A man dragged the country that denied him a visa to court, and the case was decided in his favour.

Jean Mboulè had applied for two Schengen visas, one for himself and the other for his wife.

His wife's visa application was granted, but his own was denied, leaving him confused as to why he received a negative response.

Mboulè had applied for the Schengen visas through the French embassy in South Africa, where he lives with his wife.

Mboulè is from Cameroon, but he was born in France, while his wife is from South Africa.

He decided not to allow the denial to slide because he used the exact same documents and financial statements with his wife, whose visa application was granted, while his was denied.

Mboulè dragged the embassy to court in France, and the case was subsequently decided in his favour.

Man sues country that denied him Schengen visa

The story was shared on LinkedIn by CNN senior correspondent, Larry Madowo, who said Mboulè won €1,200 (N2.1 million). He said the visa application was made in 2022.

Larry said:

"This man forced France to pay him a €1,200 fine for denying him a visa. A French-born Cameroonian and his South African wife applied for Schengen visas. She was approved but he was rejected for "fake" documents, even though they used the exact same documents and his financial statements. Jean Mboulè took legal action and won. France was ordered to give him a visa and pay him a €1,200 fine. But he didn't want to spend his money in France after that and went to Mauritius. Story in the comments."

After he won the case, the French Embassy in Johannesburg was forced to pay him the money and also grant him the visa.

Speaking to CNN, Mboulé said the French embassy claimed the documents he submitted were fake, though they used the documents to grant his wife a visa.

He said:

“At the time, she was unemployed but with a South African passport. She had no income but received a visa on the back of my financial statement. But the embassy said they refused my application because my documents were fake, and they weren’t sure I would come back to South Africa, where I am a permanent resident, if I went to France.”

Reactions as man gets paid after being denied visa

Abdullahi Dimbil said:

"This experience brings back memories of my own visa nightmare for an important event in Canada 🇨🇦 a while back, only to receive a crushing rejection email six months later. Six months of silence, followed by a denial that rendered my entire effort and process meaningless."

Samuel Ndingi said:

"If the man is a French-born Cameroonian, then he doesn't need a visa to go to France. Cameroon does not accept dual nationality. If he was born in France as indicated, then he's automatically French by birth."

Chimwemwe Chaponda said:

"It unfortunate that one has to carry a box full of documents showing proof that they will return back to their country, yet still be denied a visa."