Schengen Visa short-stay applications edged higher in 2025, reaching nearly 12 million across EU and associated-country consulates, according to figures published by the European Commission.
That marks a 1.8 per cent rise from the 11.7 million filed in 2024 and a 15.5 per cent jump from the 10.3 million recorded in 2023. Even so, demand remains well below the 17 million applications processed in 2019, the last full year before Covid-19 disrupted international travel.
More than 10 million visas were issued during the year, up 3 per cent from the 9.7 million granted in 2024, but still short of the 15 million issued in 2019.
The overall refusal rate held at 14.8 per cent, unchanged from the previous year, though country-level figures varied considerably. Refusal rates fell in Russia (6.4 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent), Algeria (31 per cent, down from 35 per cent), and Ethiopia (34 per cent, down from 36.1 per cent). They rose sharply in Cape Verde (21.4 per cent, up from 13.4 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (40.1 per cent, up from 29.9 per cent), Senegal (51.9 per cent, up from 46.8 per cent), and Burundi (53.4 per cent, up from 40 per cent).
China led all applicant countries with 1.8 million submissions, followed by Türkiye at 1.25 million, India at 1.15 million, Russia at 679,000, and Morocco at 620,000.
Of the visas issued, 51.2 per cent, or 5.1 million, permitted multiple entries into the Schengen area, a slight dip from 52.2 per cent in 2024. Schengen states also issued 83,790 visas at external borders, down from 85,118 the year before.
