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Belgium, Denmark post strongest Schengen visa approval rates for Indians
Travelers are required to apply for a Schengen visa through the country that serves as their primary destination.
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Ankita Baidya - Tue, 09, Jun 2026
- 03:30 EDT
- 21
Passengers make their way through the terminal as they travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, U.S., November 22, 2023. / REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Indian travelers applying for Schengen visas had the highest chances of approval through Belgium, Denmark, and Germany in 2025, according to the latest visa statistics released by the European Commission.
With more than 1.15 million Schengen visa applications submitted by Indian citizens last year, the report comes at a time when demand for travel to Europe from India is still rising.
More than 180,000 of those applications were turned down, making up an overall rejection rate of more than 15%.
With 30,434 visas granted out of 33,333 applications, or a 91.3% approval rate, Belgium was found to be the most advantageous location for Indian applicants.
Also Read: Virginia targets Indian tourists as second‑largest international source market: Report
Denmark came in second, granting 15,451 visas out of 17,038 applications, while Germany, which has one of the best approval rates among countries that handle a large number of Indian applicants, granted 136,674 visas out of 153,179 applications.
Sweden and Italy rounded out the top five, with approval rates of 87.8% and 87.3%, respectively.
Switzerland, which processed the highest number of Schengen visa applications from Indians, approved 195,369 visas from 226,044 applications.
The 10 countries with the highest approval rates for Indian travelers in 2025 were:
• Belgium — 91.3%
• Denmark — 90.7%
• Germany — 89.2%
• Sweden — 87.8%
• Italy — 87.3%
• Switzerland — 86.4%
• Hungary — 86.3%
• Finland — 86.2%
• Norway — 85.3%
• France — 84.3%
While several major European destinations reported strong approval rates, a handful of countries continued to record significantly higher rejection levels for Indian applicants.
Slovenia had the highest rejection rate in 2025, turning down 46.9% of Indian applicants.
Lithuania had a rejection rate of 35.7%, while Bulgaria had a rejection rate of 39.4%.
Rejection rates exceeding 25% were also reported in Croatia, Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Iceland and Luxembourg.
Rejection rates, however, do not always accurately represent the actual number of applicants affected.
Relatively few Indian applications are processed by many of the nations with the highest rejection rates.
In contrast, France denied more than 32,000 Indian visa applications in 2025, but because of the volume of applications it processed, the rejection rate remained at 15.7%.
The European Commission data also showed that Indian nationals were among the most affected by Schengen visa refusals globally in 2025, alongside applicants from Algeria, Türkiye and Morocco.
India moved from the third-most rejected nationality in 2024 to the second-most rejected nationality last year in terms of total refusals.
Travelers are required to apply for a Schengen visa through the country that serves as their primary destination.
Nevertheless, the latest figures provide insight into approval trends across Europe as Indian outbound tourism continues to expand.
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