In 2024, African countries faced major hurdles in obtaining Schengen visas, with several countries recording some of the highest rejection rates in the world.
In 2024, African countries faced major hurdles in obtaining Schengen visas, with several countries recording some of the highest rejection rates in the world.
These rejection rates not only limit travel and business opportunities, but also lead to substantial financial losses due to non-refundable application fees.
According to data from the European Commission, fewer countries than countries submitting visa applications often face disproportionately high rejection rates, making many African travelers uncertain and obscure.
Several factors drive these outcomes, including strict documentation requirements, limited access to reliable financial records, and perceptions of high immigration risk.
Structural issues such as the limited presence of consuls and the lack of transparency in the application process further exacerbate the challenges of applicants in Africa.
Another report by Henley & Partners highlights that African applicants have significantly higher rejection rates than applicants in their Asian or global counterparts.
In 2023, despite filing applications for half of Asian countries, African applicants were twice as likely to be rejected, with an average rejection rate of 14 percentage points higher.
In particular, six of the 10 countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates are in Africa. Leading the list is Comoros with an incredible 61.3% rejection rate, followed by Guinea-Bissau (51%), Ghana (47.5%), Mali (46.1%), Sudan (42.3%) and Senegal (41.2%).
Below are the top 10 countries in Africa with the highest Schengen visa rejection.
Ranked Country Rejection Rate 1 Comoros 62.8% 2 Guinea-Bissau 47.0% 3 Senegal 46.8% 4 Nigeria 45.9% 5 Ghana 45.5% 6 Republic of Congo (Congo – Brazzaville) 43.0% 7 Mali 42.9% 8 Guinea 41.1% 9
