₦airaland Forum

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.

Source: https://trt.global/afrika-english/article/6a6982d6c7e6

Hmmmm......with the way the media do paint us, Nigerians,one would think we'd top the japa list . But here it is,at least we still dey for top-4 for the list cha

But it seems south Africans don't just love travelling . Or is it because they're so addicted to their white masters?

Sonnobax15:

South Africa has a working System

This is the biggest 419 scam that has been going on for years in different embassies in this country, unfortunately Nigeria is being ruled by a bunch of clueless men who can't fight for their people.
Lately, even the Asians have joined in this "visa scams". They now use "agents"! If the Nigerian government is very strict in the way the defend their citizens, moat of these countries will not be using these mean to basically scam the people.

Sonnobax15:

Hmmmm......with the way the media do paint us, Nigerians,one would think we'd top the japa list . But here it is,at least we still dey for top-4 for the list cha

That's not true. Check the list very well. South Africa 🇿🇦 has 192,000 applicant and 11,000 rejections compared to Nigeria 🇳🇬 111,000 applicant and 51,000 rejections.

S/A has more applicant than Nigeria but few rejections. They travel more then


Edit: You don quickly delete you previous comment.

Dedij:
South Africa has a working System

That's not true. Check the list very well. South Africa 🇿🇦 has 192,000 applicant and 11,000 rejections compared to Nigeria 🇳🇬 111,000 applicant and 51,000 rejections.

S/A has more applicant than Nigeria but few rejections. They travel more then

Citizens of African countries whose population is not up to 50 million are also joining Nigeria of 230 million people to run away from their countries! Shame on them!

Sonnobax15:
But it seems south Africans don't just love travelling . Or is it because they're so addicted to their white masters?

They prefer to remain in their country, as opposed to leaving it for others.

Guess their recent fight for it makes them love it more than most Nigerians who just want to tear Nigeria apart.

Just imagine the ponzi scheme and corruption that the Europeans are running in Africa . after stealing all the mineral resources they still steal from naive Africans through Visa fee and whatnot.

What exactly is African Union doing?.

What is really wrong with Africans?.

The Europeans take your Visa application money to dash their own people as benefits and whathaveyou while millions of malnourished African children die of hunger and starvation daily.
It's sad mehn.

The EU should continue to milk us until both the leaders and followers in Africa will wake up.

Nawa oop

cashing out from our misery

MosakuAW:
That's not true. Check the list very well. South Africa 🇿🇦 has 192,000 applicant and 11,000 rejections compared to Nigeria 🇳🇬 111,000 applicant and 51,000 rejections.

S/A has more applicant than Nigeria but few rejections. They travel more then


Edit: You don quickly delete you previous comment.

But the south Africans here wants us to believe they don't travel cos they have it all and are not affected by japa fever meanwhile they're the real japarians according to these stats

A law should be made to refund failed visa application. This is a big scam.

And dem talk say we no get money No refund oo

White man's scam

It is all by design. If they reject too many (let's say more than 60%) applications, Africans would be less inclined to apply thus leading to lower revenues from application fees.

They reject just enough but not too many to give the false hope of obtaining a visa and to encourage future applications.

Lol the country people always use as yardstick as center of Development in Africa even Japa pass Nigeria wey Dem dey call worst...


Can we now say na economy dey pursue people or people jus want more out of life.....

If our leaders get it right, what are we doing up and down. 2027 is another opportunity to decide our fate for the next. I hope we don't make another mistake. All will be well with us oo

MosakuAW:
That's not true. Check the list very well. South Africa 🇿🇦 has 192,000 applicant and 11,000 rejections compared to Nigeria 🇳🇬 111,000 applicant and 51,000 rejections.

S/A has more applicant than Nigeria but few rejections. They travel more then


Edit: You don quickly delete you previous comment.

The bolded could be true. But you emigrate more and there's a difference . We go for vacation studies or business and come back once we are done

inoki247:
Lol the country people always use as yardstick as center of Development in Africa even Japa pass Nigeria wey Dem dey call worst...


Can we now say na economy dey pursue people or people jus want more out of life.....

Inferiority complex at play .

South Africans travel a lot for vacation, studies and business....we don't emigrate ( japa) as much ....if its japa...it's mostly those of European descent going to find their roots....more like African Americans "coming back to Africa"

By the way Mr inferiority complex,it would interest you that there are more Europeans coming to SA yearly than there are SA going to Europe . In particular Germans and Brits

dkidd:
But the south Africans here wants us to believe they don't travel cos they have it all and are not affected by japa fever meanwhile they're the real japarians according to these stats

There's a difference between Japa and travelling my dear friend


There are more Europeans traveling around South Africa yearly than there are SA who care to even visit Europe....including the SA whose roots are European

Sonnobax15:

Hmmmm......with the way the media do paint us, Nigerians,one would think we'd top the japa list . But here it is,at least we still dey for top-4 for the list cha

But it seems south Africans don't just love travelling . Or is it because they're so addicted to their white masters?

There's a difference between travelling and forcing yourself on people who don't want you around them ( mass migration). SA aren't known for the latter but you're ...don't confuse the two

MosakuAW:
That's not true. Check the list very well. South Africa 🇿🇦 has 192,000 applicant and 11,000 rejections compared to Nigeria 🇳🇬 111,000 applicant and 51,000 rejections.

S/A has more applicant than Nigeria but few rejections. They travel more then


Edit: You don quickly delete you previous comment.

And there are reasons why we have few rejections than most . And I'm even suspicious about the increase in rejections ......especially after the documentary of" SA asylum seekers " in Ireland who turned out to be Non South Africans who are using SA passports to deface our image .

Even my own money enter join. Na my money them go give Tinubu as loan. Them go come demand interest , then Tinubu go mandate banks to remove from accounts and pay them.

And Una say Africa no get money ?