More than 10.3 million visa applications were submitted in 2023 compared to 2022, a 37% increase.

Chinese nationals applied for visas the most of any country throughout the year, with 1.1 million, according to data from the European Commission. China passed Turkiye to reclaim the top rank for the first time since 2018.

In 2023, the proportion of Chinese nationals applying for Schengen visas exceeded 10%, with Turks and Indians trailing closely behind.

In 2023, 8.49 million visas were granted, indicating an 82.3% approval rate. From 2022 to 2023, this approval rate grew to 78.4%.

China (1.11 million), Turkiye (1.05 million), India (966,000), Morocco (591,000), and Russia (520,387) were the top five nations for visa applications in 2023.

China significantly improved from 22nd place in 2022 to first place in 2023, while Turkiye, which had topped the application list in 2022, fell to second place. Chinese applications surged by 1104% over the previous year, while Turkish applications grew by 36.5%.

Similar to Morocco, which remained in fourth place with 591,401 applications—a 39.7% increase from the previous year—India retained its third position with 966,687 applications, up 43.8% from 2022.

Other than China, Russia also saw significant shifts in application rates, coming in fifth with 520,387 applications in 2023, a drop of 24.2% from its second-place finish in 2022.

In 2023, the percentage of visas denied dropped to 16% (1.6 million applications). This was less than the 2022 and 2021 rejection rates of 17.9% and 13.4%, respectively.

In 2023, there were greater rejection rates for candidates from Iran, Turkiye, Belarus, and Russia. The percentage of people who were rejected increased for Belarusians (from 1.9% in 2022 to 3.4% in 2023), Russians (from 10.2% to 10.6%), and Turks (15.7% to 16.1%). The percentage of Iranian applications that were denied increased from 25.2% in 2022 to 30.3% in 2023.