Top 10 Easiest Schengen Countries to Apply and Get Schengen Visa

Schengen visas are required for non-US nationals traveling to any of the member states of the Schengen zone – Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

Schengen visa statistics from 2014 to 2017

Every year millions of Schengen visa applications are received by consulates throughout the world:

Source: Europe Commission

As you can see, 2014 saw 5.1% of all Schengen visa applications rejected. There was a reduction in applications received in 2015 and 2016, but an increase in the number of applications rejected. 2017 has received more Schengen visa applications than the previous 2 years and the rejection rate increased to 8.15%.

10 Easiest Schengen Visa Countries to Apply and Get Schengen Visas From

When applying for a Schengen visa, the requirements are the same whichever consulate you use, however, the application process differs slightly from consulate to consulate. But, when we look at the different countries that make up the Schengen area, there are some that have a fantastic track record for issuing visas. With that in mind, let’s look at the Top 10 Easiest Schengen countries to obtain a Schengen visa from.

# 1 Iceland

Iceland is currently the leader of the pack with over 99% of its Schengen visa applications accepted in 2017. In 2014, Iceland had a rejection rate of 0.9% which reduced to 0.3% in 2015. Iceland has remained at the top spot since then and there has been a relatively low rejection history, with the latest rejection rate at 0.96%. So, if you’ve ever wanted to go to Iceland, there is a very high chance that your visa will be approved.

# 2 Finland

Finland is number 2 in the top 10 easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa. Its current rejection rate is 1.13% out of 827,520 applications received which means over 98% were issued. Since 2014, Finland has been in either 4^th or 5^th place in the statistics produced by the European Commission and the rejection rate for 2017 is only slightly higher when compared to 2014’s rate of 1%. Don’t delay any longer!

# 3 Lithuania

In 2017, Lithuania received 413,966 Schengen visa applications of which 4,932 were refused which makes the rejection rate 1.19%. In 2016 and 2014, Lithuania was the second easiest country to get a Schengen visa whereas, in 2015, it dropped to 5^th place. However, last year’s rate is still low and the reason why Lithuania is number 3 on this top 10 list of easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa.

# 4 Estonia

Back in 2014, Estonia was 5^th in the list of easiest Schengen countries to obtain a visa with only 1% of its applications being refused out of a grand total of 170,731 applications received. There was an increase to 1.7% in 2015 which meant that Estonia dropped to 6^th place. Since 2016, it has remained in 4^th place with a total of 138,249 Schengen visa applications received in 2017, of which 1,671 were not issued. This means that just under 99% were approved. A fantastic performance for a fantastic destination!

# 5 Latvia

Latvia is another country who has an impressive record for issuing visas. In 2014, this country was number 1 with a refusal rate of just 0.7%. It slipped to 3^rd place in 2015 with 1.1% denied applications out of a total of 164,000. In 2016, it remained in 3^rd place with almost 99% applications approved. Last year, it received 166,800 applications and 1,671 were not issued which means just over 98% of Latvian Schengen visas were issued. Although it has slipped to 5^th place, it’s still a staggering amount of approvals. Let your application be among them!

# 6 Slovakia

6^th place goes to Slovakia with just under 98% of its 41,639 applications approved in 2017. In 2014, the figures show that this country was in 6^th place with a lower rejection rate of 1.6% when compared to subsequent years. Despite a drop to 9^th place with 2.9% of 76,491 applications refused in 2015, it has steadily improved, remaining in 6^th place since then with a current refusal rate of just 2.08%. A fascinating country to visit and one that hands out visas very easily.

# 7 Luxembourg

In 2014, Luxembourg was way down the list of easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa from. When compared to other countries, its rejection rate of 2.1% was large. Thankfully, in 2015 there was a massive turnaround and it went from 9^th place to 2^nd place with just 1% of its 10,267 applications refused. Since then, it has stayed in 7^th place and just over 96% of 10,004 received visa applications have been approved in 2017. 7^th place or not, it’s still easy to get your Schengen visa for Luxembourg!

# 8 Greece

Number 8 on the list of easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa, Greece will always be a popular destination and why not if it’s that easy to get a visa. In 2014, 98% of applications for Greece were accepted. There was a slight decrease in 2015 which meant that the country slipped to 11^th place. However, since 2015 there have been more and more visa applications for Greece with just over 96% approvals out of 1,029,564 applications in 2017.

# 9 Poland

In 2014 and 2015, Poland was the 7^th easiest country to get a Schengen visa, even though the number of visa applications approved dropped from 98.3% to 97.4%. Since then, there has been a steady decrease in the number of approvals. In 2016, 1,096,465 applications were processed and 2.92% were rejected, whereas consulates received a reduced number of applications in 2017. Despite this, Poland has remained in 9^th place and, out of 823,101 applications, just over 97% were approved – still an impressive amount. It’s that easy to get a Polish Schengen visa!

# 10 Czech Republic

Sitting comfortably in 10^th place is the Czech Republic. This country was in 10^th place in 2014 and 2015 with between 96% and 98% of applications approved. However, in 2016, it was pipped to the post by Austria and Hungary who approved 0.84% and 0.36% more applications respectively. In 2017, the Czech Republic made it back into the top 10 of easiest countries to obtain a Schengen visa from with 4.48% denied applications out of a total of 623,255. Although this rate may seem high when compared with others, it still means that 95.5% have been approved. A high number of approved visa applications for a beautiful country – you might just have to visit!

So, there you have the top 10 easiest countries to get a Schengen visa from:

1) Iceland

2) Finland

3) Lithuania

4) Estonia

5) Latvia

6) Slovakia

7) Luxembourg

8) Greece

9) Poland

10) Czech Republic

It’s interesting to see how these country’s rejection and approval rates have fluctuated over the past 4 years. But, however you look at it there’s one thing for sure – if you choose any of these countries you will have a very high chance of having your visa application approved. So, what are you waiting for?

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