Schengen states have approved 8.4 million visa applications in 2023. This indicates that 82.23 per cent of visa applications received a positive result.
According to Schengen Statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo, Australia has the highest approval rates among Schengen states, with 98.82 per cent of all requests originating from this country being approved, Schengen.News reports.
Australian nationals do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen zone. However, third-country nationals living in Australia, such as Indians, Chinese and Filipinos are required to obtain a visa in order to enter the Schengen Area. This is where all visa applications from Australia to Schengen States come from.
Top 10 Countries With Highest Approval Rates
Australia
Australia, with only 176 visas rejected, an approval rate of 98.82 per cent and 14,679 visas granted, holds the first position for highest approval rates. Austria is the main destination for Australians, receiving a quarter of all applications (24.4 per cent, 3,600 visa requests.
Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe holds the second position for the highest approval rates. Around 97 per cent of 9,500 visa applications filed by nationals of this country have received approval. Portugal is the only country that Santomeans applied to and were granted most visas.
Belarus
Controversy, Belarus had the third-highest Schengen visa approval rates in 2023. Although there are a dozen sanctions imposed on nationals of this country due to political reasons, Schengen states have said ‘yes’ to 96.37 per cent of visa requests filed.
Of 163,000 visa applications, 158,000 were approved and Germany approved 32.8 per cent of them.
Hong Kong
Foreigners living in Hong Kong were approved 96.2 per cent of visa requests in 2023. That accounts for 12,418 approved visas compared to 370 that were denied. France received most visa applications from Hong Kong (30.1 per cent), but Germany and Greece have the highest approval rates, as both countries issued 100 per cent of visa applications from Hong Kong.
Singapore
The fifth country of origin for most visas approved in 2023, is Singapore. Schengen states have approved a total of 33,696 visa requests filed by this nationality, which is 94.54 per cent of all visa applications. France received 27.7 per cent of all visa applications from Singapore and also granted most visas, in terms of numbers.
However, Czechia and Lithuania had the highest approval rates for Singaporeans, approving 100 per cent of visa requests coming from this Asian country.
South Africa
After Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa is the second country on the African continent to have higher visa approval rates, ranking sixth in this category. A total of 192,888 visas were issued to South Africans in 2023. This means that 94.45 per cent of requests were approved. France and Italy were the top destinations for South African visa requests, representing 19.5 and 16.3 per cent of all applications, respectively.
On the other hand, Sweden, Slovakia and Italy had the highest approval rates for this nationality, approving 100, 99.3 and 97.2 per cent of visas.
Indonesia
Indonesia ranks seventh for most visas granted by Schengen states. The approval rate is 94.7 per cent, with 195,649 out of 207,977 visa applications being approved.
The Netherlands is undisputably the top recipient of visa applications from Indonesia, receiving a quarter (25.01 per cent) of all Schengen visa requests filed. However, Austria had the highest visa approval rates for Indonesians (99.4 per cent).
United States
The next country of origin for most visas approved is the United States. The approval rate reached 93.93 per cent, while the total number of visas granted in 2023 was 163,678. France received 28 per cent of all visa requests from the US while Iceland and Italy approved them the most – 99.3 and 99 per cent of visas respectively.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom ranks ninth for most visas approved. The approval rate for visa requests from the UK is 93.48 per cent, indicating that 379,178 out of 405,631 visa applications were approved.
France was the top recipient country for visas from the UK applicants, receiving 32 per cent of all requests. Although France granted most visas to applicants from this country – 33 per cent of the total, visa approval rates were the highest in Iceland (98.5 per cent) and Czechia (98.4 per cent).
Philippines
The Philippines concludes this list of the top countries that were granted the most visas in 2023. The approval rate of visa applications from the Philippines was 93.4 per cent, showing that 187,808 visas were granted.
The Netherlands was the top recipient as well as the top issuer of Schengen visas to Filipino applicants in 2023. However, this nationality was most likely to receive a positive answer in their visa application filed to Hungary (97.3 per cent) and Germany (96.1 per cent).
