Greece ranked as the sixth most popular Schengen country for visa applications in 2023, receiving a significant volume from travelers worldwide.
Recent statistics reveal that Greece processed over six percent of all Schengen visa applications last year, totaling 627,008 requests, as highlighted by Monte OZ Travels. The majority of these applications came from Turkey (254,377 or 40.5 percent), followed by Russia (62,959) and China (35,931).
Top 5 Nationalities with Highest Visa Rejection Rates in Greece (2023)
The data indicates that the highest rejection rates by Greek authorities in 2023 were for applicants from countries in Africa and Asia. Here’s a breakdown of the top five nationalities with the highest visa rejections:
Pakistan
Out of 560 applications submitted by Pakistani nationals, over 65 percent (65.54%) were denied, giving Pakistan the highest rejection rate.
Algeria
Greek authorities rejected 59.54 percent of the 2,066 applications from Algerian nationals, with 1,230 applications denied.
Tunisia
Of the 1,564 applications filed by Tunisians, 56.36 percent were rejected, indicating a high rejection rate.
Senegal
Senegal had relatively low application numbers at 240, but 56.25 percent of these (135 applications) were denied.
Iraq
Iraqis submitted 3,568 visa applications, with 49.22 percent (1,756 applications) rejected, putting them fifth on this list.
Greece’s Highest Visa Approval Rates by Country (2023)
On the other side, countries with high visa approval rates were often those with visa liberalization agreements with the EU, like Hong Kong. However, among nations requiring Schengen visas, three stood out with approval rates exceeding 90 percent:
Kazakhstan
Out of 9,674 applications, 97.78 percent (9,459) were approved, leaving only 178 rejected. Kazakh applicants enjoyed the highest acceptance rate.
Indonesia
Greek authorities approved 97.27 percent of 4,326 applications from Indonesian nationals, granting 4,208 visas and rejecting only 101.
Thailand
With 94.75 percent of applications approved, Thai nationals saw 1,803 out of 1,903 applications granted, while only 85 were rejected.