Germany Urged to Resolve Schengen Visa-Related Problems Turkish Nationals Face as Soon as Possible
Mutlu sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, in which it highlighted the long waiting times as well as the high rejection rates, and it suggested that the number of staff in the consulates and embassies gets increased, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
According to Mutlu, by increasing the number of people working at consulates and embassies, the authorities would be able to solve the issue of long waiting times.
Additionally, in order to reduce other issues too, Mutlu suggested that Germany start issuing Schengen visas valid for a period of five years for Turkish nationals.
Nationals of Türkiye have been facing visa-related problems not only when planning to reach Germany but other European Union countries too.
The rejection rates for applications lodged by nationals of Türkiye especially increased after the COVID-19 measures got lifted.
Schengen Visa Statistics show that the number of visa applications filed at Schengen embassies and the rejection rates started to increase in 2017 and reached the highest level in 2021. In 2017, Turkish nationals filed around 971,710 Schengen visa applications, 6.4 per cent of which were rejected.
Compared to 2017, the rejection rate increased by ten per cent in 2021. Data show that in 2021, nationals of Türkiye filed 271,977 applications for a Schengen visa, of which 16.5 per cent got rejected.
In addition to the above-mentioned, data show that Germany alone rejected about 22,2 per cent of the visa application filed by Turkish nationals in 2021. Such numbers are significantly higher compared to 2018, when only around 11.9 per cent of the applications were rejected by the German authorities.
Taking into account such a significant increase in the rejection rate, Türkiye submitted a complaint to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and it required that its citizens get treated the same as those from other countries.
After assessing the situation as well as considering all the factors, PACE said that the EU Member States take additional measures to make the system fairer and, at the same time, recommended that the EU countries introduce remedies for all those who believe they have been wronged.
