@aral so true. My mother in law got a visa back in 2010 to visit - no Problem. Last year nothing changed exept she is now widdowed and 89 years old. Visa denied on the grounds that she can "not prove without reasonable doubt that she has strong enought ties in homecountry to return". Ah yes, my MIL the femme fatale, traveling to germany to seduce our famously charmant seniors while all her children exept for one are back home. Makes sense, not.