We knew Schengen visas to be a rare commodity in the Maghreb, but we can say that it is a lesser evil in view of what is happening in Algeria. Indeed in Algiers, no consulate or embassy of a western member country of the European Union practically deigns to issue visas to Algerian nationals as easily as before. And for good reason, the refusal rates are around nearly 90%.
After France and Spain, several other major European countries have tightened the restrictions imposed on Algerian nationals concerning the conditions for issuing Schengen visa documents. Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and even more tolerant countries like Switzerland (non-Schengen) or Hungary process Schengen visa applications from Algerian nationals, but do not hardly deliver any, especially when it comes to the families of military or even civilian leaders and especially political figures of the power in place. Measures as signals with regard to the Algiers regime, to better signify to it the hostile policy that it leads with regard to European interests and several member countries of the European Union such as Spain.
These “sanctions” are going very badly among the happy few in charge of the country and are even causing divisions within the troops orbiting around the Algerian regime, which is pursuing a dictatorial policy and above all against Western interests. to lead Algeria into chaos. For the time being, only Italy is issuing short-term visas in dribs and drabs, which do not allow you to set foot on French soil or cross other borders of European Union countries.
The French consulates in Algeria have rejected, during the last year, no less than 31,955 Schengen visa applications made by Algerians for France and 40,000 visas rejected by the countries of the Schengen area, i.e. 80.6% per all European countries in 2021. With so many refusals this year, Algeria is ranked among the third countries with the highest share of refused Schengen visas. Yet it is in the top 4 of the countries that have benefited from the largest number of visas behind Morocco and ahead of Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
The year 2021 remains the reference, because if France has indeed granted the largest number of Schengen visas to applicants from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, things have changed drastically for nationals from these 3 countries from September 2021. , when France had tightened the conditions for obtaining visas (50% reduction in visas granted for Algerians and Moroccans and 33% for Tunisians).
In 2020, the Schengen visa application refusal rate was 13.6% (higher than in 2019: 9.9, all Schengen countries combined). That same year, the countries that filed the most applications were Russia, Turkey, China, Morocco and India, while the countries that processed the most Schengen visa applications were France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic.
However, the Europeans who issue Schengen visas the most easily are Estonia with the lowest visa refusal rate (1.5%) of all the Schengen States Lithuania with only 2, 1% of applications rejected, Latvia, which finds itself on the Schengen podium having issued visas the most easily, in 2020, only 2.7% of applications received a negative response, Finland, 3.7% of the rate of refusal with 137,536 short-stay Schengen visas granted and finally, tied, Iceland and Slovakia which refused 4% of visa applications submitted to their representations abroad.
Nice to know, Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in Europe, also has a low refusal rate (5.2%) and is bordered by France, Belgium and Germany, and is therefore an ideal main destination to then travel through the Schengen area.
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