The war in Ukraine and the increasing cost of living everywhere in the world, continues to have no noticable effects in the interest of international travellers to visit Europe even in 2024.
A report by the European Travel Commission (ETC) published in early Maj this year shows that foreign arrivals to Europe marked a 7.2 per cent increase in the first quarter of the year alone, thus surpassing 2019 figures.
The early figures for 2024 reveal a positive outlook for European tourism this year. Consumer travel spending is set to rise notably across Europe, hitting record numbers in the coming months.
High Rejection Rates Discouraging Travelers From Applying for a Schengen Visa
The increase in the interest of travelers to visit Europe has also marked a spike up in the number of Schengen visa applications filed worldwide, with the Schengen consulates reporting a year-on-year increase of 37 per cent in 2023, compared to 2022.
This means that last year, the Schengen countries received 10.3 million Schengen visa applications. A total of 8.5 million were granted a positive response, with an average rejection rate of 16 per cent.
France was once again the top country with most applications received (2,625,846), though the same had a rejection rate above the average, at 16.7 per cent.
These high rejection rates have been called discouraging by many travellers who wish to visit Europe.
Defne Çelik, a 27-year-old architect based in Istanbul claims she’s been twice rejected last year, after wishing to travel throughout Europe with a large group of friends.
We wanted to visit several cities in different countries in Europe in the same trip, like a Euro trip. It didn’t quite matter which ones, as none of us had ever been to Europe before. However, while some of my friends got the visa on their first try, others in the second, me and some others were rejected twice.
She also explains that at first they had all applied at the German embassy, while the second time, those who were rejected first, applied at the Spanish embassy, as they were planning to cover both countries in their Euro trip.
Top 10 Schengen Countries With Which Travelers Have the Lowest Chance of Being Rejected
Like Defne, many travellers point out that their applications are being rejected even more than once, thus diminishing their hopes to ever visit Europe.
However, those who are determined to holiday somewhere in Europe, and those for whom it is not very important where they start their Euro trip, are suggested to apply at the consulates of the European countries that have lower rejection rates and start their trip there as they are the easiest Schengen visas to obtain.
According to data, the easiest visas to apply for in 2024 and their rejection rates are as follows:
- Iceland with a rejection rate as low as 2.2 per cent
- Switzerland – 10.7 per cent
- Latvia – 11.7 per cent
- Italy – 12 per cent
- Luxembourg – 12.7 per cent
- Lithuania – 12.8 per cent
- Slovakia – 12.9 per cent
- Germany – 14.3 per cent
- Austria – 14.3 per cent
- Greece – 14.7 per cent
Besart Bajrami, founder of VisaGuide.News advises that travellers should never on purpose apply at the visa application centre of one country, without the intention of visiting it.
Those who apply for a visa at a particular country without the intention of visiting it, and instead, try to visit another, should be aware that this phenomenon is called ‘visa shopping’ and is highly condemned by the Member States.
He instead, advises travellers who wish to visit Europe to apply at the visa centres of one of these ten countries, and to make sure to visit the visa-issuing country during the first trip.
You can always visit other countries with that same Schengen visa, just make sure that the country issuing the visa will be your primary destination.
Contrary to these ten countries some of the Schengen states that should be avoided for those wishing to lower the risk of having their visas rejected are Malta, with a 37.6 per cent rejection rate, Estonia – 33.1 per cent and Belgium – 26.5 per cent.