Visa refusal rates 2025: Schengen visa rejection rate by country, and UK refusal rates

Official figures from the European Commission and the UK Home Office: how many visa applications were not issued, by destination, by the country where people applied and by nationality. Also: Australia, New Zealand and Canada by nationality.

Official files · downloaded 15 October 2026Schengen 2025 · UK to Q2 2026

74 countries with at least 10,000 Schengen visa applications in 2025. Each page shows the rate for every Schengen country and consulate, the easiest and hardest countries, and the UK refusal rate (visitor, study and work visas) where available.

Schengen short-stay visas2025

All Schengen countries · all consulates · 2025: 14.6% of decisions were visas not issued

12,201,026applications

10,265,942uniform visas issued

1,768,605not issued

−0.1 ptschange on 2024 (14.8%)

Lowest rate in 2025: Slovakia (9.6%). Highest: Malta (38.4%). Rates depend a lot on where each country's consulates are, so compare a country with others in the same place (see the country pages).

Source: European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2025 (XLSX, downloaded on 15 October 2026); European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2024 (XLSX, downloaded on 15 October 2026). Short-stay (Schengen) visas, calendar year. All years on the Commission website.

Statistics, not advice. These are official figures for all applications made in a past period. They cannot predict the decision on your application, and a lower rate does not make a visa easier for you: you must apply to the Schengen country where you will spend the most time (or, for equal stays, the one you enter first), at the consulate responsible for the place where you legally live. Always follow the consulate's official requirements.

Schengen visa rejection rate by country (2025)

All 28 Schengen countries that process visas (Liechtenstein is represented by Switzerland). Tap a column heading to sort.


France	14.2%	15.8%	3,105,356	2,646,866	440,758
Spain	14.6%	15.7%	1,713,550	1,396,760	238,993
Germany	13.1%	13.7%	1,497,619	1,288,597	195,222
Italy	10.8%	10.9%	1,326,876	1,182,665	144,181
Netherlands	17.7%	15.5%	746,011	607,324	131,072
Greece	14.5%	13.2%	704,973	596,646	101,237
Switzerland	12.5%	11.3%	619,323	538,341	77,371
Hungary	13.0%	12.8%	265,479	228,385	34,060
Belgium	26.1%	24.6%	263,617	190,296	67,376
Portugal	23.3%	11.3%	253,108	194,381	59,254
Austria	11.9%	13.7%	250,112	213,694	29,079
Sweden	23.3%	24.0%	190,881	143,744	43,794
Denmark	21.7%	23.7%	186,130	139,649	38,652
Norway	15.7%	12.8%	181,112	152,671	28,441
Bulgaria	12.5%	9.4%	179,402	152,236	21,775
Czech Republic	14.2%	15.8%	172,788	147,943	24,532
Poland	15.8%	17.2%	109,483	91,761	17,382
Finland	13.4%	15.2%	90,463	77,543	12,101
Iceland	13.8%	6.6%	67,380	57,743	9,271
Romania	11.5%	9.4%	54,100	47,776	6,209
Malta	38.4%	38.5%	54,037	33,140	20,655
Croatia	18.5%	19.3%	43,432	34,053	7,837
Lithuania	14.4%	14.1%	42,543	35,585	6,025
Slovenia	21.4%	24.5%	20,279	15,348	4,316
Latvia	12.3%	10.9%	19,222	16,677	2,379
Slovakia	9.6%	9.9%	18,033	15,988	1,729
Luxembourg	14.7%	12.7%	13,889	11,244	1,964
Estonia	24.6%	27.2%	11,828	8,886	2,940

Schengen visa rejection rate by country where people apply (2025)

The 74 countries with at least 10,000 applications. Tap a column heading to sort, or type to filter.

Filter countries


China	4.0%	4.6%	1,915,149	76,655
Türkiye	14.6%	14.5%	1,268,376	183,196
India	15.8%	15.0%	1,153,748	181,111
Russia	6.4%	7.5%	679,425	42,953
Morocco	19.2%	20.1%	619,827	114,320
Saudi Arabia	5.2%	5.9%	553,967	28,467
United Kingdom	10.5%	6.9%	512,426	53,398
Algeria	31.3%	35.0%	444,577	137,860
United Arab Emirates	24.2%	23.8%	298,064	71,261
Thailand	5.9%	6.2%	264,190	15,544
Philippines	6.9%	6.1%	235,674	16,245
Egypt	24.2%	25.7%	226,865	54,354
Indonesia	5.2%	4.3%	223,862	11,504
South Africa	5.3%	5.7%	195,946	10,203
Tunisia	19.6%	21.7%	188,579	36,673
United States	4.9%	4.0%	187,033	9,194
Kazakhstan	9.1%	9.0%	182,002	16,294
Belarus	2.3%	3.5%	157,028	3,652
Kuwait	5.7%	6.7%	146,194	8,278
Lebanon	17.3%	16.9%	120,364	20,412
Vietnam	9.4%	10.8%	116,289	10,916
Nigeria	47.9%	45.9%	113,359	53,196
Armenia	10.9%	12.3%	111,550	12,081
Iran	29.1%	26.0%	107,512	30,554
Ecuador	30.9%	29.6%	106,167	31,878
Azerbaijan	9.8%	9.7%	104,143	10,130
Qatar	15.1%	15.9%	102,930	15,341
Pakistan	45.9%	47.5%	89,270	40,026
Côte d'Ivoire	31.5%	33.8%	81,886	25,969
Kenya	33.1%	29.1%	77,760	25,227
Jordan	21.4%	21.4%	73,264	15,538
Angola	45.4%	28.9%	72,766	32,712
Senegal	51.9%	46.8%	71,923	36,980
Iraq	34.3%	34.0%	70,312	23,692
Ghana	46.5%	45.5%	63,725	29,354
Uzbekistan	16.3%	15.2%	61,328	9,983
Cameroon	40.3%	38.1%	57,469	22,951
Oman	10.5%	9.7%	53,700	5,566
Dominican Republic	26.6%	27.8%	52,063	13,525
DR Congo	40.1%	29.9%	52,048	20,508
Canada	9.0%	5.0%	43,982	3,914
Libya	15.6%	19.2%	43,701	6,821
Singapore	5.1%	4.2%	39,226	1,997
Bangladesh	54.5%	54.9%	38,642	20,918
Cuba	21.8%	19.6%	38,585	8,101
Israel	18.5%	16.8%	31,500	5,718
Kyrgyzstan	11.0%	14.3%	30,843	3,367
Ireland	3.1%	1.8%	30,696	931
Cape Verde	21.4%	13.4%	27,598	5,889
Ethiopia	34.0%	36.1%	26,166	8,657
Republic of the Congo	48.7%	43.0%	25,693	12,266
Sri Lanka	29.1%	35.4%	25,663	7,431
Mauritania	37.0%	32.5%	25,265	8,618
Bahrain	10.7%	10.8%	25,110	2,681
Guinea	52.1%	41.1%	22,335	11,531
Mongolia	14.9%	17.0%	21,997	3,276
Mozambique	14.0%	7.5%	21,695	3,026
Suriname	12.1%	16.9%	21,281	2,571
Uganda	36.8%	35.7%	20,691	7,514
Serbia	5.7%	6.3%	19,656	1,116
Australia	3.0%	3.1%	19,163	576
Gabon	29.2%	26.5%	17,270	5,043
Madagascar	29.9%	31.2%	16,489	5,048
Japan	5.8%	5.3%	16,369	920
Bolivia	43.4%	42.1%	16,230	7,191
Tanzania	19.3%	20.1%	16,227	3,117
Hong Kong	2.8%	2.6%	15,954	439
Benin	30.0%	25.1%	15,364	4,611
Cambodia	17.6%	15.7%	14,228	2,478
Cyprus	5.1%	7.5%	12,980	641
Mali	42.5%	42.9%	11,336	4,716
Georgia	13.8%	14.2%	10,642	1,451
Togo	40.2%	36.5%	10,427	4,148
Equatorial Guinea	32.5%	28.6%	10,139	3,045

Easiest Schengen visa, by country where you apply (2025)

"Which Schengen country has the lowest rejection rate for applicants from my country?" For the 45 countries where at least 8 Schengen countries decided 500+ applications, a page ranks every country and consulate from the lowest not-issued rate. Rates describe past decisions, not your chances.

The other 33 rankings are linked from each country page.

Multiple-entry Schengen visas (2025)

In 2025, 51.7% of the 10,265,942 uniform visas issued were multiple-entry visas (52.2% in 2024). Which Schengen countries issue them most often, and the share in each country where people apply: multiple-entry Schengen visas by country (2025). The file does not say how long the visas were valid for.

Living in the UK or the UAE?

Rates at the Schengen consulates where you live, with the fee in pounds or dirhams, the insurance and the money to show for each country: Schengen visa from the UK (10.5% not issued in 2025) · Schengen visa from Dubai and the UAE (24.2%).

UK visitor visa refusal rate by nationality

The 12 nationalities with the most UK visitor visa decisions from July 2025 to June 2026. All nationalities, with student and work visa refusal rates.

Nationality	Refusal rate	Decisions	Refused
India	17.8%	626,147	111,749
China	7.7%	513,734	39,695
Turkey	10.3%	272,934	28,040
Nigeria	37.7%	168,745	63,558
Pakistan	43.2%	150,925	65,175
South Africa	4.4%	74,412	3,270
Russia	6.8%	55,498	3,786
Ukraine	6.5%	52,802	3,428
Philippines	15.0%	51,374	7,726
Thailand	11.6%	49,470	5,733
Ghana	42.4%	46,282	19,639
Indonesia	10.4%	41,427	4,328

Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026). Refusal rate = refused ÷ (granted + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate; withdrawn and lapsed applications are excluded. Figures from 2026 Q1 are provisional.

Australia, New Zealand and Canada

Refusal and approval rates by nationality from the immigration authorities of Australia (student and visitor visas), New Zealand (visitor, student and work visas) and Canada (temporary residents). Each country defines its rate differently: the notes on each page say how.

Australia: student visa refusal rate by nationality20.7% refused in 2025-26 · 43 nationalities New Zealand: visitor, student and work visas11.3% of visitor visas declined in 2025/26 Canada: temporary resident approval rate by country59.6% approved in 2025

Travel medical insurance

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SafetyWing sells travel medical insurance for travellers and nomads online. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Buying insurance does not change the decision on your visa, and we do not know whether a given consulate accepts a given policy: check before you pay.

What these numbers mean

Schengen (European Commission)

Source: the Commission's yearly "Visa statistics for consulates", which every Schengen country must report under Article 46 of the Visa Code. Latest year: 2025; we also show 2024 for comparison. The next file (year 2026) is usually published in spring.
Not issued means refused, plus applications whose examination was discontinued (Commission metadata). We use the Commission's own formula: not issued ÷ (uniform visas issued + visas with limited territorial validity + not issued). Applications and decisions in a year do not match exactly, because some decisions fall in the next year.
By the country where the application was made, not by nationality. The figures for "India" are applications lodged at consulates or visa centres in India, which also include residents of other nationalities.
Short-stay visas only (up to 90 days in any 180 days): tourism, business, family visits. Long-stay national visas (work, study, residence) are not included.

United Kingdom (Home Office)

Source: the Home Office's quarterly entry clearance visa datasets, by nationality. We use the latest four quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) and the four before.
Refusal rate = refused ÷ (granted + refused); withdrawn and lapsed applications are left out, as in the Home Office grant rate.

Australia, New Zealand and Canada

Australia: Department of Home Affairs monthly student visa file (BP0015, refused ÷ granted + refused, by citizenship, financial years July–June) and six-monthly visitor visa report (grant rates for the largest groups).
New Zealand: Immigration New Zealand monthly PDFs of visitor, student and work visa applications approved and declined by nationality; INZ's "declined" includes withdrawn applications.
Canada: IRCC monthly files of temporary resident applications processed and approved by source country (visitor visas, study and work permits together). IRCC does not publish both numbers for study permits or visitor visas alone, so we show no refusal rate for them.
We show a rate only where there were at least 500 decisions in the latest full year.

United States

The US Department of State publishes a yearly B visa refusal rate by nationality, but its website could not be reached by our checks on 15 October 2026. We publish only figures we can download from the official source and check, so there are no US figures here.

Checks

Our script downloads the official files, recalculates every rate and checks it against the rate printed in the Commission's file, and checks the UK totals against the Home Office's published summary table. Every table on these pages shows its source and the date we downloaded it.

Schengen countries

Official sources

Visa statistics for consulates 2025 – European Commission, XLSX (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx), downloaded on 15 October 2026
Visa statistics for consulates 2024 – European Commission, XLSX, downloaded on 15 October 2026
Short-stay visas issued by Schengen countries (all years and metadata) – European Commission, page updated on 28 May 2026
Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 – Home Office, XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applying for a Schengen visa – European Commission, checked on 15 October 2026
BP0015 Student visa grant rates at 2026-09-30 – Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, data.gov.au, downloaded on 26 October 2026, CC BY 2.5 AU
Immigration statistics – Immigration New Zealand, PDFs downloaded on 26 October 2026, Crown copyright, CC BY 3.0 NZ
Operational Processing – Monthly IRCC Updates – IRCC, downloaded on 26 October 2026. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.

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