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Top 10 Schengen Countries with Highest Visa Approval Rates

by DD Staff

November 03, 2024

Schengen Visa Application

key takeaways

Given that the European destinations are popular all year round, those who plan on entering the bloc need to take care of their applications ahead of time.

Regardless of the season, Schengen member states continue to be well-liked vacation spots for foreigners, especially for those who can always arrange a last-minute trip and do not require a visa.

However, according to Schengen.News, last-minute travel to Europe is not an option for citizens of most nations.

Depending on the closest timeslots for visa appointments at the embassy or visa centre representing the same Member State in the applicant's home country, the Schengen visa application procedure alone should begin a few weeks prior to a planned travel to one of the Schengen nations.

SchengenNews founder Besart Bajrami claims that sometimes it might take months to simply schedule an appointment.

In third countries with a high volume of Schengen visa applications, getting a visa appointment can take quite some time, in some cases even months. Once the appointment is made, travellers have to wait a few weeks to attend it, and then around two or three weeks to get their passports back, hopefully with a positive response.
--Besart Bajrami, founder of SchengenNews

Given that the European destinations are popular all year round, those who plan on entering the bloc need to take care of their applications ahead of time.

These 10 Countries Are Your Best Chance to Get a Schengen Visa This Year

Schengen Visa Statistics for 2023, published by SchengenVisaInfo, show that while some countries are more inclined to reject a larger share of visa applications they receive, there are others which tend to reject fewer visas. Filing an application to visit one of the latter, means an applicant has higher chances of getting a visa.

According to the numbers, the top ten easiest Schengen visas to obtain in 2024 are as follows:

Iceland with only a 2.2 per cent rejection rate
Switzerland – 10.7 per cent
Latvia – 11.7 per cent
Italy – 12 per cent
Luxembourg – 12.7 per cent
Lithuania – 12.8 per cent
Slovakia – 12.9 per cent
Germany – 14.3 per cent
Austria – 14.3 per cent
Greece – 14.7 per cent

Commenting on the issue, Bajrami notes that it is not advisable to attempt to obtain a visa for one of the countries listed above and then visit another because that is considered illegal by the EU and is labelled as “visa shopping.”

If you wish to visit any of the Member States, apply for a visa at the visa centres of one of these ten countries. You can always visit other countries with that same Schengen visa, just make sure that the country issuing the visa will be your primary destination.
--Besart Bajrami, founder of SchengenNews

Countries They Have High Schengen Visa Rejection Rates

Those who want to obtain a Schengen visa this year and want to lower the chances of being rejected should avoid applying to countries with a high rejection rate.

First, one should avoid applying for a Maltese Schengen visa, as this country’s consulates abroad are notorious for having a high rejection rate. In 2023, the same rejected 37.6 per cent of all applications received.

Second on the list of the world’s worst countries to apply for a Schengen visa is Estonia, which in 2023 rejected 33.1 per cent of the applications it received, followed by Belgium with 26.5 per cent. Sweden and Croatia complete the top five, with rejection rates of 23.1 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.