sachi_dslv

My whole family applied for Schengen visa about 3-4 years ago and our visa was rejected and they said they are not sure of us returning back. (By the time we have traveled only to one county)

Now I'm trying to apply for UK- student visa where I have my universities and funds sorted, but the visa agent is asking me to take a new passport since there is chance that my visa would get rejected as the Schengen visa rejection seal is on my passport.

I do not want to take a new passport and fake my Schengen visa rejection. Please advise.

Simon1

For how long is your Passport valid?

It should normally not effect your applying for a Visa, people here are to the point they check as possible if you mean study or staying and work.

As wrote above if the Passport expires soon then its logical that you have to change it, by the way if I'm not wrong, one of the questions in applying form is if you ever be rejected.

sachi_dslv

Passport is valid till 2021 and there is not requirement to get a new one. What the agent is pointing at is the Schengen visa rejection seal in one of the sheets.

UAPremExecflyer

I strongly suggest you talk to the local British Embassy/consulate to receive a definitive answer.
Asking for and relying on guidance on long-term visas and/or similar on an anonymous Internet forum is not a prudent approach.

Often1

I think that what OP is asking and the local visa agent wherever, has suggested, is that the OP not disclose the Schengen denial to the UK. Thus, calling the British Consulate is disclosing what the visa agent is suggesting not be disclosed.

Nonetheless, don't get your advice here. The real question is whether the UK, despite being non-Schengen, has access to and checks records of Schengen visa denials and would thus see OP's action as fraud and then definitely deny the OP.

MSPeconomist

You might want to ask, without disclosing your identity, for advice from multiple visa service agencies, including the very best ones in your location. In your case, you'll finish school before the current passport expires, so that isn't a reason for getting a new passport.

It would help to know your nationality and have some sense of the time and cost involved in getting a new passport at this time. It might also help to know the nature of your studies in England. Student visa requests for a full fellowship for a PhD program at a prestigious and renowned research university are likely to be treated differently from a certificate, undergraduate, or master's degree for foreigners program that you are financing yourself in a less recognized institution or trade school.

B747-437B

No, the rejection of a Schengen visa has no direct bearing on any application for a UK visa. Every application for a UK visa is treated individually on the basis of all facts available to the ECO at the time of assessment.

Does the UK have access to the records of Schengen visa denials - YES. If you fail to disclose that refusal, new passport or otherwise, they will find out and then you will not only be denied the UK visa, but also face a potential EU-wide ban for a longer duration.

Any visa agent who advises you to get a new passport or to conceal information is not to be trusted. A good visa agent will advise you how to frame your true circumstances most convincingly to overcome potential questions raised by the ECO. For example, if your Schengen visa was rejected due to a concern that you might illegally immigrate, your UK visa application should focus on providing evidence of ties (family, property, business, job offers, etc..) back in your home country that make it more likely for you to return after completing your course.

All said, I will reiterate again that whatever you do regarding the new passport, DO NOT CONCEAL YOUR SCHENGEN VISA REFUSAL on the UK visa application form. I know of too many young people who have had their careers irrevocably changed because they took bad advice and wound up getting caught in their lies.

JDiver

Yes; this is the best answer, IMO. Making a false statement, including replying untruthfully to an agent of a national government is often a crime in and of itself (e.g. USA, it's Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, punishable by up to five years in prison. I can't imagine the UK doesn't have similar provisions.

And making a false statement alone can get one denied a visa ot other privilege requested (e.g. Global Entry / known traveler number in the US can be denied for merely concealing a previous arrest).

IMO the current visa agent may imperil your application for a student visa more than the Schengen visa denial, and under certain conditions could even imply a potential for terrorist intent.