Report: Kenya’s EU visa rejection rate is more than twice the global average

EU Visa illustration

One in three Schengen visa applications lodged in Kenya was not issued a visa last year, putting the country’s rejection rate at more than twice the global average.

European Commission data show that 25,227 of the 76,271 visa decisions made by Schengen consulates in Kenya in 2025 ended without a visa.

Across the Schengen area, more than 12 million applications were lodged in 2025, and more than 10 million visas were issued.

Kenya’s position, however, deteriorated significantly from the previous year, when the not-issued rate stood at about 29.1 per cent.

The not-issued rate ranged from 16.7 per cent at the Czech consulate and 16.9 per cent for Spain to 60.9 per cent for Norway.

Other countries recorded substantially higher rates, including Sweden at about 40 per cent, Belgium at more than 40 per cent and Hungary at about 40 per cent.

Norway’s denial rate was the highest, with a 60.9 per cent not-issued rate out of the 9,565 applications lodged.

Norway’s rate represented a sharp deterioration from 2024, when the not-issued rate stood at 35.6 per cent, a difference of more than 25 percentage points.

The EU did not indicate what contributed to the high rejection rate.

Sweden handled the largest volume of applications among the individual consulates, with about 15,699 applications, while recording a not-issued rate of roughly 40 per cent.

However, the EU makes a key distinction that the figures do not measure refusal rates among Kenyan citizens wherever they apply.

The European Commission data is organised according to where the application was lodged. This means the Kenya figures cover applications handled by Schengen consulates in Kenya, regardless of the applicant’s nationality.

Kenya’s difficult visa environment is not confined to Schengen travel.

According to figures cited in a recent analysis by Kestrel Private, UK visitor visa refusals for Kenyan nationals stood at 34.2 per cent in 2025, broadly similar to Kenya’s Schengen rate.

According to the advisory firm, which specialises in residence and citizenship, the US refusal rate for Kenyan nationals applying for B-category visitor visas reached 68.2 per cent in 2025.

The US figure is not directly comparable with the Schengen rate because it measures applications by nationality and uses a different methodology.

The US Department of State’s official 2025 financial year table confirms the 68.23 per cent refusal rate for Kenyans.

The figures nevertheless demonstrate the growing difficulty Kenyan travellers face when seeking access to some of the world’s major destinations.

The European figures also place Kenya within a wider African pattern of relatively high Schengen rejection rates.

The commission reported refusal rates of 53.4 per cent in Burundi, 51.9 per cent in Senegal and 40.1 per cent in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

As a result, Kestrel Private says wealthy families who travel frequently are increasingly looking at alternatives to repeated visa applications.

Kestrel Private, a private-client advisory firm, argues that obtaining qualifying European residence can provide a form of “Plan B” for affluent families. A valid residence permit issued by a Schengen state can remove the need for a fresh Schengen visa for short travel, subject to normal entry conditions.

The firm models Greek residence at about €280,000 (Sh42.27 million) all-inclusive and Cypriot permanent residence at about €375,000 (Sh56.62 million). It also examines citizenship options in Grenada and São Tomé and Príncipe.

These are the firm’s own modelled costs rather than official programme thresholds.

While most Kenyans remain dependent on the outcome of an individual visa application, those with substantial capital can potentially secure residence status that reduces the need for repeated applications.