Over 18,000 Nigerian applicants for the Schengen visa, an entry route into the majority of European countries, were rejected in 2022 alone, findings by the Passport Legacy, a trusted partner in bespoke residence and citizenship by investment solutions, revealed.
Nigeria was among the top nine countries with the highest rejection rate when it came to acquiring the Schengen visa.
The 18,000 rejected applicants represented 45.2 percent of the total number of people who applied for this visa in 2022 alone.
This number is over 39,800 Nigerians who applied to go to Sweden, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and 21 other countries in Europe in the Schengen visa agreement, which allows them to move freely within these countries.
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Aside from Nigeria, Pakistan, with a 40.5 percent rejection rate amounting to 17,000 applications, came closest to Africa’s most populous country.
Other notable mentions were Guinea with a rejection rate of 40.6 percent, Senegal with a rejection number of over 10,000 application denials, and Haiti with a rejection rate of 42.3 percent.
Ghana, with a rejection rate of 43.6 percent, representing over 10,000 rejected applications, also made the undesirable list.
Passport Legacy added that “Sri Lanka has a 43.7 percent rejection rate, followed by Guinea-Bissau, whose refusal rate is 45.2 percent.”
Apparently, Algeria led the list with a rejection rate of 45.8 percent, standing at a staggering 75,269 rejected applications—a number that gulps almost seven countries’ rejection numbers.
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According to the globally trusted citizenship and residence by investment firm, as seen on their website, said that denials were based on insufficient funds, insufficient documentation, or other criteria that immigration officials considered sufficient for denials.
Facts show that all nine countries are dealing with a high rate of inflation and unemployment, which are the main reasons why people decide to migrate to wealthier countries.
Nigeria’s inflation as of November 2023 stands at 27.33 percent, Ghana at 35.2 percent, and Guinea at 15.2 percent. All data are presented by their respective agencies responsible for the computation of these data.
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