Nigerians and other African nationals seeking a Schengen Visa to enter the European Union will now have to pay an extra £10, as the visa fee has increased to £90 from the previous £80.
This change was announced based on the latest data released by Schengen visa statistics over the weekend. The EU Commission confirmed that starting from June 11, 2024, the new fee structure will be in effect.
According to the data, in 2023, African nationals received 704,000 negative responses for their visa requests. This equates to African nationals spending €56.3 million on visa applications that were ultimately unsuccessful.
“This means that €56.3 million went up in smoke, considering that visa application fees are not refundable,” the report stated.
Specifically, for Nigeria, the report indicated that 636 out of 1,825 visa applications, representing 34.80 percent, were rejected. This implies that EU countries collected €3.4 million from rejected Schengen visa applications submitted by Nigerian citizens.
The report also highlighted that Morocco had the highest number of Schengen Visa applications in the reviewed year.
“African nationals spent €56.3 million in visa application fees in 2023, representing 43 percent of all expenses; rejection rates in 2023 were especially high for African and Asian countries, which bear 90 percent of all expenses. Expenditures are to increase by 12.5 percent starting next week as the EU raises visa fees for adults from €80 to €90 on June 11, following a recent decision by the EU Commission,” it added.
