Official EU data · 2009–2025
Schengen visa applications, seven years of data
From the 2009 pre-pandemic peak through the COVID-19 collapse to today's recovery — every Schengen short-stay visa application and refusal, as reported to the European Commission.
16,955,541
Applications in 2019 (pre-COVID)
−83%
Collapse by 2020
12,201,026
Applications in 2025
72%
Of the 2019 level recovered
Total applications
Schengen-wide, 2009–2025
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Overall refusal rate
Schengen-wide, 2009–2025
7.3%
6%
5.6%
4.8%
4.8%
5.1%
6.2%
6.9%
8.2%
9.6%
9.9%
13.5%
13%
17.5%
15.8%
14.6%
14.5%
By destination
Each country's trajectory
| Schengen state | Applications 2009–2025 | 2025 applications | vs 2009 | 2025 refusal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 3,105,356 | +95% | 14.2% | |
| Spain | 1,713,550 | +100% | 14.5% | |
| Germany | 1,497,619 | -7% | 13.1% | |
| Italy | 1,326,876 | +22% | 10.8% | |
| Netherlands | 746,011 | +123% | 17.7% | |
| Greece | 704,973 | +14% | 14.5% | |
| Switzerland | 619,323 | +61% | 12.5% | |
| Hungary | 265,479 | -3% | 13% | |
| Belgium | 263,617 | +36% | 26.1% | |
| Portugal | 253,108 | +116% | 23.4% | |
| Austria | 250,112 | -17% | 11.9% | |
| Sweden | 190,881 | -3% | 23.3% | |
| Denmark | 186,130 | +125% | 21.7% | |
| Norway | 181,112 | +74% | 15.7% | |
| Bulgaria | 179,402 | — | 12.5% | |
| Czech Republic | 172,788 | -62% | 14.2% | |
| Poland | 109,483 | -81% | 15.8% | |
| Finland | 90,463 | -89% | 13.4% | |
| Iceland | 67,380 | +13567% | 13.8% | |
| Romania | 54,100 | — | 11.5% | |
| Malta | 54,037 | +70% | 38.4% | |
| Croatia | 43,432 | — | 18.5% | |
| Lithuania | 42,543 | -80% | 14.4% | |
| Slovenia | 20,279 | -80% | 21.4% | |
| Latvia | 19,222 | -84% | 12.3% | |
| Slovakia | 18,033 | -72% | 9.6% | |
| Luxembourg | 13,889 | +153% | 14.7% | |
| Estonia | 11,828 | -88% | 24.6% |
Red dots mark 2020–2021, the COVID-19 pandemic years. Countries appear from the year they began issuing Schengen visas (Croatia 2023; Bulgaria & Romania 2024). Figures before 2013 are drawn from the European Commission's pre-Visa-Code compilations. They cover the comparable C (uniform short-stay) visas, but were reported on a different basis and aggregated from consulate-level data, so they are indicative rather than directly comparable with later years. Source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs. See the full 2025 snapshot → · All years →