The Spanish consulate refused to grant a visa to a basketball player of Club Mauricio Báez Lisandro Pinales Ceballos despite being offered a scholarship from CB Academy, SL.
The reason behind the refusal of the visa was that Pinales was unable to prove that he had RD$500,000 (around €8000) in his bank account. As a result, the player lost his chance to use the scholarship he was offered, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Originally from Jamey, San Cristóbal, in the Dominican Republic, Pinales, along with his father Alexander Pinales, embarked on a journey in mid-2023 to seek new opportunities towards his dream, basketball.
According to local media, the ordeal began when Pinale’s father, in the middle of their pursuit, contacted Don Robert L. Orellana, director of CB Academy SL, showing videos of his son’s basketball skills through social media channels.
Orellana quickly recognised the young athlete’s potential, expressing great interest in him joining the academy.
Spanish Consulate Refused Visa to Pinales for Not Having RD$500,000 in His Bank Account
After agreeing on the terms, the parties outlined the agreement’s details. CB Academy, SL, covered Lisandro Pinales’ flight, accommodation, meals, health care, and education expenses. In return, Lisandro agreed to fulfil his student responsibilities while in Spain.
The CBA also agreed to facilitate the process of Lisandro’s residence permit in Spain for educational purposes.
However, when CBA submitted the application and necessary documents to the Spanish Consulate in the Dominican Republic, they requested a bank account with RD$500,000 as a requirement for the permit. Unfortunately, Lisandro’s family did not possess such a sum.
As a result of this obstacle, Lisandro missed the academic year in both the Dominican Republic and Spain, where he was supposed to start in October 2023. Lisandro’s father, Alexander Pinales, appealed to President Luis Abinader and various sports associations for help in supporting Lisandro’s dream to continue basketball training in Badajoz, Spain.
Spain, Germany & France Lead in Visa Applications and Rejections
According to Schengen Visa Statistics, Spain, Germany, and France remained the top Schengen countries that received the most applications for Schengen visas.
Based on the same source, these three Schengen Area Member States collectively turned down 66.5 per cent of the total short-term visa applications in 2021.
Out of the 379,207 Schengen visa applications denied, a staggering 252,522 rejections originated from France, Germany, and Spain. France, leading in the number of applications received last year, also topped the charts for rejections, refusing visas to 128,672 applicants (21 per cent) out of the 652,331 applications it processed.
Following closely, Spain ranked second, rejecting 69,863 visa applications (15.5 per cent) out of a total of 483,469 applications received. Germany, too, contributed significantly to the rejections, denying visas to 53,987 applicants out of the 346,284 applications it handled.
