Schengen visas have high refusal rates and you can expect your schengen visa application to be denied depending on where you apply.
According to the schengen visa statistics published by European commission, Worldwide, 9.6% of all visa applications were refused for 2018, that is 1.4 percentage points more than in 2017.
Here are some of the facts about schengen visas
- France issued most schengen visas than any other schengen country (3.3 million visas), followed by Germany and Italy
- EU schengen states received 16 million visa applications for 2018
- Russians and chinese followed top the table for receiving schengen visas.
Top 10 Schengen States with Visa Refusals
These are the top countries with highest refusal rates for the schengen visa. We give you breakdown in terms of highest and lowest refusal rates.
Highest Refusal Rate
- Malta
- Belgium
- Portugal
- France
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Slovenia
- Norway
- Spain
- Germany
Lowest Visa Refusal Rate
These are the schengen states with lowest visa refusal rates.
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Iceland
- Finland
- Latvia
- Poland
- Luxembourg
- Slovakia
- Czech Republic
- Greece
| Schengen State | Uniform visas applied | Uniform visas not issued | Refusal % |
| Malta | 32331 | 6611 | 20.45% |
| Belgium | 219827 | 36906 | 16.79% |
| Portugal | 266516 | 44179 | 16.58% |
| France | 4010604 | 629997 | 15.71% |
| Netherlands | 682382 | 86123 | 12.62% |
| Sweden | 253292 | 29604 | 11.69% |
| Slovenia | 26403 | 2632 | 9.97% |
| Norway | 164591 | 15633 | 9.50% |
| Spain | 1701379 | 157494 | 9.26% |
| Germany | 2056296 | 186699 | 9.08% |
| Hungary | 228793 | 17762 | 7.76% |
| Switzerland | 556520 | 41230 | 7.41% |
| Italy | 1844140 | 135882 | 7.37% |
| Denmark | 164003 | 11472 | 6.99% |
| Austria | 306133 | 19098 | 6.24% |
| Greece | 855285 | 42013 | 4.91% |
| Czech Republic | 662902 | 31206 | 4.71% |
| Slovakia | 26797 | 1118 | 4.17% |
| Luxembourg | 10876 | 401 | 3.69% |
| Poland | 518003 | 15423 | 2.98% |
| Latvia | 161709 | 3374 | 2.09% |
| Finland | 769049 | 13439 | 1.75% |
| Iceland | 9334 | 156 | 1.67% |
| Estonia | 127561 | 2048 | 1.61% |
| Lithuania | 353059 | 4701 | 1.33% |
Source: European commission / Schengen Visa Statistics 2018
Applicantion Refusals
These are the visa refusals of applicants by country, listed by schengen consulate
| No. | Schengen consulate | Uniform visas not issued | Uniform visas applied | Refusal Rate |
| 1 | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 57421 | 3695671 | 1.55% |
| 2 | CHINA | 105264 | 2823252 | 3.73% |
| 3 | INDIA | 100980 | 1081359 | 9.34% |
| 4 | TURKEY | 74321 | 879240 | 8.45% |
| 5 | ALGERIA | 324291 | 713255 | 45.47% |
| 6 | BELARUS | 2239 | 681106 | 0.33% |
| 7 | MOROCCO | 119586 | 662585 | 18.05% |
| 8 | SAUDI ARABIA | 27300 | 360287 | 7.58% |
| 9 | THAILAND | 11102 | 332269 | 3.34% |
| 10 | UNITED KINGDOM | 4214 | 275099 | 1.53% |
| 11 | IRAN | 80397 | 273580 | 29.39% |
| 12 | TUNISIA | 42639 | 234452 | 18.19% |
| 13 | SOUTH AFRICA | 5403 | 221790 | 2.44% |
| 14 | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 38909 | 217433 | 17.89% |
| 15 | INDONESIA | 3687 | 210468 | 1.75% |
| 16 | UKRAINE | 8943 | 191725 | 4.66% |
| 17 | EGYPT | 37891 | 190140 | 19.93% |
| 18 | PHILIPPINES | 14440 | 175703 | 8.22% |
| 19 | KUWAIT | 8485 | 174765 | 4.86% |
| 20 | USA | 3185 | 160749 | 1.98% |
| 21 | KAZAKHSTAN | 7544 | 157608 | 4.79% |
| 22 | LEBANON | 18874 | 155650 | 12.13% |
| 23 | VIETNAM | 12030 | 127062 | 9.47% |
| 24 | ANGOLA | 23127 | 107541 | 21.51% |
| 25 | QATAR | 7205 | 90957 | 7.92% |
| 26 | KOSOVO | 19631 | 90840 | 21.61% |
| 27 | PAKISTAN | 31062 | 89256 | 34.80% |
| 28 | NIGERIA | 44076 | 88587 | 49.75% |
| 29 | SENEGAL | 29684 | 73346 | 40.47% |
| 30 | ECUADOR | 11032 | 68013 | 16.22% |
| 31 | IRAQ | 30907 | 64726 | 47.75% |
| 32 | COTE D’IVOIRE | 19003 | 61639 | 30.83% |
| 33 | AZERBAIJAN | 6257 | 59325 | 10.55% |
| 34 | ARMENIA | 6939 | 59012 | 11.76% |
| 35 | JORDAN | 9390 | 56976 | 16.48% |
| 36 | CUBA | 7070 | 50179 | 14.09% |
| 37 | GHANA | 18133 | 43665 | 41.53% |
| 38 | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 11697 | 42606 | 27.45% |
| 39 | OMAN | 1909 | 38944 | 4.90% |
| 40 | KENYA | 4769 | 38503 | 12.39% |
| 41 | CAMEROON | 11318 | 37043 | 30.55% |
| 42 | SRI LANKA | 7302 | 36449 | 20.03% |
| 43 | SINGAPORE | 533 | 33133 | 1.61% |
| 44 | UZBEKISTAN | 4067 | 30798 | 13.21% |
| 45 | BANGLADESH | 9976 | 30573 | 32.63% |
| 46 | CANADA | 1416 | 30140 | 4.70% |
| 47 | ISRAEL | 2273 | 24009 | 9.47% |
| 48 | BAHRAIN | 765 | 23544 | 3.25% |
| 49 | ETHIOPIA | 4297 | 23134 | 18.57% |
| 50 | BOLIVIA | 5241 | 23126 | 22.66% |
| 51 | GABON | 5466 | 22589 | 24.20% |
| 52 | MALI | 5717 | 21953 | 26.04% |
| 53 | MADAGASCAR | 4881 | 21606 | 22.59% |
| 54 | CAPE VERDE | 6752 | 20158 | 33.50% |
| 55 | SURINAME | 1642 | 19793 | 8.30% |
| 56 | MONGOLIA | 2741 | 18620 | 14.72% |
| 57 | AUSTRALIA | 432 | 17029 | 2.54% |
| 58 | MOZAMBIQUE | 1089 | 16679 | 6.53% |
| 59 | BURKINA FASO | 2495 | 16073 | 15.52% |
| 60 | KYRGYZSTAN | 1143 | 15823 | 7.22% |
| 61 | MAURITANIA | 2873 | 15684 | 18.32% |
| 62 | HONG KONG S.A.R. | 167 | 15485 | 1.08% |
| 63 | IRELAND | 235 | 15396 | 1.53% |
| 64 | CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) | 5110 | 15389 | 33.21% |
| 65 | EQUATORIAL GUINEA | 3231 | 15055 | 21.46% |
| 66 | JAPAN | 337 | 14546 | 2.32% |
| 67 | NORTH MACEDONIA | 3035 | 13999 | 21.68% |
| 68 | GUINEA | 6307 | 13487 | 46.76% |
| 69 | UGANDA | 2500 | 13352 | 18.72% |
| 70 | BENIN | 1680 | 12242 | 13.72% |
| 71 | TANZANIA | 1614 | 12035 | 13.41% |
| 72 | CAMBODIA | 1442 | 11250 | 12.82% |
| 73 | SUDAN | 2716 | 11193 | 24.27% |
| 74 | MYANMAR | 580 | 10469 | 5.54% |
| 75 | NEPAL | 2467 | 10464 | 23.58% |
| 76 | LIBYA | 2429 | 9928 | 24.47% |
| 77 | RWANDA | 1725 | 9427 | 18.30% |
| 78 | CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) | 4197 | 9122 | 46.01% |
| 79 | TOGO | 2011 | 8745 | 23.00% |
| 80 | HAITI | 3052 | 8582 | 35.56% |
| 81 | SERBIA | 233 | 8572 | 2.72% |
| 82 | GUINEA-BISSAU | 1744 | 8260 | 21.11% |
| 83 | ZIMBABWE | 452 | 7522 | 6.01% |
| 84 | CHAD | 2209 | 7419 | 29.77% |
| 85 | NIGER | 784 | 7011 | 11.18% |
| 86 | CYPRUS | 625 | 6666 | 9.38% |
| 87 | MALAYSIA | 1175 | 6603 | 17.79% |
| 88 | PANAMA | 1563 | 6530 | 23.94% |
| 89 | PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY | 775 | 6251 | 12.40% |
| 90 | NAMIBIA | 113 | 6205 | 1.82% |
| 91 | ZAMBIA | 287 | 5979 | 4.80% |
| 92 | TURKMENISTAN | 133 | 5451 | 2.44% |
| 93 | JAMAICA | 256 | 5356 | 4.78% |
| 94 | ROMANIA | 339 | 4906 | 6.91% |
| 95 | BULGARIA | 200 | 4826 | 4.14% |
| 96 | TAJIKISTAN | 901 | 4662 | 19.33% |
| 97 | LAOS | 363 | 4640 | 7.82% |
| 98 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC | 1469 | 4101 | 35.82% |
| 99 | SOUTH KOREA | 295 | 4073 | 7.24% |
| 100 | BURUNDI | 798 | 3604 | 22.14% |
| 101 | SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE | 554 | 3504 | 15.81% |
| 102 | BRAZIL | 770 | 3478 | 22.14% |
| 103 | DJIBOUTI | 895 | 3241 | 27.61% |
| 104 | GEORGIA | 920 | 2927 | 31.43% |
| 105 | NEW ZEALAND | 40 | 2735 | 1.46% |
| 106 | MOLDOVA | 85 | 2615 | 3.25% |
| 107 | ERITREA | 874 | 2155 | 40.56% |
| 108 | COLOMBIA | 293 | 2093 | 14.00% |
| 109 | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 109 | 1830 | 5.96% |
| 110 | CROATIA | 55 | 1806 | 3.05% |
| 111 | MEXICO | 85 | 1773 | 4.79% |
| 112 | COMOROS | 633 | 1709 | 37.04% |
| 113 | BOTSWANA | 8 | 1655 | 0.48% |
| 114 | ALBANIA | 142 | 1595 | 8.90% |
| 115 | TAIWAN | 43 | 1417 | 3.03% |
| 116 | AFGHANISTAN | 18 | 1350 | 1.33% |
| 117 | CHILE | 172 | 1308 | 13.15% |
| 118 | MONTENEGRO | 23 | 1156 | 1.99% |
| 119 | ARGENTINA | 65 | 1114 | 5.83% |
| 120 | NETHERLANDS | 38 | 1010 | 3.76% |
| 121 | PERU | 41 | 889 | 4.61% |
| 122 | MAURITIUS | 17 | 878 | 1.94% |
| 123 | DENMARK | 7 | 769 | 0.91% |
| 124 | SYRIA | 155 | 643 | 24.11% |
| 125 | MACAO S.A.R. | 16 | 557 | 2.87% |
| 126 | SAINT LUCIA | 21 | 541 | 3.88% |
| 127 | SAN MARINO | 2 | 437 | 0.46% |
| 128 | VENEZUELA | 95 | 434 | 21.89% |
| 129 | FRANCE | 4 | 391 | 1.02% |
| 130 | NORTH KOREA | 22 | 363 | 6.06% |
| 131 | SPAIN | 16 | 360 | 4.44% |
| 132 | GERMANY | 12 | 348 | 3.45% |
| 133 | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | 21 | 334 | 6.29% |
| 134 | GUATEMALA | 0 | 281 | 0.00% |
| 135 | AUSTRIA | 13 | 241 | 5.39% |
| 136 | ITALY | 14 | 236 | 5.93% |
| 137 | COSTA RICA | 3 | 213 | 1.41% |
| 138 | VANUATU | 0 | 164 | 0.00% |
| 139 | URUGUAY | 2 | 143 | 1.40% |
| 140 | GREECE | 9 | 139 | 6.47% |
| 141 | ANDORRA | 138 | 0.00% | |
| 142 | MALAWI | 11 | 137 | 8.03% |
| 143 | SWEDEN | 8 | 118 | 6.78% |
| 144 | SWITZERLAND | 1 | 112 | 0.89% |
| 145 | BELGIUM | 4 | 112 | 3.57% |
| 146 | SLOVENIA | 13 | 99 | 13.13% |
| 147 | ICELAND | 88 | 0.00% | |
| 148 | PARAGUAY | 6 | 88 | 6.82% |
| 149 | POLAND | 6 | 81 | 7.41% |
| 150 | LIBERIA | 78 | 0.00% | |
| 151 | EL SALVADOR | 0 | 75 | 0.00% |
| 152 | SLOVAKIA | 2 | 69 | 2.90% |
| 153 | TIMOR-LESTE | 3 | 51 | 5.88% |
| 154 | FINLAND | 2 | 48 | 4.17% |
| 155 | PORTUGAL | 2 | 46 | 4.35% |
| 156 | HONDURAS | 0 | 43 | 0.00% |
| 157 | LUXEMBOURG | 2 | 40 | 5.00% |
| 158 | NICARAGUA | 1 | 38 | 2.63% |
| 159 | LITHUANIA | 0 | 34 | 0.00% |
| 160 | MALTA | 0 | 34 | 0.00% |
| 161 | NORWAY | 0 | 33 | 0.00% |
| 162 | HUNGARY | 1 | 24 | 4.17% |
| 163 | CZECH REPUBLIC | 1 | 22 | 4.55% |
| 164 | LATVIA | 1 | 16 | 6.25% |
| 165 | SOUTH SUDAN | 0 | 9 | 0.00% |
| 166 | ESTONIA | 5 | 0.00% | |
| 167 | FIJI | 1 | 3 | 33.33% |
| 168 | SEYCHELLES | 0 | 2 | 0.00% |
| 169 | MONACO | 1 | 2 | 50.00% |
Consulates with Schengen Visa Refusals
Which consulates refused the highest number of schengen visas?
These are the top 50 consulates with highest visa refusals. You can see the full list here
| Schengen State | Country where consulate is located | Consulate | Uniform visas not issued | Not issued rate for uniform visas |
| France | ALGERIA | ALGIERS | 123565 | 45.84% |
| France | ALGERIA | ORAN | 75742 | 54.17% |
| France | ALGERIA | ANNABA | 65836 | 48.69% |
| France | TUNISIA | TUNIS | 26604 | 15.94% |
| France | MOROCCO | FES | 20057 | 26.48% |
| France | IRAN | TEHERAN | 19816 | 33.04% |
| France | CHINA | SHANGHAI | 18025 | 7.39% |
| Portugal | ANGOLA | LUANDA | 17518 | 19.52% |
| Spain | ALGERIA | ALGIERS | 16739 | 28.14% |
| France | SENEGAL | DAKAR | 15665 | 36.31% |
| France | COTE D’IVOIRE | ABIDJAN | 15126 | 30.47% |
| France | CHINA | BEIJING | 14391 | 5.95% |
| Germany | IRAQ | ERBIL | 14100 | 54.98% |
| Spain | ALGERIA | ORAN | 13831 | 31.20% |
| Germany | TURKEY | ISTANBUL | 13804 | 10.98% |
| France | NIGERIA | LAGOS | 12963 | 50.79% |
| France | EGYPT | CAIRO | 11941 | 19.85% |
| Germany | TURKEY | ANKARA | 11809 | 16.34% |
| Germany | IRAN | TEHERAN | 10985 | 20.48% |
| Spain | MOROCCO | NADOR | 10808 | 40.23% |
| France | INDIA | NEW DELHI | 10663 | 14.97% |
| Germany | CHINA | BEIJING | 9561 | 6.82% |
| Netherlands | IRAN | TEHERAN | 9354 | 32.96% |
| Italy | ALGERIA | ALGIERS | 9185 | 39.15% |
| France | MOROCCO | CASABLANCA | 9066 | 8.65% |
| Italy | IRAN | TEHERAN | 8948 | 27.30% |
| France | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | MOSCOW | 8798 | 2.33% |
| Italy | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | MOSCOW | 8720 | 1.88% |
| France | MOROCCO | AGADIR | 8672 | 26.53% |
| Switzerland | INDIA | NEW DELHI | 8529 | 5.28% |
| France | IRAQ | ERBIL | 8369 | 62.92% |
| Spain | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | SANTO DOMINGO | 8363 | 28.22% |
| France | MOROCCO | TANGER | 8297 | 18.43% |
| France | INDIA | MUMBAI | 8171 | 11.74% |
| Italy | INDIA | NEW DELHI | 7825 | 20.05% |
| Netherlands | GHANA | ACCRA | 7587 | 41.15% |
| Spain | IRAN | TEHERAN | 7581 | 32.65% |
| France | SAUDI ARABIA | JEDDAH | 7475 | 12.15% |
| Germany | KOSOVO | PRISTINA | 7431 | 22.84% |
| Spain | MOROCCO | TANGER | 7011 | 11.51% |
| Italy | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | DUBAI | 6709 | 22.43% |
| Spain | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | MOSCOW | 6563 | 1.36% |
| Germany | RUSSIAN FEDERATION | MOSCOW | 6434 | 3.22% |
| Portugal | CAPE VERDE | CIDADE DA PRAIA | 6394 | 33.54% |
| France | CHINA | GUANGZHOU (CANTON) | 6236 | 4.79% |
| Czech Republic | INDIA | NEW DELHI | 6219 | 23.31% |
| Belgium | MOROCCO | CASABLANCA | 6111 | 47.41% |
| Switzerland | KOSOVO | PRISTINA | 6018 | 19.59% |
| Spain | MOROCCO | RABAT | 5992 | 25.67% |
