The Schengen Area is a popular travel destination for people worldwide, but while many visitors can enter the zone without a visa, others need to apply for a Schengen visa to explore the EU’s iconic landmarks and cities. Due to this requirement, the number of visa applications varies greatly between Schengen countries, with some nations seeing a much higher demand than others. This difference can be attributed to various factors, including economic conditions, regional travel habits, and the attractiveness of specific European destinations, as reported by Schengen.News.
Data from SchengenVisaInfo reveals that some countries have seen significantly fewer visa applications in 2024. Among these, the following stand out:
Luxembourg
Luxembourg received the lowest number of visa applications in 2024, with only 11,227 submissions, representing just 0.1% of the total 10.3 million applications across all Schengen countries. In contrast, France, Luxembourg’s neighbor, was the leading country in terms of visa requests, with 2.6 million applications. The majority of Luxembourg’s visa applications came from India, Turkey, China, and Russia, which together accounted for 64.5% of the total.
Estonia
Estonia had the second-lowest number of visa applications, with 13,190 in 2024. Despite this, the country had a relatively high approval rate of 81.5%, one of the best among Schengen countries. However, Estonia’s rejection rate was 39%, which is lower than other EU countries, though Malta had the lowest rejection rate at 40%. Applicants from Russia, India, Turkey, Belarus, and the United Kingdom submitted the majority of applications to Estonia, totaling 70.1% of all requests.
Slovakia
Slovakia saw just 278 more visa applications than Estonia, placing it third for the fewest applications in 2024. Applicants from Turkey, the UAE, and India were the most frequent, with 2,519, 1,678, and 1,332 applications, respectively. Egypt was another significant source of applications, with 1,012 submissions.
Latvia
Latvia received 18,897 visa applications, placing it among the countries with lower demand. However, Latvia had one of the highest approval rates in the EU, with nearly 87% of visa applications approved. The majority of applicants came from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the UK, Russia, and Turkey.
Slovenia
Slovenia saw 19,990 visa applications in 2024, with an approval rate of 63%. The highest numbers of applicants came from Kosovo (4,095), India (2,827), and Turkey (2,671).
These figures highlight the varying demand for Schengen visas across the region and the differing approval rates that characterize the visa application process within the EU.
