Türkiye falls to third place in visa denials

ANKARA

Türkiye has relinquished its position as the country with the highest number of rejected Schengen visa applications in 2021 to Algeria, while topping the list of countries with the most applications, according to data from a Schengen-related news publishing website.

The Schengen crisis, a long-standing issue for Türkiye, has now become a growing problem for many nations seeking visas within the region. Although the European Union claims to have issued more visas than in previous years, the significant number of refusals faced by a large portion of the population continues to disrupt plans.

According to data shared by SchengenVisaInfo, Algeria leads the pack in terms of visa rejections in 2022, followed by India and Türkiye, respectively. Out of more than 390,000 visa applications submitted from Algeria last year, nearly 180,000 were rejected, dethroning Türkiye from its top position in 2021.

Meanwhile, India faced over 670,000 applications in 2022, with around 120,000 of them resulting in unfavorable outcomes. Türkiye, with 778,000 applications in 2022, saw 120,000 rejections.

Morocco and Russia also featured among the top 10 countries with the highest number of visa rejections in 2022. Tunisia faced a particularly high rate of visa refusals, with 29.1 percent of applications being rejected. The United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Iran and Egypt were also among the prominent countries on the list.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously denounced the visa obstacle as "political blackmail." However, the European Union Commission countered, placing the blame on consular staff shortages as the reason for Turkish individuals' difficulties in obtaining visas rather than any negative sentiments toward the country.

Meanwhile, Europe witnesses declining tourism demand from within. Data released by the European Travel Commission indicates a 4 percent decrease in the number of Europeans planning trips between June and November compared to the previous year due to cost concerns.