Schengen Visa Applications Hit 11.7 Million in 2024 as Rejection Rates Decline
Schengen Visa Applications Rise to 11.7 Million in 2024, Rejection Rates Drop Below 15%
A total of 11,716,723 Schengen visa applications were submitted in 2024, marking a 13.5% increase from 2023, when 10.3 million applications were filed across Schengen states.
Application Numbers Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Despite the increase, Besart Bajrami, founder of Schengen Visa Info, emphasized that the application numbers remain far below pre-COVID levels. In 2019, nearly 17 million applications were submitted—indicating that full recovery has yet to be achieved.
“Coronavirus is no longer to blame, as restrictions have been lifted worldwide for quite some time now. Restrictions on Russian citizens might have hindered the recovery to pre-2020 levels, to some extent, as well as the increased rejection rates, which have discouraged potential travellers to Europe from applying for a Schengen Visa.”
— Besart Bajrami, Founder of Schengen Visa Info
Top Destinations for Schengen Visa Applicants in 2024
France remains the most preferred Schengen destination, receiving 3,072,728 applications, approving 2,549,735, and maintaining a rejection rate of 15.8%, above the Schengen average.
Top nationalities applying for France:
Algerians – 352,295
Moroccans – 282,153
Indians – 197,959
Spain moved up to second place, surpassing Germany, with 1.6 million applications. Its rejection rate stood at 15.7%.
Germany took third place, with 1.5 million applications, and a lower rejection rate of 13.7%.
Chinese nationals were the largest group of applicants for both Spain (254,571) and Germany (263,088).
Rejection Rate Falls to 14.8% in 2024
The overall rejection rate dropped to 14.8% in 2024, down from 16% in 2023, and significantly lower than the record-high 17.9% in 2022.
Countries with the Most Rejected Visa Applications:
France – 481,139
Spain – 244,432
Germany – 206,733
Italy – 134,303
Netherlands – 111,209
Countries with the Highest Rejection Rates:
Bangladesh – 54.9%
Pakistan – 47.5%
Guinea-Bissau – 47%
Senegal – 46.8%
Haiti – 46.3%
Malta, Belgium, and Sweden remained the top three Schengen states with the highest overall refusal rates.
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