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I am trying to appeal a visa refusal from the Holland Embassy in Accra, Ghana, however, I have not had a response in the past 90 days.

Do i have to send a reminder or what?

neubert
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Emmanuel Kwasi Odame
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    The title says short stay in Austria, but the question mentions Holland Embassy. Which country do you actually intend to obtain a visa? – gmauch Jun 09 '15 at 12:41
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    Important: did you represent your own appeal or use a 3rd party agent? – Gayot Fow Jun 09 '15 at 13:47
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    From the Dutch Embassy in Accra: Residents of Ghana travelling to Portugal, Poland, Luxembourg, Austria, France, Hungary or Lithuania, can also apply with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra, Ghana. – mkennedy Jun 09 '15 at 18:38
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    I wanted to obtain a visa to Austria but its the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana that issues visa on Austria's behalf.@gmauch I did apply through my lawyer @ Gayout Fow – Emmanuel Kwasi Odame Jun 10 '15 at 13:53
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    I'd ask your lawyer first for a confirmation number or some other tracking information before doing anything else. – Karlson Jun 29 '15 at 14:27
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    What has happened here? Would you still like an answer to this question? – Gayot Fow Aug 07 '15 at 20:43
  • What is the meaning of appealing in this context (I am not a native speaker). If you mean that you 'legally fight' against your refusal, where do you do this? In general, you cannot do anything if an Austrian visa was declined (only file a new visa application), but as you did not apply at the austrian embassy, there might be options I don't know of. – TheEspinosa Sep 14 '15 at 13:21
  • @TheEspinosa I never had the occasion to test this with Austria but Schengen countries are supposed to offer an opportunity to appeal any Schengen visa decision and to explain how to lodge this appeal on the refusal notice itself. In practice, it can take forever and be quite difficult (e.g. file everything in the local language be it Greek, Danish or Dutch and hire a local lawyer) but it has to be possible. – Relaxed Sep 16 '15 at 14:05
  • @Relaxed: According to Paragraph 94(2) of the Austrian Fremdengesetz 1994, appeals agains declined visas were not allowed, which is against EU law. In 2005 the EU Commission ruled against Austria in this case (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2005:171:TOC), but I don't know if Austria has changed it's law already. – TheEspinosa Sep 16 '15 at 14:19
  • @TheEspinosa I didn't know about this issue, thanks! – Relaxed Sep 16 '15 at 14:28
  • @relaxed: I found out that there is a new version of the Fremdenpolizeigesetz from 2005, where the offending paragraph seems to be missing, but I don't know if and how Austria implements appeals now... – TheEspinosa Sep 16 '15 at 14:36
  • Just to clarify the earlier comments on applying for a visa through a third party: You need to ensure this agent or lawyer is legitimate. Disreputable agents who pocket the money for an application and then fake an appeal without ever actually talking to the embassy are not unheard of. – Relaxed Sep 16 '15 at 15:13

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I don't have any specific info on Austria and/or embassies in Ghana but generally speaking a formal appeal has to be lodged with some central court or sometimes a specific body within the relevant's country foreign ministry and not directly with the embassy. The refusal notice should contain information about the procedure for the country you applied to.

A successful appeal will also requires some familiarity with the local language and legal system so you are unlikely to mount one without professional advice. It can in any case take a long time, up to one or two years so it rarely makes sense for an issue that can easily be remedied through a fresh application. See also Schengen Visa Refusal: Does it make sense to appeal?

Furthermore, when Schengen countries have representation agreements (e.g. you apply at the Dutch embassy for a trip to Austria), the representing country can sometimes grant visas alone but refusal decisions should always be made in consultation with the destination country. In your case, it means that the Austrian foreign service probably had the final say on your application and I suspect you therefore somehow need to lodge an appeal with an Austrian court, not to the Dutch embassy (but see the comments on why it's difficult to find out exactly whether an appeal is possible).

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Relaxed
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    According to https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?Abfrage=Vwgh&Dokumentnummer=JWT_2013210100_20131220X00 (in German) was Austria responsible for the appeal, even if the Austrian embassy acted on behalf of another country. So it seems the appeal has to be made in the Netherlands not in Austria. – TheEspinosa Sep 16 '15 at 14:57
  • @TheEspinosa Indeed it seems to be the case and the decision explicitly refers to the visa code: Vorab ist festzuhalten, dass sich die Zuständigkeit der belangten Behörde zur (auch ablehnenden) Entscheidung über den Visumantrag aus Art. 8 Abs. 1 und Abs. 4 lit.d Visakodex […] ergibt. Die Zuständigkeit des Verwaltungsgerichtshofes zur Entscheidung über die dagegen erhobene Beschwerde folgt aus Art. 32 Abs. 3 Visakodex […] But I am still somewhat surprised by this reading of the visa code. – Relaxed Sep 16 '15 at 15:06