Third country nationals are in a "weak" position when it comes to issuing a uniform Schengen short-term visa. The EU acquis on visas, and most notably the Visa Code, is still a domain strongly marked by State sovereignty, wide margin of appreciation and scarce transparency in the decision-making process. The EU Court of Justice has tried to rebalance the situation of third country nationals who apply for a Schengen visa, by ensuring that essential guarantees are in place when such a visa is denied. Even if granting a visa entails a clear manifestation of sovereignty, the decision to refuse a visa application cannot evade basic principles of the Rule of law, such as the duty to state reasons and the right to an effective remedy. Following a contextualization of the EU visa policy, with an overview of the evolution and the main features of the visa regime, this Insight the case-law of the Court of Justice relating to the interpretation of the Visa Code, in light of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and namely, its art. 47.