Refusal Appeal

[Abeer]

My mom a Pakistani National applied twice for the visa to Greece.
Having no Greece Embassy in our city she was instructed to go through Italian Embassy.
She is a retired Doctor aged 51. She was being invited by her friend/sponsor who is a Dutch National but living in Greece.
All documents and proof of finances were provided by the host.
I, also attached my financial statement and a letter as she is no longer working nor has a bank statement.

1.   The visa was rejected the first time saying justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay was not provided
2.   Proof not provided of sufficient means of subsistence, for the duration of the intended stay or for the return to the country of the origin or residence, or for the transit to a third country into which you are certain to be admitted or she is not in a position to acquire such means lawfully.

I don't understand what they want. I had not a lot but enough money in my account and the host/sponsor had quite a handsome statement too. He also wrote to and even personally visited the Italian Embassy in Greece but to no avail.

How should we proceed? Should she file an appeal. I hear no response comes of it usually.
Should we hire a lawyer? ?If so, should the lawyer be from Italy?
Should we reapply a third time?

Please advise....

Utterly Disappointed.

[yaris]

Hi, those statements of visa denial are most common, quite often granted without obvious reason. Applying for the third time probably would not be benefitial in this case. How did she explain on the application purpose of the travel, did she provide an itinerary? There are two things that are not clear to me, and perhaps also suspicious to the clerk in charge of visa at the embassy (thus for him in his mind a reason for the visa denial): 1) Your mother is a retired doctor at age 51? Why is she retired so early, is that common practice in your country that doctors retire so early? (in Greece, many doctors are 65 or older and still work) 2) Your mother was a doctor and has no bank account? So, where does she keep her money, how does she make transactions? (in Greece, doctors are usually welthier than the average person, so a doctor not having a bank account is very unlikely)