The European Union is raising the price tag for Africans seeking entry. The report from the EU states that visa applications for the Schengen Area will cost €10 more, jumping from €80 to €90. This 12.5% increase adds to the already heavy financial burden on many African applicants, who grapple with high rejection rates and significant upfront costs.
Statistics from Schengen visas reveal a sobering reality for Africans in 2023. Over 700,000 applications were rejected, translating to a hefty €56.3 million spent on non-refundable fees. This money, referred to as “reverse remittances,” represents a financial outflow from African countries to the EU, with little benefit for the applicants.
The impact is particularly harsh on Africans, who bore the brunt of these costs in 2023. They accounted for nearly half (43.1%) of the total expenditure on rejected applications. Algeria and Morocco were especially hard-hit. Algerians, the second-largest applicant group, saw over 42% of their applications denied, while Moroccans faced an even steeper rejection rate of 62%. This resulted in millions of Euros spent on unsuccessful visa bids for both countries.
Nigeria alone contributed €3.4 million to the EU’s coffers through rejected visa applications, highlighting the significant financial burden on individual applicants. This trend is particularly concerning for African and Asian countries, who collectively shoulder a staggering 90% of all visa-related expenses despite facing high rejection rates. A recent EU Observer study underscores this growing issue, with visa rejections generating €130 million in 2023, up from €105 million the year before. Morocco has the highest number of Schengen Visa Applications in 2023.
“Visa inequality has real-world consequences, and the poorest in the world are paying the price,” said Marta Foresti, founder of the LAGO Collective. “The costs of rejected visas are essentially ‘reverse remittances,’ money flowing from less fortunate countries to wealthier ones. This cost is never factored into discussions about aid or migration. It’s time for a change.”
As the EU implements the new visa fee structure, the financial strain on African visa applicants is poised to intensify. With some of the world’s lowest wages, many Africans will find the increased costs even more difficult to manage.
