The European Union has reportedly earned €3.4 million from rejected Schengen visa applications submitted by Nigerian citizens in 2023, according to a report by Nairametrics.
This substantial revenue forms part of a larger global figure, with the EU governments collectively raking in €130 million from rejected Schengen visa applications.
African and Asian countries bore 90 per cent of these costs, as detailed by EUobserver.com.
The statistics, published on Saturday, reveal a troubling trend: African countries are disproportionately affected by high rejection rates. For example, applicants from Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria face rejection rates as high as 40-50 per cent.
These figures do not account for the indirect costs incurred by applicants, such as lost opportunities for business and leisure travel or expenses related to legal advice and visa processing agencies.
Marta Foresti, founder of LAGO Collective and senior visiting fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, highlighted the severe impact of these costs, referring to them as “reverse remittances”—funds flowing from poorer nations to wealthier ones.
“Visa inequality has very tangible consequences and the world’s poorest pay the price,” Foresti said.
“We never hear about these costs when discussing aid or migration, it is time to change that.”
The EU estimates that visa overstays contribute to about half of all irregular migration within its 27 member states. In 2023, over 83,000 non-EU citizens were deported, marking a return rate of 19 per cent, according to the EU Commission.
In recent years, the EU has increasingly used visa restrictions as a political tool.
Article 25a of the 2019 visa code allows the EU to impose visa restrictions on countries with low rates of migrant returns. For instance, in April, the EU Council imposed visa sanctions on Ethiopia, extending visa processing times from 15 to 45 days due to Ethiopia’s lack of cooperation in returning its nationals.
Conversely, visa restrictions on The Gambia were lifted after its migrant return rate increased from 14 per cent in 2022 to 37 per cent in 2023.
The trend of visa rejections, described as ‘reverse remittances’ in an EUobserver analysis, continues to grow.
These fees are non-refundable, regardless of the application outcome, disproportionately affecting applicants from low and middle-income countries. In 2023, the total cost of Schengen visa rejections rose to €130 million, up from €105 million in 2022.
The rejection rate is expected to increase further in 2024 as the EU visa application fee for adults rises from €80 to €90 starting June 11, following a recent EU Commission decision.
The UK has also seen significant revenue from rejected visa fees, raising £44 million (€50 million) in 2023.
This highlights the broader financial burden faced by visa applicants worldwide, with those from less affluent countries bearing the brunt of the costs.