Estonia, Malta, and Slovenia: Toughest Schengen Visa Destinations for Indian Travellers

Schengen visa rejection rates for Indian travellers have been found to be among the highest globally, according to recent statistics.

Despite India filing over 600,000 Schengen visa applications in 2022, making it the third-highest applicant, a significant 18 per cent of these applications faced rejection.

Rejection Rates by Country

Estonia, Malta, and Slovenia emerged as the top rejecting countries for Schengen visa applications from India. These nations accounted for the highest number of rejections, while Germany, Italy, and Hungary had the highest acceptance rates.

Estonia’s High Rejection Rate: Estonia witnessed the highest share of visa rejections from India in 2022. Out of 1,986 applications received, a staggering 56 per cent were rejected by Estonian authorities.

Malta and Slovenia’s Rejection Rates: Malta followed closely with a rejection rate of 45 per cent, while Slovenia rejected 44.5 per cent of the 2,732 visas received from Indian applicants.

Germany’s Low Rejection Rate: In contrast, Germany exhibited the lowest rejection rate for Indian travellers. The Bengaluru consulate rejected a mere eight out of 6,345 Schengen visa applications. The consulates in Kolkata and Chennai also had low rejection rates, with only one and two rejections, respectively.

Italy and Hungary’s Acceptance Rates: Italy and Hungary demonstrated relatively higher acceptance rates, with rejection rates of 11.5 per cent and 12.1 per cent, respectively. Italy rejected 794 out of 6,909 visa applications, while Hungary rejected 1,098 out of 9,046.

Overall Schengen Visa Statistics

In 2022, Schengen visa embassies worldwide received a total of 7,572,755 short-term visa applications, marking an increase compared to the two previous years. However, this figure remains 55 per cent lower than the number of visas processed in 2019, before the pandemic.

Top Applicants by Country

Türkiye claimed the top spot with 778,409 applications, followed by Russia with 687,239 applications. India ranked third with 671,928 applications. Comparing these figures to 2019, Russia, China, and India were the top three markets for Schengen visa applicants.

Understanding the Schengen Area

The Schengen area, the world’s largest free travel zone, consists of 26 countries, including 22 EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. This arrangement enables travellers to cross borders without needing to present a passport, ID card, or visa. Each day, approximately 3.5 million individuals traverse internal Schengen borders, with around 1.7 million residing in one Schengen country while working in another.

Croatia’s Inclusion in the Schengen Zone

Croatia, the latest country to join the Schengen zone, now allows visitors to enter the country using a Schengen visa as of January 1, 2023.

A Schengen visitor’s visa permits individuals to stay within the Schengen area for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. The processing time for these visas typically ranges from 15 to 30 days.