EU countries made over Rs 1,100 crore in rejected visa applications in 2023: Report
African countries were disproportionately affected as the rejection rate for applications from Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria was as high as 40-50%.
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The European Union countries raked in 130 million euros, or Rs 1,181 crore, in 2023 through rejected visa application fees with African and Asian countries bearing 90% of that cost, according to a report by the EUobserver.
Published on Wednesday, the report analysed data compiled by LAGO Collective, an organisation that works on policy-making issues.
The data analysed does not include the money lost by being unable to travel for business and leisure, or bills for legal advice and private agencies that process visa applications.
The application fees for a Schengen visa, which allows persons to travel in 29 European countries, is non-refundable.
The report showed that the visa rejection rate by European Union countries and the United Kingdom was higher for low and middle-income countries. It said that African countries were disproportionately affected as the rejection rate for applications from Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria was as high as 40-50%.
The data compiled by LAGO Collective showed that 20% of tourist visa applications of Indians were rejected by the UK last year.
“Over the past year, the EU has begun to use visa restrictions as a political tool, using Article 25a of its 2019 visa code — a provision which allows it to apply visa restrictions for countries with low rates of migrant returns,” the EUobserver report...
