Getting a Schengen visa is the easiest at these countries

UAE residents planning to travel to Europe for the Eid Al Adha or summer holidays are having a tough time securing Schengen visa appointments. As reported by Gulf News earlier, appointment slots with most countries are already booked. Moreover, a high visa rejection rate by some Schengen area countries is having a dampening effect.

Meanwhile, Germany, a popular tourist destination that received over 1.5 million visa applications in 2024, rolling back its remonstration procedure for visa rejections worldwide. This means that candidates whose visa applications have been rejected will no longer be able to file an appeal.

While there are plenty of alternative destinations available, VFS Global has also shared some tips with us on how travellers can avoid last-minute surprises by planning ahead of time.

To further increase the chances of UAE residents securing a Schengen visa, Gulf News has put together a list of countries that have the lowest visa rejection rates.

The European Commission recently published figures showing that the consulates of EU countries and Schengen associated countries received more than 11.7 million applications for short-stay visas in 2024.

This is a 13.6 percent increase compared to 2023 (10.3 million) and a 56 percent increase compared to 2022 (7.5 million).

More than 9.7 million visas were issued in 2024, a 14.1 percent increase compared to 2023 (8.5 million) but still lower than in 2019 (15 million).

Iceland

The country with the lowest Schengen visa rejection rate is Iceland. The country received 35,413 visa applications in 2024, and rejected only 2,290 of those, resulting in a rejection rate of 6.6 percent.

Bulgaria and Romania

Next on the list are Bulgaria and Romania, both with a rejection rate of 9.4 percent. Bulgaria received 122,229 visa applications last year, and rejected 12,246. Meanwhile, Romania received 35,359 applications, of which 3,281 were turned down.

Slovakia

Slovakia comes next with a rejection rate of 9.9 percent. The country received 14,215 visa applications in 2024, of which 1,419 were rejected.

Italy

Italy, one of the most popular destinations in the Schengen area, received over 1.2 million applications last year, and turned down 134,303 of those, resulting in a rejection rate of 10.9 percent.

Latvia

Sharing the spot with Italy is Latvia. The country received 17,654 visa applications in 2024, and turned down 1,908 of those – a rejection rate of 10.9 percent.

Switzerland

Widely considered one of the most scenic tourist destinations in Europe, Switzerland received 636,077 visa applications in 2024, and turned down 11.3 percent of those (71,664).

Portugal

An identical rejection rate can be seen in Poland. The country received 206,420 visa applications last year, and turned down 22,232 of those – a rejection rate of 11.3 percent.

Hungary and Norway

Sharing the last two spots on our list are Hungary and Norway, with rejection rates of 12.8 percent. Hungary received 251,364 visa applications in 2024, and turned down 32,092 of those. Meanwhile, Norway received 149,988 applications, of which 19,192 were turned down.