Quick question, when a visa application is refused is there a "Visa refused stamp" put in the passport?If not how would you know?

The brief answer to that is yes. The UK missions normally put an endorsement on the last page of the passport. It does not say " refused" but it is a clear indication that a visa was applied for. It may be that the visa application was withdrawn and not refused. If there is no valid visa in the passport ( issued after the date of the endorsement ) the normal assumption is that a visa was refused.

Schengen countries also normally endorse a passport page ( not necessarily the last page ) with an endorsement, possibly something as simple as " E - 09/09/2010 " ( maybe an ink stamp or a manual endorsement ) which would normally mean that the Spanish Embassy ( E for Espana ) had accepted an application and the application was either refused or not completed for some reason. Often the Schengen Embassies will place the issued visa over the " application" endorsement, so a previous refusal or application may not be immediately evident .

The Schengen Embassies are also linked for visa application information purposes. A visa refusal by the Spanish Embassy, for instance, will come up on a visa search made by the German Embassy

The Schengen Embassies are also linked for visa application information purposes. A visa refusal by the Spanish Embassy, for instance, will come up on a visa search made by the German Embassy

Although not fully signed up to the Schengen agreement, both the UK and the RoI are members of the Schengen Information System. Does this mean that their embassies also have access to this database, and the Schengen countries access to the UK's and the RoI's?

The Schengen Embassies are also linked for visa application information purposes. A visa refusal by the Spanish Embassy, for instance, will come up on a visa search made by the German Embassy

Although not fully signed up to the Schengen agreement, both the UK and the RoI are members of the Schengen Information System. Does this mean that their embassies also have access to this database, and the Schengen countries access to the UK's and the RoI's?

There is no system in place for exchange of information in the same form as between the Schengen States, ie. there is no access by the UK or RoI to the Schengen visa databases, and vice versa. There is, of course, some exchange of imformation when required, but that information will need to be in accordance with Freedom Of Information and Data Protection legislation.

they didnt stamp my mrs's when it was refused but trips on subsidently granted visas showed that the refusal was recorded electronically and was always commented on at immigration

Edited September 10, 201015 yr by alant

they didnt stamp my mrs's when it was refused but trips on subsidently granted visas showed that the refusal was recorded electronically and was always commented on at immigration

As a rule of thumb, the endorsement is made as it makes the refusal information available to other Embassies ( UK, USA, for instance ) and to immigration authorities of countries to which the applicant may travel visa free. There may have been a reason it was not endorsed in your wife's passport, eg. the passport was not submitted with the application.

Thanks for the replies