Germany Is Your Best Option for Obtaining a Multiple Entry Schengen Visa Data Show

Newly released data on Schengen visa applications for last year show that 90.6 per cent of the Schengen visas issued by the German consulates and visa centres located worldwide were multiple-entry, permitting their holder to enter the territory more than once.

In exact numbers, out of 1,043,297 visa applications admitted, Germany issued 817,307 visas, of which 740,356 were multiple-entry.

While a few other countries also approach this rate, with Slovenia having an 81.6 per cent rate of multiple-entry visas issuance and Estonia 81.3 per cent, the countries that received a higher number of visa applications than Germany in 2022, France and Spain, have a way lower share of MEVs’ issuance.

Though France was once again the top favourite country for Schengen visa applicants with almost two million applications received in 2022, only 40 per cent of the visas it issued were valid for more than one entry.

Similarly, Spain, who this year was the second Schengen country with the most short-term visa applications received, issued only 39.3 per cent of them with the multiple-entry option, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.

Aside from Germany, Slovakia, and Estonia, other countries with a high share of MEVs issued, are as follows:

• Austria – 74.9 per cent out of 125,275 visas granted
• Italy – 73.8 per cent out of 629,223
• Finland – 72.3 per cent out of 142,302

Whereas the countries with the lowest rates of MEVs issued are Iceland (5.8 per cent), Norway (33.6 per cent), and Sweden (33.6 per cent).

Germany’s Rejection Rate Is Also Under the EU Average

Germany not only has the highest MEV issuance rate, but also has one of the lowest rejection rates amongst the rest of the Member States.

Data show that in 2022, Germany rejected 16.2 per cent of applications it received, while the average rejection rate for all Schengen Member States was 17.9 per cent. This means that the chances of having your Schengen visa rejected by the German authorities are way lower than by most Schengen countries.

The four Schengen countries with the highest rejection rates in 2022 were Malta, Sweden, Belgium and France, which means travellers were more likely to have their visa rejected if they applied at the consulates or visa centres of these four countries.

The Schengen states with the lowest rejection rates, on the other hand, were Iceland, Lithuania, Finland, and Latvia.