Nigerians are increasingly experiencing significant challenges in obtaining visas to Schengen countries, with rejection rates reaching outstanding levels amid rising migration to developed nations.
According to our findings 40.8% of the 105,926 Schengen visa applications submitted by Nigerians in 2024—equivalent to 42,940 applications—were denied. Migration has long been a hallmark of the Nigerian middle class, but the trend has skyrocketed over the past four years, driven by worsening economic conditions. Inflation hit a historic high of 34.6% in November 2024, to add salt to injury, a cost-of-living crisis, unemployment, and a scarcity of opportunities, prompting thousands to seek better prospects abroad.
The elevated rejection rate placed Nigeria among the top 20 countries with the highest Schengen visa denials, ranking 11th overall. The report attributed the high rejection levels to factors such as weak passport power and identity-based visa policies. Over the past decade, rejection rates have more than doubled, creating significant barriers to economic mobility for Nigerians and other African citizens.
Nigeria’s passport ranked 94th in the latest Henley Passport Index, reflecting its limited global mobility. African nations, in general, faced higher Schengen visa rejection rates compared to other regions, despite submitting a relatively small volume of applications. The report revealed that six African nations ranked among the top 10 globally for Schengen visa rejections.
- Comoros led with a 61.3% rejection rate.
- Guinea-Bissau followed at 51%
- Ghana at 47.5%
- Mali at 46.1%
- Sudan at 42.3%
- Senegal at 41.2%.
Other countries in the top 10 include Pakistan (49.6%), Syria (46%), Bangladesh (43.3%), and Greece, which, despite being part of the Schengen area, recorded the second-highest rejection rate globally at 56.4%.
The report further highlighted that African nations accounted for only 2.8% of global Schengen visa applications but experienced an exceptionally high rejection rate of 44.8%. Half of the 277,792 applicants from the top 10 countries with the highest denials were refused visas.
In 2023, the top 20 African and Asian countries collectively submitted 703,894 Schengen visa applications—6.8% of the global total—with an overall rejection rate of 40%. African applicants fared worse, facing a 45% rejection rate compared to a 40% combined average for Africa and Asia.
Professor Mehari Maru, a scholar at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, commented on the report: “The global mobility divide is widening significantly. While global travel freedom has nearly doubled—from 58 visa-free destinations in 2006 to 111 in 2025—the gap between the most and least mobile nations is at an all-time high. Africans face persistently higher rejection rates than their Asian and global counterparts. In 2023, African applicants were twice as likely to be denied visas compared to Asians, despite submitting half as many applications.”
