These 4 Countries Were Most Likely to Reject a Schengen Visa Application in 2022
Newly released data by Schengen Visa Statistics show that Malta tops the table when it comes to the largest share of visa applications rejected, which is as high as 36.4 per cent for the consulates and visa centers of this country.
While the share of rejection rate is high for Malta, a number of negative decisions made is quite low compared to other countries, as the number of applications filed at the Maltese authorities abroad was low too.
The country rejected 7,915 applications out of 22,275 received, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Second is listed Sweden, with 29 per cent of applications rejected, or 38,652 out of 135,946 applications. Belgium comes third with 28.4 applications rejected, or 46,569 out of 171,966, followed by France, which is the country with the highest number of negative decisions taken on Schengen visa applications filed in 2022.
The French authorities abroad turned down a total of 408,876 applications last year, which due to the almost two million applications this country received (1,918,515), its rejection rate is set at 22.2 per cent, or the fourth highest in the entire Schengen Area.
The overall rejection rate for the Schengen Area in 2022 was 17.9 per cent.
Taking into account solely the number of rejected applications and not the rate, the list would be as follows:
- France – with 408,876 applications rejected
- Spain – 227,712
- Germany – 167,517
- Italy – 92,186
- Netherlands – 70,566
Last year, on the other hand, the rejection rate was quite lower, at only 13.4 per cent, and the countries contributing most to it were Sweden with a rejection rate of 30.6 per cent, Norway with 26.2 per cent, Denmark and France with 21.1 per cent each, and Belgium with 20.4 per cent.
According to AtoZSerwisPlus.com, there are 12 most common reasons why the Schengen countries reject visa applications, with some of the main being insufficient proof of financial means for a trip, lack of travel insurance for Schengen Zone, or not having obtained the right one, presenting an invalid passport, or having a criminal past.
The third countries in the territory of which the Schengen countries rejected the highest number of visas are as follows:
- Algeria – 48.2 per cent
- Nigeria – 45.6 per cent
- Sri Lanka – 44.2 per cent
- Ghana – 44.2 per cent
- Haiti – 43.2 per cent
In many of third countries, Spain, and in particular France, are the Schengen countries that rejected for the highest number of applications in 2022.
