By Brian Okoth
Forty-five (45) African countries lost a total of €60 million — or $68 million — for their rejected Schengen visas in 2024, a TRT Afrika analysis of the 2024 State of Schengen Report reveals.
That amount accounted for 41% of all the funds that Europe raised from Schengen visa rejections that year.
Algeria, which had 529,000 Schengen visa applications, had the highest number of rejections in Africa, at 185,000.
The rejection pattern was followed by Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Kenya in that particular order.
Liberia had least rejected visa applications
Liberia, which had a total of 123 Schengen visa applications, had only one visa request rejected.
The other countries with less than 100 Schengen visa rejections were Mauritius, and Sao Tome and Principe.
Nearly half of the Schengen visa requests by the Senegalese, Nigerians and Ghanaians were rejected, with the three mentioned countries having more than 55,000 applications each.
The European Union raised more than €145 million — or $165 million — from all the rejected Schengen visa applications globally.
Africa accounted for 22% of all Schengen visa rejections in 2024
At least 11.7 million people worldwide applied for Schengen visas, with Africa accounting for around 2.6 million — or 22% of the applicants.
Out of nearly 1.7 million rejections globally, Africa accounted for over 700,000.
The monies raised from Schengen visa rejections among Africans in 2024 increased by $14 million, from the previous year, when the European Union got $54 million from Africans' rejected applications.
A Schengen visa allows people from non-European Union — or allied countries — a short stay of up to 90 days in a six-month period.
Non-refundable
According to the EU, there are 29 countries within the Schengen zone today. They include Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Austria.
The Schengen visa fees are non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of one's application.
Currently, an adult is charged €90 ($100) for Schengen visa, while a child aged between 6 years and 12 years is charged €45 ($50) for the travel document.
Algeria lost nearly $18 million in the 2024 declined Schengen visa applications, followed by Morocco ($11 million); Egypt ($5 million); Nigeria ($4.9 million) and Tunisia ($3.7 million).
Reasons for visa rejections
Ghana lost $2.4 million, Kenya ($1.8 million), South Africa ($1.1 million), and Uganda (620,000 US dollars).
The EU says that the common reasons people are denied Schengen visas include questionable criminal record, false documents, unclear reasons for the visit, insufficient funds, unauthenticated certificate of birth or marriage, and failure to present proof of accommodation.
Visa processing normally takes between 15 and 45 days.
Below is the full list of the Schengen visa applications from African countries in 2024, and the number of rejections, and the estimated lost funds.
Editor's Note: TRT Afrika has rounded off the figures obtained from the 2024 State of Schengen Report.
COUNTRY APPLIED REJECTED LOST MONEY
1. Algeria 529,000 185,000 $18m
2. Morocco 575,000 116,000 $11m
3. Egypt 206,000 53,000 $5m
4. Nigeria 111,000 51,000 $4.9m
5. Tunisia 176,000 38,000 $3.7m
6. Senegal 70,000 33,000 $3.2m
7. Côte d'Ivoire 75,000 26,000 $2.5m
8. Ghana 55,000 25,000 $2.4m
9. Cameroon 52,000 20,000 $1.9m
10. Kenya 65,000 19,000 $1.8m
11. DRC 59,000 18,000 $1.7m
12. Angola 43,000 12,000 $1.3m
13. Congo Republic 26,000 11,000 $1.1m
14. South Africa 192,000 11,000 $1.1m
15. Ethiopia 24,000 9,000 $840,000
16. Mauritania 23,000 7,000 $720,000
17. Guinea 17,000 7,000 $700,000
18. Libya 34,000 6,000 $630,000
19. Uganda 18,000 6,000 $620,000
20. Madagascar 16,000 5,000 $490,000
21. Gabon 18,000 5,000 $470,000
22. Rwanda 14,000 5,000 $450,000
23. Mali 11,000 5,000 $450,000
24. Benin 15,000 4,000 $370,000
25. Togo 9,000 3,000 $320,000
26. Cape Verde 24,000 3,000 $320,000
27. Tanzania 14,000 3,000 $280,000
28. Chad 7,000 3,000 $260,000
29. Equatorial Guinea 9,000 3,000 $260,000
30. Djibouti 5,000 2,000 $180,000
31. Burkina Faso 8,000 2,000 $180,000
32. Comoros 3,000 2,000 $170,000
33. Mozambique 23,000 2,000 $170,000
34. Guinea-Bissau 4,000 2,000 $160,000
35. Eritrea 5,000 2,000 $150,00
36. Burundi 4,000 1,000 $124,000
37. Zimbabwe 8,000 1,000 $114,000
38. CAR 3,000 1,000 $81,000
39. Niger 2,000 400 $34,000
40. Zambia 3,000 300 $25,000
41. Botswana 2,000 300 $22,000
42. Namibia 5,000 300 $22,000
43. Sao Tome & Principe 10,000 100 $8,000
44. Mauritius 1,000 50 $4,000
45. Liberia 100 1 $85
