Easiest Schengen visa from South Africa (2025): countries with the lowest refusal rate
Which Schengen country has the lowest rejection rate for South African applicants? Official 2025 figures from the European Commission for every Schengen country and consulate that decided at least 500 applications made in South Africa, ranked from the lowest not-issued rate to the highest. Rates describe past decisions, not your chances.
Lowest not-issued rate · applications made in South Africa · 2025: Greece: 1.8% not issued (228 of 12,689 decisions)
Rates are by the country where the application was made, not by passport: these are all applications lodged in South Africa. Full figures, consulate by consulate and the UK: Schengen visa rejection rate South Africa 2025.
Source: European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2025 (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.
Lowest and highest refusal rates for South African applicants (2025)
The 5 Schengen countries with the lowest not-issued rate and the 3 with the highest, among the 18 that decided at least 500 applications made in South Africa.
Lowest refusal rates
- 1Greece12,689 decisions1.8%
- 2Spain21,066 decisions2.3%
- 3Czech Republic2,673 decisions2.7%
- 4Netherlands21,397 decisions3.0%
- 5Italy33,534 decisions3.0%
Highest refusal rates
- 1Croatia6,079 decisions21.9%
- 2Bulgaria633 decisions17.2%
- 3Switzerland8,223 decisions11.0%
A lower rate is not a guarantee, and you cannot choose freely. You must apply to the country of your main destination (or, for equal stays, the first you enter), at the consulate responsible for where you legally live: the rule is on the European Commission page on applying for a Schengen visa (checked on 15 October 2026). Rates describe past decisions, not your chances.
Source: European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2025 (XLSX, downloaded on 15 October 2026). Short-stay (Schengen) visas, calendar year. All years on the Commission website.
All Schengen countries ranked, applications made in South Africa (2025)
Countries with at least 500 decisions, from the lowest not-issued rate. Tap a column heading to sort. "Change" is in percentage points on 2024. Not ranked (fewer than 500 decisions): Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden; their figures are on the main South Africa page.
| 1 | Greece | 1.8% | 2.9% | −1.1 pts | 12,689 | 228 |
| 2 | Spain | 2.3% | 4.1% | −1.8 pts | 21,066 | 490 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 2.7% | 4.6% | −1.9 pts | 2,673 | 71 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 3.0% | 2.9% | no change | 21,397 | 637 |
| 5 | Italy | 3.0% | 3.5% | −0.5 pts | 33,534 | 1,007 |
| 6 | Germany | 3.5% | 5.3% | −1.8 pts | 24,683 | 853 |
| 7 | Austria | 3.7% | 5.7% | −2.1 pts | 5,496 | 201 |
| 8 | Hungary | 4.8% | 5.2% | −0.4 pts | 1,905 | 91 |
| 9 | Romania | 5.3% | 3.9% | +1.4 pts | 740 | 39 |
| 10 | Finland | 5.3% | 6.4% | −1.1 pts | 1,833 | 97 |
| 11 | Norway | 5.7% | 8.4% | −2.7 pts | 3,829 | 219 |
| 12 | Belgium | 6.2% | 6.1% | +0.1 pts | 4,664 | 288 |
| 13 | Portugal | 7.2% | 4.5% | +2.7 pts | 10,787 | 779 |
| 14 | Poland | 7.9% | 20.8% | −12.9 pts | 1,313 | 104 |
| 15 | France | 8.5% | 9.4% | −0.9 pts | 32,367 | 2,742 |
| 16 | Switzerland | 11.0% | 8.0% | +3.1 pts | 8,223 | 908 |
| 17 | Bulgaria | 17.2% | 10.7% | +6.5 pts | 633 | 109 |
| 18 | Croatia | 21.9% | 15.9% | +6.0 pts | 6,079 | 1,330 |
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.
Consulates in South Africa with the lowest refusal rates
Each consulate or visa section that decided at least 500 applications in 2025, from the lowest rate. Where a Schengen country is represented by another, the applications appear under the country that decided them.
| 1 | Greece | Cape Town | 0.5% | 5,190 | 26 |
| 2 | Spain | Cape Town | 2.3% | 10,822 | 246 |
| 3 | Italy | Cape Town | 2.3% | 11,893 | 277 |
| 4 | Spain | Pretoria | 2.4% | 10,244 | 244 |
| 5 | Czech Republic | Pretoria | 2.7% | 2,673 | 71 |
| 6 | Greece | Johannesburg | 2.7% | 7,499 | 202 |
| 7 | Netherlands | Pretoria | 3.0% | 21,329 | 636 |
| 8 | Italy | Johannesburg | 3.3% | 20,725 | 678 |
| 9 | Germany | Pretoria | 3.3% | 14,431 | 477 |
| 10 | Belgium | Cape Town | 3.5% | 1,696 | 60 |
| 11 | Austria | Pretoria | 3.7% | 5,496 | 201 |
| 12 | Germany | Cape Town | 3.7% | 10,252 | 376 |
| 13 | Portugal | Cape Town | 3.8% | 3,715 | 140 |
| 14 | Hungary | Pretoria | 4.8% | 1,905 | 91 |
| 15 | Romania | Pretoria | 5.3% | 740 | 39 |
| 16 | Finland | Pretoria | 5.3% | 1,833 | 97 |
| 17 | Italy | Pretoria | 5.7% | 916 | 52 |
| 18 | Norway | Pretoria | 5.7% | 3,829 | 219 |
| 19 | Belgium | Pretoria | 7.7% | 2,968 | 228 |
| 20 | Poland | Pretoria | 7.9% | 1,313 | 104 |
| 21 | France | Johannesburg | 8.5% | 32,367 | 2,742 |
| 22 | Portugal | Johannesburg | 9.0% | 7,072 | 639 |
| 23 | Switzerland | Pretoria | 11.0% | 8,223 | 908 |
| 24 | Bulgaria | Pretoria | 17.2% | 633 | 109 |
| 25 | Croatia | Pretoria | 21.9% | 6,079 | 1,330 |
Source: European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2025 (XLSX, downloaded on 15 October 2026). Short-stay (Schengen) visas, calendar year. All years on the Commission website.
Questions people ask
Which Schengen country has the lowest rejection rate for South African applicants?
In 2025, Greece had the lowest not-issued rate (1.8%) among the 18 Schengen countries that decided at least 500 applications made in South Africa. The next lowest were Spain (2.3%), Czech Republic (2.7%), Netherlands (3.0%).
Which Schengen country rejects the most applications from South Africa?
Croatia, with 21.9% of 6,079 decisions not issued in 2025, followed by Bulgaria (17.2%), Switzerland (11.0%).
Which Schengen visa is easiest to get from South Africa?
There is no 'easy' Schengen visa: every country applies the same Visa Code, and you must apply to the country of your main destination. The figures show that in 2025 consulates of Greece in South Africa issued visas to a larger share of applicants than consulates of Croatia, but each rate mixes different travellers, purposes and documents. Rates describe past decisions, not your chances.
Can I apply to the country with the lowest refusal rate?
Only if it is your main destination (where you will spend the most time) or, for equal stays, the first Schengen country you enter. Applying to a country you do not plan to visit mainly can itself lead to a refusal.
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What "easiest" means here
- Where you apply, not your passport. The Commission counts applications by the country where they were lodged: the figures for South Africa include residents of other nationalities, and leave out nationals of South Africa who applied elsewhere.
- Not issued = refused plus applications whose examination was discontinued, ÷ (uniform visas issued + visas with limited territorial validity + not issued): the formula in the Commission's file.
- Minimum 500 decisions. A consulate that decided 40 applications can swing from 5% to 30% in a year without anything changing; we rank only countries and consulates with enough decisions.
- If you are refused, the consulate must tell you why and how to appeal (European Commission). Full method: how we calculate the rates.
Easiest Schengen visa from other countries
Schengen visa rejection rate South Africa 2025: every country, consulate and the UK · Visa refusal rates by country · Visa income calculator