More than 1.6 million visa applications were denied by Schengen states, representing 15.8 per cent of all requests filed in 2023. On average, the rejected rate for uniform visas stood at 16 per cent, down from 17.9 per cent recorded in 2022.
According to data from the EU Commission, France denied most Schengen visa requests in 2023, with 436,893 applications being denied. This means that 16.6 per cent of visa applications that France received were rejected.
The percentage of visa applications that were refused worldwide declined slightly compared to 2022: 16 per cent of all visa applications were refused, while the percentage in 2022 was 17.9 per cent and 13.4 per cent in 2021.
It is common for France to reject most visas every year, which can be attributed to the fact that the country receives the highest number of visa applications.
Sweden & Belgium Enter the List of Countries With Most Rejections
The list of countries that rejected most visas has remained unchanged for the most part, but Sweden and Belgium have become the eighth and ninth countries with a higher number of turned-down applications for this year, with 60,000 and 38,000 rejected visas, respectively.
The list of countries with the most rejections is led by France (436,000), and followed by Spain (251,000), Germany (208,000), Italy (133,000) and the Netherlands (114,000).
These five countries together refused 1.1 million visas, representing 70 per cent of all rejected visas for the year. The list of top ten countries is further concluded, with Greece and Switzerland rejecting 91,000 and 64,000 visas, respectively. Portugal maintained its tenth position, with 33,000 rejections.
Compared to 2022, the first four countries with the most applications received – France, Spain, Germany and Italy – have also remained the countries that rejected most visa applications, while the Netherlands overtook Greece’s fifth position in the list of top five.
Switzerland and Portugal maintained their seventh and tenth positions, respectively, while Finland and Austria were substituted with Belgium and Sweden.
Netherlands Recorded the Highest Year-on-Year Rejected Application Rates Compared to Other Countries in the Top 10
The number of rejected applications by the Netherlands experienced an increase of 61.9 per cent, jumping from 70,000 to 114,000.
The second to follow was Greece with a 61.5 per cent increase, while Sweden’s rejected applications were quite similar to 2022 levels – 38,000, with a difference of 28 applications more recorded this year.
France, as the leading country for rejections as well as application rates, saw a 6.9 per cent increase in the number of rejected applications.
The average share of rejection rates among the list of top ten countries in 2022 reached 28 per cent.
