Visa requirements can be pretty capricious. It's seldom a matter of just checking boxes, especially when renewing. Lots of bureaucrats have a lot of discretion and can arbitrarily require different (albeit pre-defined) hoops be jumped through. Sometimes it really feels like they just spin the Wheel of Requirements and you just have to live with it.
There's a method to the madness, of course. It's harder to take advantage of systems when they're not too easy to predict. Of course, it also makes it harder to move through them legitimately, but most places are more concerned about keeping bad actors out than allowing good actors in.
All the visa talk is pretty pointless, imo. Even people who know what they're talking about beyond a Google search still don't usually have the whole picture. Unless you're an immigration lawyer who specializes in the country in question, you're really just guessing.