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Among Schengen states, France is the most preferred destination for Indian travelers. However, it also has the highest number of visa rejections.
According to a report in The Hindu citing data from Schengen Visa Statistics 2022, the five most popular and sought-after destinations for Indian travelers include France (138,000 visa applications), Switzerland (106,000), Spain (80,098) Germany (76,352), and The Netherlands (52,616).
At 20.12 per cent, France has the highest visa rejection rate and 27,681 applications were rejected, the report suggests. It was followed by Spain with 18.5 per cent or 14,852 visas rejected. Even though Switzerland’s rate of rejection was at 13.2 per cent, a total of 13,984 visas were denied due to the volume of applications received was high. Germany has the lowest visa rejection rate at 11.3 per cent, which amounted to 8,615 visas being denied.
Some other countries with the lowest rate of rejection include Iceland (5.5 per cent), Hungary (12.1 per cent), Belgium (12.2 per cent) and Norway (14.5 per cent). However, the total number of applications was much lower for some of these countries with Iceland receiving only 1,861 applications and Belgium 4,824.
What is a Schengen visa?
It is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen area for a period of 90 days for tourism or business purposes.
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According to the report, the Schengen visa is issued by the appropriate authorities. It is worth noting that one cannot enter these countries without a visa.
What is the Schengen area?
According to Schengenvisa Info, Schengen area means a zone where 26 European countries abolished their internal border for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the common judicial system and police cooperation.
It covers most of the European Union nations, excluding Ireland.
