The amount of money Nigerians spent to obtain Schengen visas, short-stay visas that covers most European countries, rose to the highest in three years.
According to a new analysis of visa expenditures by SchengenVisaInfo, Nigeria’s expenditure on Schengen visas rose by 166.0 percent to $344, 863.2 in 2022 from $129,650.4 in 2021.
The Europe-based independent Schengen visa-related information and news publishing website, said Africa’s biggest economy ranked fourth with a 45.1 percent rejection rate of 86,815 applicants, amounting to 39,189 being rejected, leading to the spending of $344, 863.2.
Further analysis shows that the country’s rejection rate is the second highest in Africa behind Algeria which recorded 45.8 percent.
“One of the most common ways the European Union states argue the high rejection rates in some countries, is by insisting that applicants often file incomplete applications, which means they do not submit all the required documents for Schengen visa application, meeting the set criteria,” Shkurta Januzi, editor-in-chief at SchengenVisaInfo, said in a mail to BusinessDay.
He said it is also the case with Nigeria, where most travellers receive a refusal letter.
“The letter says they either did not submit enough evidence to prove they intend to return home after the expiration of their visas or that they do not have enough money to finance their trip to the Schengen Zone, etc,” he added.
The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area. The visa, which permits a person to stay up to 90 days, enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries.
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The Schengen zone includes the 27 countries that have signed the Schengen agreement, which allows citizens of member countries to travel within the zone freely without passing through passport and border control, according to SchengenVisaInfo.
The 27 countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy and Latvia.
Others are Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Researchers at SchengenVisaInfo also revealed that Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia spent the most on Schengen visas in Africa.
A breakdown of the top 10 African spenders list show that Algeria leads with an expenditure of $15.8 million and a 45.8 percent rejection of 392,053 applicants, followed by Morocco with $10.5 million with a 28.2 percent rejection of 423,201 applicants.
Tunisia ranked third with a total of 168,346 applicants where 29.5 percent of them got a rejection making a total of 48,909 refused applicants and $430,399.2 spent.
Egypt ranked fifth with an 18.6 percent rejection rate of 167,995 applicants leading to 31,271 of them being refused and a total of $275,184.8 on expenditure.
Senegal recorded a 41.7 percent rejection rate having spent $208,410.4; Ghana spent $161,594.4 with a 43.6 percent rejection rate. Ivory Coast had 27.7 percent haven spent $140,509.6.
Angola which spent $128,664.8 had a 26.0 percent rejection rate and Kenya spent $100,636.8 recording a 23.4 percent rejection rate.
“The analysis of visa expenditures revealed the substantial financial burden African countries face in obtaining Schengen visas. Many African travellers face complex procedures, lengthy waiting times, and also high rates of visa denials,” the researchers said.
