The European Commission has published its latest statistics on short-stay visa applications, showing a steady recovery in demand for travel to the EU and Schengen associated countries.
Schengen Visa: Applications on the Rise
In 2024, EU and Schengen states consulates worldwide received more than 11.7 million applications for short-stay visas. This marks a 13.6% increase compared to 2023 (10.3 million) and a significant 56% rise from 2022 (7.5 million).
Despite the growth, the numbers remain below the 17 million applications recorded in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
An important development in 2024 was that Bulgaria and Romania began issuing Schengen visas, instead of national ones, as of 31 March 2024.
Number of Shengen Visas Issued
Of the total applications, more than 9.7 million visas were granted in 2024. This represents a 14.1% increase compared to 2023 (8.5 million), though still lower than the 15 million visas issued in 2019.
Notably, more than half of these visas were multiple-entry, allowing travelers to enter the Schengen area several times within the visa’s validity. In addition, 85,119 visas were issued directly at external borders.
Countries with the Most Applications
Demand varied globally, with the highest number of applications coming from:
- China: 1,779,255 (up from 1,117,365 in 2023)
- Türkiye: 1,173,917 (1,055,885 in 2023)
- India: 1,108,239 (966,687 in 2023)
- Morocco: 606,800 (591,401 in 2023)
- Russia: 606,594 (520,387 in 2023)
Refusal Rates
Globally, the refusal rate declined slightly to 14.8% in 2024, compared to 16% in 2023 and 17.9% in 2022.
However, the data show notable variations across countries:
- Russia: 7.5% (down from 10.6% in 2023)
- Türkiye: 14.5% (16.1% in 2023)
- Iran: 26% (30.3% in 2023)
- Mauritania: 32.5% (36.6% in 2023)
- Cape Verde: 13.4% (24% in 2023)
- Syria: 27% (46% in 2023)
- Nigeria: 45.9% (up from 40.8% in 2023)
- Ecuador: 29.6% (24.4% in 2023)
- Senegal: 46.8% (42.1% in 2023)
- Bangladesh: 54.9% (43.3% in 2023)
- Congo: 43% (35.3% in 2023)
These disparities highlight how visa issuance continues to vary significantly depending on the applicant’s country of origin.
