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I am applying for a visa to enter a country (Spain). The visa application requires a proof of fully-paid accommodation post-quarantine.

I understand the usefulness of a proof of accommodation if:

  1. It was challenging to find accommodation. However, the country in question has a plethora of near-empty hotels desperate to find customers
  2. The visa applicant was impecunious. However, the visa application also requires a proof of funds via bank statements.
  3. The country wants to make sure that the visa applicant has somewhere to stay for the first few nights. However, the country imposes a mandatory 14-day quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in designated quarantine facilities.

In that context, why do some countries require a proof of accommodation in their visa application?

Response to some comments:

You are trying apply logical reasoning to bureaucracy and these two often don't go together well. Hilmar7 hours ago

Logical reasoning worked well to explain the remaining dozen of certificates and proofs I had to provide for the visa application.

The answer to "why" is often just: because some old rule of unknown origin and motivation says so. Hilmar7 hours ago

The visa I applied for is pretty new.

Even if you do find a reason: what difference would that make? Hilmar7 hours ago

My proof of accommodation got rejected, because it was from a third-party hotel booking website (Agoda) and not directly from the hotel. The hotel refused to provide a nice-looking certificate. I could book a different hotel but this could delay my application. If I new why they required a proof of accommodation in their visa application, I could perhaps provide some alternative, such as more proof of funds.

In additional to the comment from @Hilmar, IMHO this is also a pointless question because you attempt to tar multiple countries with the same brush. Just because country A imposes a condition for particular reason doesn't mean that country B imposes the same condition for the same country. So there can be no canonical answer. Peter M 2 mins ago

The set of possible reasons is likely to be very small, therefore it makes no sense to ask this question for each country separately.

There will be no official statement any answers can only be speculation.Peter M 2 mins ago

Embassy websites and other sources contain plenty of information regarding the visa application process.

Franck Dernoncourt
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    I think you could expand this to proof of accommodation in general, not just post quarantine – JonathanReez Feb 27 '21 at 06:43
  • @JonathanReez probably, the quarantine just rules out potential reason #3 which I just added. (but that's a very weak reason imho) – Franck Dernoncourt Feb 27 '21 at 06:44
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    Related: https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/121657/why-do-some-consulates-ask-you-to-purchase-a-flight-ticket-for-a-visa-applicatio – JonathanReez Feb 27 '21 at 06:45
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    This feels like a pointless question. You are trying apply logical reasoning to bureaucracy and these two often don't go together well. The answer to "why" is often just: because some old rule of unknown origin and motivation says so. Even if you do find a reason: what difference would that make? – Hilmar Feb 27 '21 at 13:59
  • If you need a workaround: just book something with free cancellation and change it later, if you don't want it. That's the nice thing about stupid rules, they can often be circumvented. This one probably says that you need to have a "RESERVATION" to get the visa. It probably does NOT require you to actually go and stay there. – Hilmar Feb 27 '21 at 14:05
  • In additional to the comment from @Hilmar, IMHO this is also a pointless question because you attempt to tar multiple countries with the same brush. Just because country A imposes a condition for particular reason doesn't mean that country B imposes the same condition for the same country. So there can be no canonical answer, and in addition as there will be no official statement any answers can only be speculation. Finally you seem new around here so I suggest you read How do I ask a good question? – Peter M Feb 27 '21 at 22:26
  • @PeterM the set of possible reasons is likely to be very small, therefore it makes no sense to ask this question for each country separately. – Franck Dernoncourt Feb 27 '21 at 22:28
  • @PeterM also since you're new to this website, you seem not to be aware of the fact that the question Why do some consulates ask you to purchase a flight ticket for a visa application?, probably posted before you join the website, was well received. – Franck Dernoncourt Feb 27 '21 at 22:33
  • really weird, I've used many 3rd party bookings as proof. It'd really help if you specified the country tho, as @PeterM mentions, countries are different. You think the set of possible reasons is likely to be small, but you're also asking the question, so....it might be bigger than you think. – Mark Mayo Feb 27 '21 at 23:54
  • Eg Russia - they track all your accommodation and make them sign you in. North Korea needs proof you're on an official sanctioned tour. Spain - local councils/govt need to approve for funding. America - to prove you have funds and your plan makes sense - eg if you apply with lowish funds but are staying at 5* hotels everywhere, it invites more questions. NZ - currently they want to be able to track you down in the event of covid-related information is required. These are just a few, and even I can think of more. – Mark Mayo Feb 27 '21 at 23:56
  • Putting question on hold until more clarity (ie the country in question) is provided. – Mark Mayo Feb 27 '21 at 23:57
  • @MarkMayo done but imho it'd be neater to have 1 consolidated question (as https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/121657/why-do-some-consulates-ask-you-to-purchase-a-flight-ticket-for-a-visa-applicatio did) instead of splitting by countries because 1) I still don't think they are that many different reasons 2) I expect most reasons to be shared by a fair amount of countries (e.g. "they want to be able to track you down in the event of covid-related information is required.") – Franck Dernoncourt Mar 19 '21 at 19:27
  • You can't get a visa to enter Spain because you are French. – phoog Mar 20 '21 at 00:23

1 Answers1

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In the case of Spain, it's so they can get the local government to agree you can live there. Which in practice is going to be yes, because they get funds from the government proportional to the number of residents.

WGroleau
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