In 2024, Schengen countries faced a high number of visa applications, with a total of 11.7 million. Notably, almost 1.7 million of these applications were rejected, representing an overall refusal rate of 14.8%. Statistics provided by SchengenVisaInfo show significant differences in refusal rates between countries, with Malta standing out as the country with the highest refusal rate, especially when compared to countries like Iceland.
While the top ten countries most likely to have visas rejected largely mirror the 2023 list, there has been an overall increase in refusal rates. Malta tops the list with over 16,000 applications rejected, representing the highest refusal rate in 2024, namely 38.5%, representing 16,905 refusals out of 45,578 applications received. Estonia came in second with a 27.2% failure rate, followed by Belgium with a 24.6% failure rate. Slovenia and Sweden also showed high failure rates, 24.5% and 24% respectively. The full list of the top ten countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates in 2024:
-Malta (38.5%)
-Estonia (27.2%)
-Belgium (24.6%)
-Slovenia (24.5%)
-Sweden (24%)
-Denmark (23.7%)
-Croatia — 42,165 applications, 8,003 rejected (19.3% rejection rate)
-Poland — 111,538 applications, 19,277 rejected (17.2% rejection rate)
-France — 3 million applications, 481,139 rejected (15.8% rejection rate)
-Czech Republic — 150,629 applications, 23,735 rejected (15.8% rejection rate)
On the other hand, the citizens with the highest rates Among the countries most frequently rejected for Schengen visas in 2024 were citizens of Bangladesh and Pakistan, with some of these applicants having refusal rates exceeding 62%.
While the top ten countries most likely to have visas rejected largely mirror the 2023 list, there has been an overall increase in refusal rates. Malta tops the list with over 16,000 applications rejected, representing the highest refusal rate in 2024, namely 38.5%, representing 16,905 refusals out of 45,578 applications received. Estonia came in second with a 27.2% failure rate, followed by Belgium with a 24.6% failure rate. Slovenia and Sweden also showed high failure rates, 24.5% and 24% respectively. The full list of the top ten countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates in 2024:
-Malta (38.5%)
-Estonia (27.2%)
-Belgium (24.6%)
-Slovenia (24.5%)
-Sweden (24%)
-Denmark (23.7%)
-Croatia — 42,165 applications, 8,003 rejected (19.3% rejection rate)
-Poland — 111,538 applications, 19,277 rejected (17.2% rejection rate)
-France — 3 million applications, 481,139 rejected (15.8% rejection rate)
-Czech Republic — 150,629 applications, 23,735 rejected (15.8% rejection rate)
On the other hand, the citizens with the highest rates Among the countries most frequently rejected for Schengen visas in 2024 were citizens of Bangladesh and Pakistan, with some of these applicants having refusal rates exceeding 62%.