Spain Issued the Most Visas to These 5 Nationalities
Summary
1. Higher Visa Approvals for Select Nationalities
Spain showed a high visa approval rate for applicants from Jamaica, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines, with approval rates ranging between 93% and 98%.
2. Lower Approval Rates for Certain Countries
Conversely, Spanish authorities were more likely to reject visa applications from Pakistani and Nigerian nationals.
Spain remains a popular destination, with over a million Schengen visa applications each year. According to SchengenVisaInfo, Spain ranked as the third most popular Schengen Area destination in 2023, receiving 1.4 million applications. This accounted for 13.6% of all Schengen visa requests that year.
Spain granted over one million visas, reaching an approval rate of 77.4%, slightly below the Schengen average of 82.2%.
Top 5 Nationalities with High Spanish Visa Approval Rates in 2023
Though Spain’s overall Schengen approval rate was not the highest, specific nationalities were more successful in obtaining Spanish visas:
- Jamaicans: Filed 3,062 applications; 98.4% approved.
- Indonesians: Filed 20,090 applications; 96.1% approved.
- Thais: Filed 11,203 applications; 95% approved.
- Saudis: Filed 52,624 applications; 94.32% approved.
- Filipinos: Filed 22,921 applications; 93.91% approved.
Top 5 Nationalities with Higher Rejection Rates
By contrast, some nationalities, particularly from Africa, saw higher rejection rates in Spain:
- Pakistanis: 52.84% rejection rate.
- Nigerians: 49.85% rejection rate.
- Gabonese: 49.65% rejection rate.
- Bissau-Guineans: 48.21% rejection rate.
- Ghanaians: 43.40% rejection rate.
This data highlights a more challenging approval landscape for applicants from specific countries, particularly those with rejection rates approaching 50%.