A recent report found that Indians paid over €14 million in fees for rejected Schengen visa applications in 2024, and that Germany was among the countries that issued the most rejections.
A recent report by Conde Nast Traveller found that more than 165,000 applications for Schengen visas submitted by Indian citizens were rejected in 2024.
According to the report, this amounts to more than €14 million in application fees for rejected visas across the Schengen zone.
With 15,806 reported rejections of Indian Schengen visa applicants, Germany issued the third most rejections after France (31,314) and Switzerland (26,126).
In total, the amount of fees paid to Germany for applications that were ultimately rejected amounted to approximately €1.3 million — based on an average application cost of €85 for Indian passport holders in 2024.
At the beginning of 2024 the standard Schengen visa fee for adults was €80. It was updated to €90 in mid-June 2024.
After Germany, Spain and the Netherlands both rejected nearly as many Indian visa applicants, with 15,105 and 14,569 rejections respectively.
Which nationalities faced the most rejections?
Visa applicants from Algeria racked up the most rejected applications in 2024, followed by those from Turkey.
India had the third highest number of rejections, followed by Morocco and then China.
According to the Economic Times, a relatively high rate of rejections, and the associated financial losses, have raised concerns among travellers.
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Contesting rejections is set to get harder for travellers applying to Germany
These figures come following a recent announcement that Germany will scrap its remonstration process for rejected visas as of July 1st this year.
Until now, visa applicants who faced rejections could submit a remonstrance letter to ask that their application be reviewed again, sometimes with additional documentation or explanations provided.
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But from July 1st, German embassies wont support the remonstration process — meaning rejected visa applicants will only be able to challenge rejections in court. Alternatively, applicants can opt to submit another visa application for review, but this would of course come at the cost of one more application fee.
It seems likely that the procedural change will ultimately amount to a higher number of rejections and potentially also to more visa application fees collected.
Visa refusals have knock-on impacts on tourism, business exchanges, and academic opportunities for Indians in Germany.
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