Tourists from several non-EU nations must apply for a visa in order to enter the Schengen Area. The 27 Schengen member nations do, however, fluctuate in their rates of visa denial; some are more draconian than others. 

Which nations may deny more visa requests is not always predictable. However, data from Schengen Visa Info indicates that sometimes, the nations with the lowest number of applications are the ones more prone to make unfavourable conclusions.

Based on their 2023 rejection rates, here are the countries that are more likely to reject Schengen visa applications: 

Malta

Malta has the highest rejection rate out of all 27 Schengen countries. In 2023, applicants have filed 33,306 requests – 12,261 or 37.60 per cent of which were rejected. 

Algerian applicants had the highest rejection rates for Malta visas, as 90.35 per cent of their visa applications were rejected. 

Applicants from Ghana and Morocco were the second and third most rejected applicants, with their rejection rates reaching 62.69 and 60.37 per cent, respectively. 

Estonia

More than half (61.4 per cent) of Schengen visa applications that Estonia received were rejected, accounting for 4,347 applications with a negative response. 

The nationalities that were rejected the most and had the highest rejection rates were the Egyptians, who had a 59.5 per cent rejection rate.

Applicants from UAE and India also have higher rejection rates – 57.9 and 49.7 per cent, respectively, while Chinese applicants have the lowest rejection rates (7.3 per cent). 

Belgium

Over a quarter of applications (26.6 per cent) to Belgium were rejected, ranking Belgium as the third country with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates. 

Out of 225,951 applications, 60,148 were rejected, while the nationalities that were most affected by rejections included the Senegalese (67.8 per cent), Angoleans (66.44 per cent), and Nigerians (62.45 per cent). 

Sweden

Around 60,148 visa applications were rejected by Sweden in 2023, accounting for 23.1 per cent of requests being rejected. These numbers rank Sweden as the fourth country with the highest rejection rates and are considered to be tougher in terms of issuing visas. 

Iranians are rejected the most, with 4,153 applications receiving a negative decision. The rejection rate for this nationality reached 76.65 per cent, while Pakistanis and Lebanese followed second and third with 69.49 and 66.21 per cent rejection rates, respectively. 

Denmark

Denmark received 107,872 visa applications in 2023 – 21,509, or 21.2 per cent of which were rejected. Moroccans had the highest rejection rates – 100 per cent, although only two applications were filed. 

Iranians and Pakistanis are the second and third most rejected nationalities, with rejection rates being 76.65 and 69.49 per cent, respectively.