Schengen short-stay (Type C) · 2025
Where Schengen says yes — and where it says no.
Each Schengen consulate decides your visa on its own. Approval rates vary by more than 40 points between the easiest and toughest member states. Hover any country to see the numbers.
Hover any Schengen country for its 2025 approval rate. Click to open the country card below. Source: European Commission, DG HOME.
Personal outlook
Your Schengen approval outlook simulator
Don't settle for "Spain = 85%". Tell us about your profile and we'll estimate your approval outlook per country, flag the weak points, and recommend an approach.
Your profile
Tell us about yourself
Ties to home country
The #1 reason listed on Schengen refusal letters is "intention to leave before visa expires could not be ascertained." Your score here is built from the specific factors below.
Safest recommended country
Italy
Low risk · high confidence
Indicative base of ~7% refusal for India → Italy. Spread is illustrative, not reconciled to official totals.
range 87–95%
Personal outlook by consulate
- 1Italy87–95%91%
- 2Romania86–94%90%
- 3Slovakia85–93%89%
- 4Bulgaria85–93%89%
- 5Greece85–93%89%
- 6Hungary84–92%88%
Why your score isn't higher
- Ties to home country — Without property, dependents or student enrolment, return intent is hard to prove.(medium impact)
- Financial strength — Income or savings band is below the comfort threshold most consulates expect.(low impact)
Recommended approach
- 1.Apply via Italy — your best statistical outlook at ~91%.
- 2.Build a day-by-day itinerary with city transitions and pre-booked entry tickets.
- 3.Attach property deeds, a rental lease in your name, or a land title to prove a fixed address back home.
- 4.Show 3–6 months of consistent bank statements before submitting.
- If you raised savings to €15k+93%+2
- If you had a prior Schengen visa92%+1
- If you booked hotels & a clear itinerary93%+2
How we calculate this
The base layer for each country is an indicative nationality × member-state refusal rate — a representative figure in the ballpark of publicly reported corridor patterns, used to give a realistic spread between consulates for your passport. These numbers are not pulled row-by-row from the EC consulate dataset and have not been reconciled to the published national totals. Corridors marked Indicative use this layer; others fall back to the member-state aggregate plus a passport-tier adjustment.
Your personal profile is then scored on five factors (travel history 25%, ties to home country 25%, financial strength 20%, employment stability 15%, trip clarity 15%) and used to nudge the baseline up or down, with a small extra penalty at stricter consulates.
Background reference: European Commission, DG HOME — Schengen short-stay visa statistics. National (member-state) approval rates in the table are from the 2024 EC release; the per-corridor spread is our own estimate, not an official figure.
Estimates are based on historical trends and self-reported inputs, not official embassy decisions. Treat them as planning ranges.
| Country | Approval |
|---|---|
 Slovakia | 90.4% |
 Italy | 88.6% |
 Romania | 88.5% |
 Austria | 88.0% |
 Latvia | 87.5% |
 Switzerland | 87.5% |
 Bulgaria | 87.5% |
 Hungary | 87.0% |
 Germany | 86.9% |
 Finland | 86.6% |
 Iceland | 86.2% |
 France | 85.8% |
 Czech Republic | 85.8% |
 Lithuania | 85.6% |
 Greece | 85.5% |
 Spain | 85.4% |
 Luxembourg | 85.3% |
 Norway | 84.3% |
 Poland | 84.2% |
 Netherlands | 82.3% |
 Croatia | 81.5% |
 Slovenia | 78.6% |
 Denmark | 78.3% |
 Portugal | 76.7% |
 Sweden | 76.7% |
 Estonia | 75.4% |
 Belgium | 73.9% |
 Malta | 61.6% |
Head to head
Compare two countries side by side
Pick any two Schengen states to compare approval rates, processing waits, volume and outsourcing partners.
Calculator
Schengen 90/180-day stay calculator
You can only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days within any rolling 180-day window. Add your past and planned trips below to see how many days you've used and how many you have left.
15 Jan 2026 – 13 Jul 2026
Days used
0
in last 180 days
Days remaining
90
of 90 allowed
Status
90 day(s) left to use
180-day overview
The calculator counts every day you spent in the Schengen Area within the 180-day rolling window ending on your chosen check date. Entry and exit days both count as full days. If you are currently over the 90-day limit, you must leave the Schengen Area until enough days roll out of the window.
Common questions
Schengen visa FAQ
The approval rate is the percentage of short-stay (Type C) visa applications that are granted by a specific Schengen member state. It is calculated as: visas issued ÷ total applications × 100. A higher rate means that consulate is statistically more likely to approve your visa.
Not directly. The rate is an aggregate across all nationalities and application types. Your personal outcome depends on your specific circumstances: financial stability, travel history, purpose of visit, ties to your home country, and completeness of documentation. Use the rate as a directional signal, not a guarantee.
Based on 2025 data, Slovakia has the highest approval rate at 90.4%, followed by Italy (88.6%) and Romania (88.5%). However, you must apply at the country that is your main destination or your point of first entry into the Schengen Area. You cannot simply 'shop' for the easiest consulate.
No. You must apply at the consulate of the country that is your main destination (where you will spend the most time). If you plan to visit multiple countries for equal lengths of time, apply at the consulate of the country you will enter first. Applying at the wrong consulate can lead to automatic rejection.
Malta has the lowest Schengen approval rate at 61.6%. This is partly because Malta has a very small consular network and receives applications from high-risk regions where representing consulates may conduct stricter reviews. Malta also has limited visa processing capacity.
These are private visa application centre (VAC) operators. Schengen countries outsource the collection of applications, biometrics and document verification to these companies. They do not make approval decisions — that remains with the consulate — but they manage scheduling, intake and sometimes passport return.
You can apply up to 6 months before your planned travel date. In practice, appointment availability varies wildly: some posts have slots within days, while others (especially Germany, Italy and Malta) require booking 2–3 months ahead. Check the specific consulate's calendar as early as possible.
Not necessarily. Approval rate and processing speed are independent. For example, Greece has an 85.5% approval rate but often processes quickly, while Germany has an 86.9% approval rate but appointments can be hard to get and processing may take longer at busy posts.
Yes. The approval rates come from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), which publishes complete Schengen visa statistics annually. The practical data (wait times, outsourcing partners) is compiled from official consulate and VAC operator notices.