Top 5 Most Challenging Schengen Countries to Enter for Visa Applicants

Top 5 Most Challenging Schengen Countries to Enter for Visa Applicants

Key Points

1. Malta has the highest visa rejection rate, with 37.6% of all applications denied. 
2. Estonia and Belgium follow as the second and third countries with the highest rejection rates. 
3. Egyptians and Moroccans are frequently the most rejected nationalities.

Travelers from various non-EU countries must apply for a visa to enter the Schengen Area. However, the 27 Schengen member states have differing visa rejection rates, with some being more stringent than others.

Predicting which countries are more likely to reject visa applications can be challenging. Nonetheless, statistics from Schengen Visa Info indicate that countries receiving fewer applications may also have higher rejection rates.

Based on rejection rates from 2023, here are the Schengen countries most likely to deny visa applications:

Malta

Malta has the highest rejection rate among the 27 Schengen countries. In 2023, a total of 33,306 visa applications were submitted, with 12,261, or 37.6%, being rejected. Algerian applicants faced the highest rejection rate for Malta visas, at 90.35%. Applicants from Ghana and Morocco also experienced significant rejection rates of 62.69% and 60.37%, respectively.

Estonia

Estonia rejected 61.4% of Schengen visa applications, totaling 4,347 negative responses. Egyptians had the highest rejection rate at 59.5%, while applicants from the UAE and India faced rejection rates of 57.9% and 49.7%, respectively. Chinese applicants had the lowest rejection rate at 7.3%.

Belgium

Belgium ranks third in visa rejection rates, with over a quarter (26.6%) of applications denied. Out of 225,951 submissions, 60,148 were rejected. The most affected nationalities included Senegalese (67.8%), Angoleans (66.44%), and Nigerians (62.45%).

Sweden

Sweden rejected 23.1% of visa applications, with 60,148 denials in 2023, making it the fourth most stringent country for visa issuance. Iranians faced the highest rejection rate at 76.65%, while Pakistanis and Lebanese had rejection rates of 69.49% and 66.21%, respectively.

Denmark

Denmark received 107,872 visa applications in 2023, rejecting 21,509, or 21.2%. Moroccans had the highest rejection rate at 100%, although only two applications were submitted. Iranians and Pakistanis followed with rejection rates of 76.65% and 69.49%, respectively.

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