Schengen Visa Applications Surge to 11.7 Million in 2024, Rejections Drop Below 15%

A total of 11,716,723 Schengen visa applications were filed in 2024, marking a 13.5% increase from 2023’s 10.3 million. Despite this growth, application levels remain well below the pre-pandemic peak of nearly 17 million in 2019, according to Besart Bajrami, founder of Schengen Visa Info.

“Coronavirus is no longer the issue—restrictions are gone. But limitations on Russian citizens and high rejection rates are still holding back full recovery,”

— Besart Bajrami

Top Schengen Visa Destinations in 2024

France led globally with 3,072,728 applications and a 15.8% rejection rate.

Top applicants: Algerians (352,295), Moroccans (282,153), Indians (197,959)

Spain moved up to second with 1.6 million applications and a 15.7% rejection rate

Germany ranked third with 1.5 million applications and a 13.7% rejection rate

Chinese citizens topped applications to both Spain (254,571) and Germany (263,088)

Rejection Rate Falls to 14.8%

The overall Schengen visa rejection rate fell to 14.8% in 2024, down from 16% in 2023 and 17.9% in 2022.

Countries with the Most Rejected Applications:

France – 481,139

Spain – 244,432

Germany – 206,733

Italy – 134,303

Netherlands – 111,209

Countries with the Highest Rejection Rates:

Bangladesh – 54.9%

Pakistan – 47.5%

Guinea-Bissau – 47%

Senegal – 46.8%

Haiti – 46.3%

Malta, Belgium, and Sweden maintained the highest overall refusal shares among Schengen countries.