numbers are ticked, any text written in the "please specify" space next to 11, and the paragraph at the bottom about appeals, which must give the authority and the time limit. Then match each ticked number to the documents you submitted. A tick at 13 with a weak employer letter, or a tick at 3 with a single statement, usually explains itself. If nothing in your file explains the tick, the fix is to document that point so thoroughly in the new application that the question cannot arise. The general guide is Schengen visa refused from the UK.
Appeal or reapply: the Greek route
The standard form Greece uses says you may appeal against the decision as provided for in national law, and requires the notice to name the competent authority and the time limit for lodging the appeal. The review route starts there: a written appeal to the authority named on your letter, within the deadline on your letter. Our sources do not record a Greek deadline, so count from the date on the letter the day it arrives and do not rely on a figure from a forum. An appeal argues that the decision was wrong on the file as submitted; it is not the place to add the documents you forgot.
Where the refusal is based on an alert in the Schengen Information System or Greece's national record, reason 6, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a separate guide to applicants' rights, including the right to go to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority if the data controller does not reply in writing within 15 days. That route is about correcting a record, not about the trip.
For most UK applicants a reapplication is the practical route: it is not time-limited, it lets you add what was missing, and the decision comes within 15 calendar days of the new appointment as standard, up to 45. It costs a second consulate fee of 90 euros, about 81 pounds, and a second GVC World service fee, prepaid at booking. Greece has two UK centres, London and Manchester, and no Edinburgh centre, so book the new appointment the day the file is ready; see Greece visa appointments in the UK.
What to change in the new file
- Answer the ticked number first. If it was 13, the new file leads with the employer letter, the tenancy and the status proof. If it was 3, it leads with six months of statements and the income behind them.
- Make every document agree. Names as in the passport, dates as on the flights, the hotel for every night, the insurance for every day. A single inconsistency is reason 10 next time.
- Rebuild the itinerary for Greece specifically. Island hopping needs each ferry leg and each night accounted for; a trip that leaves Greece needs the main-destination rule checked on which country to apply to.
- Declare the refusal on the form and in the cover letter, with the date and the reason, and say in one sentence what has changed.
- Write the cover letter last, so it points at every document that answers the previous letter. See the cover letter guide.
If this is a second refusal, what changes in a third application covers the extra ground.
What a refusal costs
The 90 euro consulate fee and the GVC World service fee are not refunded. Non-refundable flights or hotels bought before the decision are lost, which is why the application stage should run on reservations and free-cancellation bookings. The refusal is recorded and asked about on every future Schengen form. The honest use of Greece's 24.6 percent is as a reason to prepare the first file properly, not as a reason to apply elsewhere: applying to a country that is not your main destination is itself a refusal ground.
A prepared reapplication for £99
Our desk prepares the new application for a flat £99 service fee: the GVC World booking in your own account, the form with the previous refusal declared correctly, and a document pack built around the numbered reason on your letter, with a cover letter that answers it. The file is ready within 24 hours of your complete documents and details, and the appointment booked within 3 working days of a complete file, subject to availability, or the fee back. You pay the consulate and GVC fees; the consulate alone decides, and no agency can promise an outcome. Start at the plan step, read what the Greece visa service does and does not include, or see the Schengen visa service for any country. Build it yourself with the checklist generator and the Bundler, and start from Greece visa from the UK for the GVC process.
Sources
- [1]home-affairs.ec.europa.euhttps://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/visa-policy/short-stay-visas-issued-schengen-countries_en
- [2]legislation.gov.ukhttps://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/810/annex/VI
- [3]eur-lex.europa.euhttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R0810-20200202
- [4]mfa.grhttps://www.mfa.gr/images/docs/thewriseis_schengen/english/annex_25_en.pdf
- [5]mfa.grhttps://www.mfa.gr/brussels/en/services/visas/visa-applicants-rights-in-case-of-rejection-due-to-registration-in-the-schengen-information-system-or-the-national-record-of-undesirable-foreigners.html
Common questions
- 01
Why does Greece refuse so many UK applications?
The Commission publishes the numbers, not the reasons. What the data shows is that Greece's UK refusal rate went from 10.3 percent in 2024 to 24.6 percent in 2025, 8,814 refusals out of 36,089 decisions, while France refused 8.5 percent and Spain 6.1 percent. The grounds on the letters are the ordinary ones: purpose and conditions of stay not justified, means not shown, doubts about documents, and doubts about returning. A Greece file has to be complete and consistent in a way that a Spain file is more often forgiven for not being.
- 02
What do the numbers on my Greek refusal letter mean?
Greece uses the EU standard form from Annex VI of the Visa Code, revised 2 February 2020, with 17 numbered reasons. For UK residents the ones that appear are usually 2 (purpose and conditions of stay not justified), 3 (means of subsistence not proved), 10 (information about the stay not reliable), 12 (doubts about the supporting documents), 13 (doubts about your intention to leave before the visa expires) and 16 (travel medical insurance not proved). Each is explained on this page with what to change.
- 03
Can I appeal a Greek visa refusal?
Yes. The standard form says you may appeal as provided for in national law, and the Greek notice has to name the authority with which the appeal is lodged and the time limit. Our sources do not record Greece's deadline, so read the letter the day it arrives and count from the date on it. Where the refusal rests on a Schengen Information System alert, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a separate guide to your rights, including going to the Hellenic Data Protection Authority if the data controller does not reply within 15 days. For most applicants a corrected reapplication is faster than an appeal.
- 04
How soon can I reapply to Greece after a refusal?
There is no waiting period. You can book a new GVC World appointment as soon as you have a file that answers the ticked reason, and the earlier the better if your dates are fixed, because Greece's two UK centres, London and Manchester, fill quickly before summer. What you cannot do is resubmit the same file: a second application that changes nothing gets the same answer and a second refusal on your record.
- 05
Do I have to declare the Greek refusal on my next application?
Yes. The refusal is recorded in the Schengen systems and the form asks about previous refusals. Declare it, give the date and the country, and show what has changed since. A declared refusal with a changed file is normal; an undeclared one that the consulate finds is reason 10 or 11 on the next letter, doubts about the reliability of your statements.
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