Seven Mistakes That Get Visa Applications Returned

After 50,000 itineraries, the failure modes are boringly repetitive. All seven are avoidable in an afternoon.

We hear about outcomes, good and bad, and the bad ones cluster. Here is what actually goes wrong, in rough order of frequency.

1. The name does not match the passport

Passports print names in a fixed convention, and airlines store them the same way: given names, then surname. "Ravi Kumar Subramanian" printed with Subramanian as the surname is not "Ravi S Kumar" on an itinerary. No initials, no nicknames, no reordering, no dropping a middle name because the field looked short.

Single-name passports — common in parts of India — need particular care, because airline systems require both fields. Tell your provider rather than guessing.

2. Dates that disagree with the application form

The form says you arrive on the 14th; the itinerary says the 16th. Nobody meant to mislead anyone — the applicant changed plans and updated one document. An officer reading both sees a discrepancy, and discrepancies get files a second look. Fill in the form first, then reserve to match it.

3. Accommodation that does not cover every night

The classic multi-city gap: three hotels booked, one night uncovered between two of them. Count the nights between arrival and departure and make sure each has a bed. If a night is on a train or with family, put it in the cover letter.

4. Ordering the itinerary far too early

Reservations hold for 10 to 14 days. Ordering six weeks before your appointment means the hold has lapsed by the time the officer looks at it, and the record locator no longer resolves. Two or three days before submission is right.

5. A route that does not exist on those dates

Seasonal routes that only run in summer, connections that were discontinued, carriers that dropped the city. An officer who looks at flights all day notices a January reservation on a July-only route. We check this before issuing; free generators do not, because they are not checking anything.

6. A fabricated PDF

Covered at length elsewhere. The short version: it saves ₹799 and risks a misrepresentation finding that follows you for years.

7. A cover letter that contradicts the file

Written from memory rather than from the documents, so it says "about two weeks" when the itinerary shows ten days, or names a city that does not appear anywhere else. Write it last, with the documents in front of you.

The afternoon that prevents all seven

1. Fill in the application form and fix your dates.
2. Book accommodation for every night between them.
3. Reserve the itinerary two or three days before your appointment, with passport-exact names.
4. Verify the record locator on the airline's site.
5. Lay all four documents side by side and read the dates across them.
6. Write the cover letter from what you are looking at.

Start with step three →