The Easiest Country to Get a Schengen Visa: What Official Data Says

While no two visa applications are identical, all applicants want the same thing: approval. This means that most applicants spend time thinking about whether or not their visa application will be approved and what their “odds” of approval even are. It can be a sensitive topic because a visa refusal means a canceled trip. 

Many travelers look to official data and statistics to get an idea about their likelihood of approval, but it really isn’t as clear-cut as that. We’ll explain why.

This guide will discuss why Schengen visa rejection statistics, however accurate, aren’t a good indicator of your chances of getting a visa. It will also present the latest official European Commission data on Schengen visa rejection rates by country, drawn from the DG HOME statistics released on May 28, 2026. This is the most recent complete dataset covering 2025. 

Each year, the European Commission releases a new dataset for the previous year. The 2026 calendar year data won't be available until the year is over, sometime in the spring of 2027.

Schengen visa rejection rates by country: the latest official overview

The European Commission released its official 2025 Schengen visa statistics in May 2026. This remains the most recent complete dataset currently available.

Overall, the approval numbers for 2025 show a recovery in travel from the 2020 pandemic, but growth has slowed down since the previous year. Schengen consulates received 11.9 million short-stay visa applications globally. This is a 1.8% increase from 2024. The year prior (2023), we saw a 13.6% jump up, and the year before that 56%. While still increasing, growth has slowed down over the past four years.

Of those, 1.7 million applications were rejected. In 2025, the overall Schengen visa rejection rate averaged 14.8% globally. This is the same rejection rate as 2024, but a 16% decline from 2023, and 17.9% from 2022.

Visa applicants may feel inclined to look at this number (14.8%) and think ok, I have around an 85% chance of approval. However, the global average hides massive disparities. 14.8% is a global average, meaning Schengen countries have averages of their own across consulates. Some Schengen countries reject fewer than 1 in 14 applications. Others reject nearly 4 in 10.

It gets even more nuanced than that, too. But don't worry, we will go over all of it.

Countries with the lowest Schengen visa rejection rates (under 10%)

According to the most recent dataset, only one country's refusal rate fell under 10%: Slovakia. This is a big change from 2024, when Romania, Bulgaria, Iceland, and Slovakia fell under that metric.

Three countries were close, with refusal rates under twelve. Italy, Romania, and Austria.

In 2024, Iceland saw the lowest visa refusal rate (6.6%). This year, that rate has more than doubled -- it's 13.8%. It's the first time in several years that Iceland's rejection rate wasn't the lowest in the zone.

Countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates (above 20%)

On the opposite end of the data, Malta saw the highest Schengen visa rejection rate at 38.4%. Out of the 54,037 applications received, 20,655 were rejected. Belgium followed with a 26.1% rejection rate (67,376 refusals out of 263,617 applications). Estonia, Portugal, and Sweden also had higher rates of refusal, above 23%.

Mid-range: where most Schengen countries fall

Most Schengen member countries have rejection rates between 10 and 20 percent. For instance, out of the 1.49 million applications Germany processed, 13.1% were denied. Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic also fall in the middle of the pack. Their rejection rates range from 14 to nearly 16 percent. Each of them falls around the global average.

France and Spain receive more Schengen visa applications than any other member country, and both sit right around the global average when it comes to rejections. France refused 440,758 of its 3,105,216 applications (that's 14.2%, which is a 10% lower refusal rate than last year). Spain rejected 14.6% of its.

There aren’t any real patterns around country popularity and refusal. 

Country-by-country rejection rate table (latest official data)

This table is a complete breakdown of official Schengen visa rejection rates, country-by-country. These rates come from the European Commission DG HOME data (published May 28, 2026 for the 2025 reference year. As of mid-2026, it is still the most recent public data available).

Each of these is also an average across consulates all over the world. For example, Spain’s average rejection rate is 14.6% across the board. Its rejection rates also vary by consulate. For instance, the Spanish Consulate in Quito, Ecuador, has a 32.6% average rejection rate. In Cape Town, South Africa? The rejection rate is 2.3%. Both are very different than the 14.6% average listed in the chart above. You can see why it's an average.

How rejection rates vary across Schengen countries: latest trends

The data shows something that we, and other travel experts, have been saying all along: international travel is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year since the pandemic, the global number of Schengen visa applications received has increased. That said, the growth has slowed down.

Another trend is a plateau in visa application rejections. At 14.8% in 2024 and now 2025 too, it remains at the lowest level it has been in the past few years. In the coming years, especially with the 2026 data (which won’t be available until mid-2027), we will be able to see what happens to overall Schengen visa application volumes and refusals with the EES rollout. 

Changes affecting Schengen visa decisions in 2026

There are a couple of European developments that could have an impact on the Schengen visa environment. Travelers who are planning to apply for a Schengen visa in the next year should just be aware of these changes. 

The Entry/Exit System (EES) 

EES, short for Entry/Exit System, had a progressive rollout across Schengen external borders starting in October 2025. The complete launch was April 12, 2026, but there have been a few road bumps, resulting in some border crossings being postponed or temporarily paused. 

Even still, EES is a new biometric entry system that isn’t going anywhere. When a third-country national enters the Schengen area, the new border process (EES) records their entry and exit. This includes travelers holding Schengen visas. 

EES allows consulates and border police access to far more granular travel history data, including precise records of past stays and any overstays. Both of which can have the potential to influence future Schengen visa application decisions. 

Increased visa fees and costs

In June of 2024, the Schengen visa application fee rose from 80 euros to 90 per adult. Children’s fees increased from 40 to 45 euros per applicant. Oftentimes, these aren’t the only fees that applicants need to pay. 

Many applicants are required to apply for a Schengen visa through a partnering visa application center, such as TLScontact, BLS International, or VFS Global. The exact visa processor depends on the country you are applying from and your destination country. When a visa application center is part of your application process, there are additional fees that have to be paid, and they’re usually non-refundable (the same is true for the visa application fee itself).

Which Schengen countries have the lowest visa refusal rate?

Listed in the table above, you can see rejection rates by country. As detailed, different countries have different refusal rates. 

As another reminder, Schengen visa rejection rates are averages, and they don’t accurately reflect an applicant’s real odds of getting approved. 

The 5 Schengen countries with the lowest visa refusal rate

Based on the latest European Commission data, here are the five countries with the lowest Schengen visa rejection rates. 

Slovakia has the lowest visa rejection rate at 9.6%. Italy and Romania came in second, at 11.3% and 11.5%. Next is Austria at 11.9% and Latvia at 12.3%.

Which Schengen countries have the highest visa refusal rates?

Also visible in the table above in this guide, some countries have higher global rejection rates than others. Whether a country’s rejection rate average is high or low isn’t a reliable indicator as to whether or not your application will be approved.

The 5 Schengen countries with the highest visa refusal rate

In 2025, Malta had the highest visa rejection rate out of all Schengen countries, at 38.5 percent. More than a third of applicants were denied, which is 2.5 times higher than the global average. 

Belgium was the second highest when it came to Schengen visa application rejections at 26.1 percent. Estonia followed with 24.6%, then Portugal and Sweden both at 23.3%.

In 2025, the Schengen area issued 10 million visas, up from 2024's 9.7 million.

Consulate location and Schengen visa applications

For visa rejections, there’s a global average. Then, there’s the by-country average, which you saw in the table above. In addition to the by-country average, there is also a by-consulate average. 

Looking at France, for instance, applicants who applied for a French Schengen visa in China had an average rejection rate of 6.2%. That’s 56% lower than 14.2%, France’s global average for refusals. Those who applied in India almost hit the average: 15.1% denied. 

Applicants in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the US, Taiwan, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Ireland, and several other countries had rejection rates lower than 5% for France. 

On the other hand, still looking at France specifically, some countries saw rejection rates higher than France’s global average. Togo, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Rwanda, Pakistan, and other countries had rejection rates higher than 30%. Bangladesh was the highest at 47.3%. 

Whether or not a visa gets approved or denied isn’t dependent on the country you’re applying from – there are a lot more factors than that, like seasonality, global affairs, visa type, and application strength.

Top 10 countries with the highest Schengen visa refusal rates

Based on European Commission data, these countries have the highest rejection rates across all destinations. The metrics in this table are global, meaning they reflect all consulates for all Schengen countries in the country in question. Rejection rates vary based on the country of destination, too, so these averages need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Top 10 countries with the highest approval rates

Some countries have higher approval rates more regularly than others. Still, it can vary from consulate to consulate and destination to destination. Looking outside of Europe,

Saint Lucia and Liberia had 100% approval rates, though their application volumes are low (under 300). The same is true for Nicaragua.

Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela all had approval rates above 98%.

Vanuatu's was 97.9 percent, Hong Kong's 97.25%, and Namibia at 97.03%.

The US also has a higher approval rating at 95.0%, but it’s not in the top 10. It’s interesting to break the numbers down even further. 

US citizens, for example, do not need Schengen visas as they are visa-exempt for short stays in the zone. Still, many legal residents live in the States who do need Schengen visas.

6,330 people submitted Schengen visa applications in the US for Greece, of those, only 25 were denied. That is an approval rate of 99.6%.

On the other hand, out of the 195 people who applied for Schengen visas for Estonia from the States, 82 were denied. This is a 57.95% approval rate.

While the rejection rate for applicants globally, in the US is about 5%, it doesn't mean everyone who applies has a 95% chance of approval.

Why do rejection rates differ between Schengen countries?

When a Schengen visa application is assessed, there are many factors that visa authorities look at. After all, if you know anything about Schengen visa applications, you know that they require several documents that provide specific information. 

This is another reason why you shouldn’t use public rejection rates as a way to guess your odds. Whether or not a visa application is approved or denied depends on many different moving pieces, not necessarily the country or consulate you applied in. 

Application volume and embassy capacity

While every Schengen country is held to specific standards, each of them is a different size, has a different economy, tourism rates, and popularity. Different countries may have limited staff and budgets, or more systemized vetting workflows that were designed to handle high volumes regularly. Application volumes and embassy capacity can impact the visa application process. 

Financial capabilities

There’s a list of Schengen visa requirements that all applicants have to fill in order to be eligible to receive a visa. One of these is financial status. Schengen countries can be very expensive relative to other countries around the world. Paris, France, for example, is one of the most expensive cities in Europe. There are minimum financial requirements that must be proven, and this can be a hurdle for some. 

Irregular migration risks

Only visa authorities at the consular services of an Embassy can decide whether or not an application is approved. One of the things that visa officials look out for is irregular immigration risk. Short-stay Schengen visas are for that: short stays. They are temporary. Visa officials don’t approve visa applications that they see are a risk for irregular migration (such as an applicant intending to overstay their visa). 

Access to official documentation

The Schengen area is very strict about the type of proof they’ll accept for things like proof of funds and other important documents. Bank statements, employment contracts, and compliant insurance are just some of the documents applicants are required to provide. On top of that, some Schengen countries require official translations and notaries, too.

Completed files

In order to be eligible for approval, you have to meet every single requirement fully. Even if you do meet them, it still doesn’t mean approval is guaranteed. 

According to the European union, the main reason for the variation that we see from country to country is due to the varying consular networks and higher migratory risk. 

“The variation in refusal rates between Member States is explained by the different consular networks, with some Member States receiving the vast majority of visa applications in countries with low migratory or security risk and a consequently low refusal rate. Other Member States receive more applications in countries with higher migratory risk, leading to a higher refusal rate.” - Commission Staff Working Document, amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas

How to strengthen your Schengen visa application

Rejection rate data shouldn’t be used to gauge your own chances of approval. As we’ve detailed, there really are many different factors that go into the embassy’s final decision. And, as you can see, rejection rates are incredibly nuanced. If your visa is denied, you can check out what the next steps are in our visa rejection guide. 

If your main destination has a higher refusal rate

Regardless of average rejection rates, the best thing that you can do is present a complete application that includes all of the required information. You can learn more about Schengen visa requirements here. You will need to include official documents like bank statements and pay stubs, your flight itinerary, compliant travel insurance meeting specific criteria, and more. Applications that don’t meet the requirements get rejected. 

Pay attention to formatting

When you are preparing all of your documents to submit with your application, make sure that you follow any and all formatting instructions you receive. For example, if you’re going to be staying with a family member, you may need specific documents from them, like their proof of legal residence, contracts, and even, at times, notarized letters. This is just one example. Pay close attention to this.

Do not “visa shop”

It is never recommended to "visa shop". Sometimes this is called consulate shopping. Visa shopping is applying to a country you will not actually visit, or applying for different countries to “increase” your odds of approval. Under Article 32 of the EU Visa Code, visa shopping is forbidden, and your visa application(s) will not be approved.

Frequently asked questions about Schengen visa rejection rates