Schengen Visa Issuance Statistics 2026: 10.3M
EU and Schengen-associated consulates received more than 12 million short-stay visa applications in 2025 and issued just over 10 million visas, according to the European Commission. The global refusal rate was 14.6%, after 14.8% in 2024 when consulates handled 11.7 million applications and issued more than 9.7 million visas. China led 2025 demand at 1.9 million applications. This report compiles 10 verified figures from Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs releases. Every number below is from those official pages, not from visa blogs.
This post is for travelers who need a Schengen Type C visa, and for visa-exempt visitors who want the consular backdrop to ETIAS and EES.
The problem is reading a “Schengen is easy” headline while 1 in 7 visa applications is still refused, and while issuance remains far below the 15 million visas granted in 2019.
Why this report: 10 Commission data points covering 2024 and 2025 applications, issuances, refusals, multiple-entry share, top origin countries, and border-issued visas. Pair it with visa rejection statistics 2026 for the refusal side in more depth.
1. Consulates received more than 12 million short-stay applications in 2025
The Commission reported more than 12 million short-stay visa applications in 2025, up 4.3% from 11.7 million in 2024 and up 18.5% from 10.3 million in 2023. Demand is still well below 17 million applications in 2019.
The 2024 release had already called 11.7 million a 13.6% rise on 2023 and a 56% rise on 7.5 million in 2022. Bulgaria and Romania began issuing Schengen visas instead of national ones as of 31 March 2024, which adds two issuing states to the later totals. Their switch does not change the 90/180 rule. It changes which sticker you get at those consulates.
Twelve million files is a consular workload statistic. Appointment scarcity in high-demand posts is what applicants feel. The rebound is real and incomplete. A family of four still needs four appointments, four fees, and four chances of refusal.
Source: European Commission, Schengen short-stay visa applications in 2025 (28 May 2026)
2. Schengen states issued over 10 million visas in 2025, including 10.3 million counted in the multiple-entry split
The 2025 Commission note says over 10 million visas were issued, a 5.2% increase from 9.7 million in 2024, still short of 15 million in 2019. In the same note, “almost 10.3 million visas issued” is the base for the multiple-entry percentage.
Issuance is tracking applications: both are up, both remain below 2019. A 5.2% rise in visas against a 4.3% rise in applications is consistent with the slight refusal-rate decline in the next section.
For travelers, “over 10 million issued” does not mean your post has slots next month. China, Türkiye, and India drive the totals. Smaller African and South Asian posts can be capacity-constrained even when the Schengen-wide number grows.
Source: European Commission, Schengen short-stay visa applications in 2025 (28 May 2026)
3. The worldwide refusal rate was 14.6% in 2025 and 14.8% in 2024
The Commission put the 2025 global refusal rate at 14.6%, after 14.8% in 2024, 16% in 2023, and 17.9% in 2022.
Directionally, refusal is easing as a share. In absolute terms, a mid-14% rate on 12 million applications is still on the order of 1.7 million refusals. Fees are not refunded. A refusal also follows the applicant into later files.
Country-level rates moved both ways in 2025: Russia 6.4% (from 7.5%), Algeria 31% (from 35%), Ethiopia 34% (from 36.1%), Cape Verde 21.4% (from 13.4%), DR Congo 40.1% (from 29.9%), Senegal 51.9% (from 46.8%), Burundi 53.4% (from 40%).
Source: European Commission, 2025 visa figures and 2024 visa figures
4. China filed 1.9 million applications in 2025
The 2025 top five origin countries were China (1.9 million), Türkiye (1.26 million), India (1.15 million), Russia (679,000), and Morocco (620,000).
The 2024 top five, with exact counts, were China 1,779,255 (up from 1,117,365 in 2023), Türkiye 1,173,917, India 1,108,239, Morocco 606,800, and Russia 606,594. China is the growth engine. Russia remains far below its pre-2022 tourist volumes.
If you apply from one of these five, you are in the posts that set average wait times for everyone else in that city. If you apply from a high-refusal nationality listed in section 3, documentation quality matters more than the Schengen-wide 14.6% headline.
Source: European Commission, 2025 visa figures
5. 51.7% of 2025 issuances were multiple-entry visas
Of almost 10.3 million visas issued in 2025, 51.7% (5.3 million) allowed multiple entries, a slight decline from 52.2% in 2024. The 2024 release had already said more than half of 9.7 million visas allowed multiple entries.
A multiple-entry C visa is still a 90-days-in-180 visa, not a residence permit. EES now records the days automatically. A 2-year multiple-entry sticker does not reset the rolling window. See the Schengen 90/180 rule.
The half-and-half split is why “I have a 2-year visa” is not an answer to “how many days do I have left?”
Source: European Commission, 2025 visa figures
6. 9.7 million visas were issued in 2024, up 14.1%
The 20 May 2025 Commission release stated more than 9.7 million visas issued in 2024, a 14.1% increase from 8.5 million in 2023, still below 15 million in 2019.
That 2024 jump was the steep post-pandemic catch-up. 2025’s 5.2% rise is the flattening. Issuance is no longer doubling; it is grinding toward, but not to, the 2019 peak.
Applicants who sat out 2022-2023 and came back in 2024 met a system that had added capacity and still refused about one in seven files. 2026 applicants meet a system closer to steady state, with EES in operation.
Source: European Commission, Visa applications reach 11.7 million (20 May 2025)
7. Bangladesh’s 2024 refusal rate was 54.9%
The 2024 Commission note listed large year-on-year refusal swings, including Bangladesh 54.9% (from 43.3%), Nigeria 45.9% (from 40.8%), Senegal 46.8% (from 42.1%), Congo-Brazzaville 43% (from 35.3%), and Ecuador 29.6% (from 24.4%). Declines included Russia 7.5% (from 10.6%), Türkiye 14.5% (from 16.1%), Iran 26% (from 30.3%), Syria 27% (from 46%), and Cape Verde 13.4% (from 24%).
A 54.9% refusal rate means the baseline outcome in that corridor is no. Proof of funds, ties, and itinerary has to be stronger than the Schengen average, not merely complete.
Nationality is the largest single predictor in these tables. That is also the pattern in Schengen border refusal statistics, which measure a different decision (entry at the border, not the consulate).
Source: European Commission, 2024 visa figures
8. Russia went from more than 4 million visas in 2019 to around 0.5 million in 2024
In a September 2025 written answer, the Commission said overall visas issued to Russian applicants fell from more than 4 million in 2019 to around 0.5 million in 2024, while the refusal rate moved from 1.5% in 2019 to 7.5% in 2024, after the visa-facilitation agreement with Russia was suspended.
The 2025 origin table then shows 679,000 Russian applications, still far below the old tourist-era volume. The Commission said Member States are generally following 2022 guidelines that call for thorough security checks and a more restrictive approach to non-essential travel.
This is a policy-driven collapse, not a demand collapse alone. For dual nationals and people applying in third countries, the file is still a Russian-passport file when that is the travel document used.
Source: European Commission answer to European Parliament question P-003158/2025
9. 83,790 visas were issued at external borders in 2025
Schengen states issued 83,790 uniform visas at external borders in 2025, down from 85,118 (the 2025 note) or 85,119 (the 2024 note) in 2024.
Border-issued visas are a rounding error next to 10 million consular issuances. They are not a strategy. Showing up at an airport without a visa and hoping for an exceptional C visa is not how the 10 million were granted.
The Excel workbooks behind these totals sit on the Commission’s short-stay visa statistics page, with consulate and border-post files for each year from 2009 onward.
Source: European Commission, 2025 visa figures and Short-stay visas issued by Schengen countries
10. 2019 remains the peak: 17 million applications and 15 million visas
Both Commission notes use 2019 as the ceiling: 17 million applications and 15 million issuances. 2025 is still about 5 million applications and about 5 million visas short of that peak.
The gap is not only COVID. Russia’s collapse from 4 million-plus issuances, extra security screening, and higher refusal rates in several African and South Asian corridors all sit inside the missing 5 million. China’s rebound to 1.9 million applications is the largest single recovery.
Visa-exempt travelers never appear in these consular counts. Their barrier is ETIAS (when live) and EES day counts, not a Type C sticker. The 12 million applications are the population that still needs a visa to take a 90-day trip.
Source: European Commission, 2025 visa figures
What these numbers tell us
Schengen short-stay issuance is a two-speed recovery. The headline is 12 million applications and 10-plus million visas, with refusal easing to 14.6%. The detail is China-heavy demand, a hollowed-out Russian tourist channel, and refusal rates above 50% in some origin countries. Multiple-entry stickers are common (51.7%) and still bound by 90/180.
For applicants, the Commission tables are the odds board. Apply to the country of main destination, not the rumor of the “easiest consulate.” A 14.6% global refusal rate hides 6% corridors and 50% corridors. Fees are gone either way.
For visa-free visitors, the same tables are context. Consulates are busy, borders are instrumented, and the 90-day math is no longer a stamp-book estimate. EES records the days the visa (or visa exemption) actually used. A US or UK passport skips the 12 million application queue and still spends the same 90/180 budget.
The 2019 gap of about 5 million missing visas is the structural fact for 2026 planning. Do not wait for a return to 15 million issuances before you book. Plan as if 10 million is the new high-water mark and refusal stays in the mid-teens.
Ten million visas is not “open Europe.” It is a large, selective consular machine sitting 5 million issuances below 2019, refusing about one in seven files, and sharing a rolling 90/180 clock across 29 countries.
How Staywise helps you navigate this landscape
A multiple-entry Schengen visa does not track itself. Neither does visa-free 90/180. Issuance statistics end when the sticker is printed. Compliance starts when you land.
Staywise (the visa compliance app for digital nomads) tracks days across every country automatically, including the Schengen 90/180 window that applies to Type C visas and visa-exempt entries alike. It alerts you 7, 3, and 1 day before a limit and exports history for the next application. Free trial, then annual subscription. See App Store for current pricing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many Schengen visas were issued in 2025?
The European Commission reported over 10 million short-stay visas issued in 2025, up 5.2% from 9.7 million in 2024, and used “almost 10.3 million” as the base for the 51.7% multiple-entry share. That is still below 15 million in 2019. Consulates also issued 83,790 visas at external borders, down slightly from 2024. Issuance is tracking applications: both are up, both remain well short of the pre-pandemic peak.
What is the Schengen visa refusal rate?
14.6% worldwide in 2025 and 14.8% in 2024, according to the Commission, down from 16% in 2023 and 17.9% in 2022. National rates range from the single digits (Russia 6.4% in 2025) to above 50% (Senegal 51.9%, Burundi 53.4% in 2025; Bangladesh 54.9% in 2024). On 12 million applications, a mid-14% rate still means on the order of 1.7 million refusals, and the fee is not refunded.
Which countries apply for the most Schengen visas?
In 2025: China (1.9 million), Türkiye (1.26 million), India (1.15 million), Russia (679,000), and Morocco (620,000). In 2024 the same five led, with China at 1,779,255, up from 1,117,365 in 2023. China is the post-pandemic rebound. Russia is a fraction of its 2019 volume, when more than 4 million visas were issued to Russian applicants.
Are most Schengen visas multiple-entry now?
Just over half. 51.7% (5.3 million) of almost 10.3 million visas issued in 2025 were multiple-entry, slightly below 52.2% in 2024. Multiple-entry does not add days. The 90/180 rule still applies across the whole Schengen area, and EES now records the days automatically. A two-year sticker is a permission to apply the same 90-day budget many times, not a two-year stay.
Where do these Schengen visa statistics come from?
All headline figures are from the European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs news notes dated 20 May 2025 (2024 data) and 28 May 2026 (2025 data), plus the Commission’s short-stay visa statistics page that hosts the yearly Excel files, and the Commission’s 9 September 2025 parliamentary answer on Russian visas. No third-party visa agency is used as a source for counts.
Related guides
- Visa Rejection Statistics 2026
- Schengen Border Refusal Statistics 2026
- The Schengen 90/180 Rule Explained
- ETIAS Statistics 2026
About Staywise
Staywise is the visa compliance app for digital nomads. Built by nomads for nomads, it tracks your days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. The in-app AI assistant answers visa questions in plain English. Available on iOS.
Important: This content is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax regulations, and entry requirements change frequently and vary by individual circumstances. Always verify current requirements with official government sources or a qualified professional before making travel decisions. Staywise tracks your days and surfaces compliance information, but final responsibility for compliance rests with the traveler.