Best and Worst Countries for Schengen Visas for Indian Travellers Revealed

The Schengen visa statistics for 2022 are out, revealing the performance of Indian travellers and the rejection rates they faced. With a rejection rate of 18%, Indian travellers filed over 6 lakh visa applications, ranking third globally
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The Schengen visa statistics for 2022 have been released, revealing interesting insights into the visa application process for Indian travellers. Despite being the third-highest in the world in terms of the number of applications filed, Indian travellers encountered a steep rejection rate of 18%.

This article examines the performance of Schengen visa applications from India, highlights the countries with the highest rejection rates, and explores the best countries for Indian travellers to obtain a Schengen visa.

Schengen Visa Applications from India

Tallinn, Estonia

According to data from Schengen Visa Info, Estonia had the highest rejection rate for Indian visa applicants in 2022, with 56% of 1,986 applications being denied. Malta followed closely, rejecting 45% (506 out of 1,220) of visa applications, while Slovenia turned down 44.5% (2,732 out of 6,134) of the applications.

In terms of volume, several countries rejected a higher number of visas. Switzerland, for instance, denied 13,984 out of 106,025 visas, resulting in a rejection rate of 13%.

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France rejected 19.9% (27,681 out of 138,643) of visa applications, while Spain declined 18.5% (14,852 out of 80,098) of the total. Austria rejected 24% (5,945 out of 24,791) of applications, and Greece rejected 34.7% (9,118 out of 27,457).

Portugal had a rejection rate of 29.9% (1,593 out of 5,326). Sweden received 27,775 applications and rejected 18.7% (5,110 applications).

CountryVisa Rejection Rate (%)Number of Rejected VisasTotal Visa Applications
Estonia561,1161,986
Malta455061,220
Slovenia44.52,7326,134
Switzerland1313,984106,025
France19.927,681138,643
Spain18.514,85280,098
Austria245,94524,791
Greece34.79,11827,457
Portugal29.91,5935,326
Sweden18.75,11027,775
Germany1.386,345
Italy11.57946,909
Hungary12.11,0989,046

Best Countries for Schengen Visas for Indian Travellers

Germany Job Seeker Visa

Germany emerged as the country with the lowest rejection rate for Indian travellers. Out of the total 6,345 Schengen visa applications received at the Bengaluru consulate, only eight were rejected. Additionally, only one application in Kolkata and two in Chennai were declined.

Italy and Hungary were also favourable destinations for Indian travellers, with rejection rates of 11.5% (794 out of 6,909 visas rejected) and 12.1% (1,098 out of 9,046 visas rejected) respectively.

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CountryVisa Rejection Rate (%)Number of Rejected VisasTotal Visa Applications
Germany0.186,345
Italy11.57946,909
Hungary12.11,0989,046

India’s Position in the Schengen Visa Market

Schengen Visa

In 2022, consulates worldwide recorded a total of 7,572,755 short-term Schengen visa applications. Türkiye topped the list with 778,409 visa requests, followed by Russia with 687,239 applications.

India ranked third, with Indians submitting 671,928 uniform visa applications to the Schengen region. Unfortunately, out of these, 121,188 applications were rejected, resulting in an 18% rejection rate.

This rejection rate is higher than the global average of 17.9%. Only Algeria had a higher rejection rate than India, with 179,409 of their Schengen visa applications being rejected.

Trends in Schengen Visa Applications

Schengen Visa Application Form
Image Credit: Freepik

Visa patterns have undergone changes over the years. In 2022, the number of applications significantly increased compared to the previous year. In 2021, a total of 2,926,104 applications were filed worldwide.

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However, the numbers have yet to reach pre-COVID levels. Another notable trend is the increase in average visa rejection rates in 2022, rising from 13.4% in 2021.

Despite these challenges, there were some positive developments worth noting. Sweden, for instance, experienced a remarkable improvement by rejecting only 18.7% of visa requests from India in 2022, compared to a high rejection rate of 42.26% in 2021.

Similarly, Switzerland exhibited positive changes, granting a greater number of visas to Indian travellers in 2022, while simultaneously reducing the rejection rate from 21% in 2021 to 13% last year.

France also demonstrated improvement by issuing more Schengen visas to Indian travellers in 2022 compared to the previous year, with the rejection rate dropping from 30.8% to 19.9%.

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CountryVisa Rejection Rate 2021 (%)Visa Rejection Rate 2022 (%)
Sweden42.2618.7
Switzerland2113
France30.819.9

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Manish Khandelwal
Manish Khandelwal

Manish Khandelwal, a travel-tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in the travel industry. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Travelobiz.com, he's passionate about writing.

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