Schengen countries issued 10,265,942 uniform short-stay visas in 2025, according to the latest European Commission statistics. This represented a 5.2% increase compared with approximately 9.7 million visas issued in 2024.
The recovery was significant, but visa issuance remained about 31.6% below the 15 million visas granted in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the uniform visas issued through consulates, Schengen countries granted 39,798 Limited Territorial Validity visas and issued a further 83,790 uniform visas at external border crossing points.
Schengen Visas Issued in 2025
| Visa category | Number issued |
| Uniform visas issued by consulates | 10,265,942 |
| Multiple-entry visas included in that total | 5,303,749 |
| Limited Territorial Validity visas | 39,798 |
| Uniform visas issued at external borders | 83,790 |
| Combined uniform visas issued at consulates and borders | 10,349,732 |
The main European Commission figure of almost 10.3 million refers to uniform visas issued through consulates. LTV visas and visas issued at external borders are reported separately.
Countries Where the Most Schengen Visas Were Issued
China was the world’s largest Schengen visa market in 2025, with more than 1.82 million uniform visas issued through Schengen consulates located there.
The following ranking is based on the country where the application was lodged. It does not necessarily represent the nationality of the visa holder.
| Rank | Consular country | Uniform visas issued | Multiple-entry visas | Refusal rate |
| 1 | China | 1,827,866 | 622,601 | 4.0% |
| 2 | Türkiye | 1,072,054 | 736,556 | 14.6% |
| 3 | India | 966,529 | 556,870 | 15.8% |
| 4 | Russian Federation | 618,806 | 175,862 | 6.4% |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | 521,087 | 482,242 | 5.2% |
China, Türkiye and India were the only three consular markets where more than 900,000 uniform visas were issued.
Saudi Arabia entered the top five for visas issued even though Morocco received more applications. This was mainly because Saudi Arabia recorded a much lower refusal rate. Schengen consulates in Saudi Arabia issued 521,087 uniform visas, compared with 480,354 issued in Morocco.
Saudi Arabia also had an exceptionally high multiple-entry visa share. Approximately 92.5% of the uniform visas issued there permitted multiple visits to the Schengen Area.
Top 10 Schengen Countries Issuing the Most Visas
France was the leading Schengen visa issuer in 2025. French consulates issued more than 2.64 million uniform visas, accounting for approximately 25.8% of all uniform visas issued through Schengen consulates.
| Rank | Schengen country | Uniform visas issued | MEV share | Refusal rate |
| 1 | France | 2,646,866 | 38.1% | 14.2% |
| 2 | Spain | 1,396,760 | 25.9% | 14.6% |
| 3 | Germany | 1,288,597 | 89.1% | 13.1% |
| 4 | Italy | 1,182,665 | 60.7% | 10.8% |
| 5 | Netherlands | 607,324 | 62.5% | 17.7% |
| 6 | Greece | 596,646 | 61.6% | 14.5% |
| 7 | Switzerland | 538,341 | 66.7% | 12.5% |
| 8 | Hungary | 228,385 | 43.9% | 13.0% |
| 9 | Austria | 213,694 | 53.9% | 11.9% |
| 10 | Portugal | 194,381 | 52.4% | 23.3% |
France, Spain, Germany and Italy together issued 6,514,888 uniform visas, representing approximately 63.5% of the worldwide consular total.
Germany stood out for issuing multiple-entry visas. Of the nearly 1.29 million uniform visas issued by German consulates, approximately 89.1% permitted multiple entries.
Italy had the lowest refusal rate among the four largest issuing countries, at 10.8%. Portugal issued slightly more visas than Belgium, placing it in tenth position, but recorded a considerably higher refusal rate of 23.3%.
10 Schengen Countries Issuing the Fewest Visas
| Rank | Schengen country | Uniform visas issued | LTV visas issued | Refusal rate |
| 1 | Estonia | 8,886 | 148 | 24.6% |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 11,244 | 143 | 14.7% |
| 3 | Slovenia | 15,348 | 535 | 21.4% |
| 4 | Slovakia | 15,988 | 244 | 9.6% |
| 5 | Latvia | 16,677 | 364 | 12.3% |
| 6 | Malta | 33,140 | 34 | 38.4% |
| 7 | Croatia | 34,053 | 409 | 18.5% |
| 8 | Lithuania | 35,585 | 301 | 14.4% |
| 9 | Romania | 47,776 | 120 | 11.5% |
| 10 | Iceland | 57,743 | 10 | 13.8% |
Estonia issued the fewest uniform visas among the 28 Schengen states included in the consular statistics.
Malta issued 33,140 uniform visas and recorded a refusal rate of 38.4%, the highest overall rate among Schengen issuing countries. Slovakia, despite being among the smallest issuers, had a comparatively low refusal rate of 9.6%.
Lower issuance totals generally reflect smaller consular networks and fewer applications rather than a deliberate restriction on visa issuance.
More Than Half of Visas Allowed Multiple Entries
Of the 10,265,942 uniform visas issued through consulates, 5,303,749 were multiple-entry visas. This represented 51.7% of the total, slightly below the 52.2% recorded in 2024.
The use of multiple-entry visas varied considerably between Schengen countries:
- Germany: 89.1%
- Croatia: 77.7%
- Belgium: 71.8%
- Switzerland: 66.7%
- Netherlands: 62.5%
- Italy: 60.7%
- France: 38.1%
- Spain: 25.9%
Therefore, a high number of visas issued did not always mean that applicants were likely to receive multiple-entry permission. France issued the most visas overall, but Germany was considerably more likely to issue its successful applicants with multiple-entry visas.
Visas Issued at External Borders Declined
Schengen countries issued an additional 83,790 uniform visas at external border crossing points in 2025. This was 1.6% lower than the 85,118 border visas issued in 2024.
The largest border issuers were:
| Rank | Schengen country | Visas issued at borders |
| 1 | Spain | 27,007 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 13,994 |
| 3 | Italy | 9,036 |
| 4 | Germany | 8,512 |
| 5 | Greece | 7,001 |
These visas represented a relatively small part of overall issuance. More than 99% of uniform visas continued to be issued through consulates rather than at external borders.
Refusal Rate Fell Slightly
While visa issuance increased, the worldwide refusal rate declined from 14.8% in 2024 to 14.6% in 2025. A total of 1,768,605 applications were refused.
Some consular markets recorded lower refusal rates:
- Russian Federation: 6.4%, down from 7.5%.
- Algeria: approximately 31.3%, down from 35%.
- Ethiopia: 34%, down from 36.1%.
However, refusal rates increased sharply in several countries:
- Cape Verde: 21.4%, up from 13.4%.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 40.1%, up from 29.9%.
- Senegal: 51.9%, up from 46.8%.
- Burundi: 53.4%, up from 40%.
In Burundi and Senegal, refusals exceeded the number of visas issued among completed decisions.
Visa Issuance Increased but Remained Below 2019
A total of 12,201,026 short-stay visa applications were submitted in 2025, providing the caseload from which the 10,265,942 uniform visas were issued.
Application demand increased by 4.3% compared with 2024 and 18.5% compared with 2023. However, the more important outcome was the rise in actual visa issuance: more than half a million additional visas were granted compared with the previous year.
Even after this recovery, the number of visas issued remained approximately 4.7 million below the 2019 level. This shows that Schengen visa activity has continued to recover but has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic scale.
France remained the dominant issuing country, while China, Türkiye and India were the largest markets for issued visas. Germany led in the use of multiple-entry visas, and the global refusal rate declined slightly.
Data note: “Country” in the recipient-country rankings means the country where the relevant Schengen consulate was located. The statistics do not directly identify applicants by nationality. Uniform visas, Limited Territorial Validity visas and visas issued at external borders are reported as separate categories.