Latest news with #visaRejection
Mail & Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
It's time to talk about weaponising visas against Africans
The anti-migration regulations in Europe and the US against Africans continue to affect the sociopolitical and economic development of Africa. Thousands of Africans who apply for visas continue to have their applications rejected. Moreover, most Africans are charged exorbitant non-refundable fees when applying for visas. Millions in foreign and local currencies are accumulated by European and US embassies in various African countries from visa applications annually. African visa applicants face more severe restrictions compared with applicants from other regions, resulting in a disproportionately high rejection rate. In 2022, Africa topped the list of rejections with 30% or one in three of all processed applications being turned down, even though it had the lowest number of visa applications per capita. Africa accounted for seven of the top 10 countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates in 2022: Algeria (45.8%), Guinea-Bissau (45.2%), Nigeria (45.1%), Ghana (43.6%), Senegal (41.6%), Guinea (40.6%) and Mali (39.9%). The situation has become worse over the years as economic instability and conflicts continue to rage in most African countries. Some African countries have started calling for visa reciprocity against travellers from Europe and the US. The US and most European countries do not require visas to enter African countries. According to Justice Malala, a South African political analyst, in May, Namibia unveiled measures to impose entry visa requirements to more than 30 countries that have not reciprocated its open visa regime. Nigeria has threatened to impose the same measures. In the run-up to the French election earlier in July, a Chadian official told France's Le Monde newspaper that if incoming leaders block visas for Chadians, 'we will apply reciprocity'. Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema recently raised the issue of non-refundable visa fees in his country, demanding the rules on non-refundable fees be re-examined and the visa application fees be refunded to Zambians whose applications are rejected. If his demand is accepted, this must apply to all African countries. According to European states, most rejections are based on 'reasonable doubts about the visa applicants' intention to return home'. Many Africans believe otherwise. They claim that African visa rejections are weaponised against Africans to deprive them of voices at critical political and socio-economic gatherings on global matters such as climate change, artificial intelligence, human trafficking in Europe and the US. These discussions eventually become policies that affect Africa. An increased number of leading Africans on these subjects continue to have their applications rejected. These do not sound like people who present 'reasonable doubts about the visa applicants' intentions to return home'. African News reports that African governments are building partnerships with Europe across sectors, trade, education, and technology. But the barriers to movement stand in stark contrast to the rhetoric of cooperation. The rise of right-wing politics in many parts of the world has also further complicated matters for African visa applicants. Pressure from far-right parties who are in power in half a dozen member states in Europe are outdoing each other in introducing tough anti-immigration measures. US President Donald Trump has just imposed travel bans on 12 countries, of which seven are African — Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. Travel restrictions will be imposed on people from Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Even before this measure, Trump's anti-migration political campaign and his subsequent extra-judicial expulsion of immigrants without due process now that he is in power has emboldened right-wing anti-migration politics throughout the world. The victory on Monday of the nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki in Poland's presidential election is one case in point. Nawrocki is an admirer of Trump who support by calling for tighter immigration controls and championing conservative social values in the EU. The BBC reports that Trump's administration can temporarily revoke the legal status of more than 500,000 migrants living in the US, the US Supreme Court ruled recently. The ruling puts on hold a previous federal judge's order stopping the administration from ending the 'parole' immigration programme, established by former president Joe Biden. The programme protected immigrants fleeing economic and political turmoil in their home countries. The new order puts roughly 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela at risk of being deported. It is not just the rejection of visa applications that is troubling; the non-refundable visa application fees continue to negatively affect applicants' financial status. According to the London-based research and arts organisation LAGO Collective, African countries have lost an estimated $67.5 million in non-refundable Schengen visa application fees since 2024. Africans find themselves going against the tide in a globalised world where mobility equates to opportunity. They are finding themselves locked out 'not because they lack intention or preparation, but because the system increasingly seems stacked against them'. This matter deserves a wider discussion, preferably at the African Union. The visa rejections of Africans are not only about Africans overstaying their allowed time in Europe and the US. It is about Europe and the US continuing with business as usual, particularly at multilateral level, where binding discussions without the involvement of Africans are taken. This is particularly the case regarding rare earth minerals and other metals essential to new technologies. Thembisa Fakude is a senior research fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues and a director at the Mail & Guardian.
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Germany Scraps Informal Visa Rejection Appeals Process
Visa stamp in passport close-up. Germany has gotten rid of an informal procedure for people to appeal visa rejections. The system, which the government claimed is too costly to staff, is to be replaced with a more official procedure that is likely to take considerably longer and be more expensive. The move looks likely to affect many Indian citizens in particular, who face a relatively high rate of rejection for Schengen visas, and comes as non-EU nationals face considerable hassle in the visa process. Up until 2025, the so-called 'remonstration' process allowed people to appeal a Schengen visa rejection fairly easily and for free, with the state obliged to then explain the reason for the rejection. The system, which was run semi-informally, usually took a relatively short amount of time. From July 2025, the German government has announced, this remonstration system will be scrapped and rejectees will be obliged to go through a more formal, and far more costly, legal process. The government has justified scrapping the remonstration process by arguing that the system is too labor intensive and causes delays in processing other categories of visas, particularly work visas, which the German government has prioritized. Whatever the reason, the effect is likely to mean more people from poorer non-EU regions rejected with little to no possibility of redress. The news has been extensively covered in India. Hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens are issued Schengen visas via Germany per year, with a reasonably high approval rate relative to other countries. The overall rejection rate for Indians across Schengen visas is quite high, however, with estimates being around 15% of people being rejected on the first application, and millions of dollars lost on visa fees. Schengen visas, which allow a non-EU citizen to enter the Schengen visa-free zone of free movement, are the main pathway for people around the world to travel in Europe. For citizens of many parts of the world, including China, India, Turkey and elsewhere, the process of applying can be very expensive and time consuming. It is common for people to wait months, even years, before being allowed to travel to Europe, while people from other and more wealthier regions (Australia, the US, the U.K.) typically enjoy visa-free entry into the Schengen zone. Visas have often been at the heart of relations between Germany and India, as they are between many countries, representing as they do exchange and welcome. The previous German government of Olaf Scholz made a point of increasing the number of skilled worker visas it would offer to Indian citizens, with the announcement made while Chancellor Scholz was in New Delhi visiting Indian PM Modi. Skilled worker visas, different to the Schengen visas mentioned above which are typically for tourists, are important both to India, as well as to Germany which faces historic labor shortages and has implemented various measures in recent years to boost foreign recruitment. The visa remonstration process is to be scrapped by the beginning of July 2025. The legal process that will take over is expected to cost thousands and could see people waiting years, rather than months, for a response.
Khaleej Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Schengen visa: Indians lost Rs1.36 billion in rejected applications in 2024
In 2004, over 1.65 lakh Schengen visa applications from India were rejected, causing a loss of a whopping ₹136 crore (Dh58 million) in non-refundable fees. India is third among countries with maximum losses, followed by Turkey and Algeria. Each visa application cost around €85 (Rs 8,270 or Dh 357); the fee was revised to €90 in the middle of the year for Indian applicants aged 12 and above. According to Conde Nast Traveller, the total amount that Indians spent on filing visa applications in 2024 was around Rs 9.16 billion. The report added that of the 11.08 lakh Schengen visa applications filed by Indians , a total of 1,65,266 were turned down which is a rejection rate of nearly 15 per cent . France topped the list of Schengen countries that rejected the most Indian visa applications — 31,314 in total —leading to a loss of around Rs 258 million. It was followed by Switzerland, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands that caused the most losses. This year, more than 217,000 applications were submitted from India to Switzerland alone, making it the most sought-after Schengen state for Indian travellers. It was followed by France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Globally, Algerians faced the highest losses (15.7 million euros or Rs 1.53 billion), followed by Turks (14.4 million euros or Rs 1.40 billion), Conde Nast Traveller quoted data from the European Commission as saying.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Africans lost nearly $70M to denied visas applications to Europe in 2024
When Joel Anyaegbu's application for a Schengen visa to travel to Barcelona was denied late last year, he was surprised but immediately reapplied. He sent in more documents than were required, including bank statements and proof of property ownership in Nigeria. He was rejected again. 'The information submitted regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay were not reliable,' read a checklist returned with his passport from the Spanish consulate in Lagos. The 32-year-old gaming consultant said he felt humiliated. 'I had to cancel meetings with partners at the conference I was attending,' he told CNN. 'I emailed the embassy to understand why I was denied but it has not been answered to date.' Anyaegbu's was among the 50,376 short-stay Schengen visa applications rejected in Nigeria last year, nearly half of all submissions, according to newly released data from the European Commission. Applicants worldwide pay a non-refundable visa fee of 90 euros (about $100), so Nigerians alone lost over 4.5 million euros (about $5 million) seeking permission to travel to the 29 European countries that make up the Schengen Area. In total, African countries lost 60 million euros ($67.5 million) in rejected Schengen visa fees in 2024, analysis from the LAGO Collective shows. The London-based research and arts organization has been monitoring data on European short-term visas since 2022 and says Africa is the continent worst affected by the cost of visa rejections. 'The poorest countries in the world pay the richest countries in the world money for not getting visas,' its founder Marta Foresti told CNN. 'As in 2023, the poorer the country of application, the higher the rejection rates. African countries are disproportionately affected with rejection rates as high as 40-50% for countries like Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria.' She says this proves 'inbuilt discrimination and bias' in the process. A European Commission spokesperson told CNN that member states consider visa applications on a case-by-case basis. 'Each file is assessed by experienced decision-makers on its own merits, in particular regarding the purpose of stay, sufficient means of subsistence, and the applicants' will to return to their country of residence after a visit to the EU,' the spokesperson said via email. Africans have long complained about inconsistent, sometimes baffling decisions about who gets approved or denied while applying for European visas. Cameroonian Jean Mboulé was born in France but when he applied for a visa in 2022 alongside his wife using similar documents, his application was rejected but hers was not. 'At the time she was unemployed but with a South African passport. She had no income but received a visa on the back of my financial statement,' he told CNN. 'But the embassy said they refused my application because my documents were fake, and they weren't sure I would come back to South Africa, where I am a permanent resident, if I went to France.' The 39-year-old regional executive took legal action in French courts and won, forcing the French embassy in Johannesburg to grant his visa and pay him a fine of 1,200 euros. He told an administrative tribunal in the French city of Nantes that the embassy's decision to deny him a visa was 'tainted by insufficient reasoning.' Mboulé pointed out that he had provided sufficient guarantees that he would return at the end of his trip to his wife and daughter in South Africa where he owns a building. After he got the visa, he chose to go to Mauritius instead as he didn't want to spend his money in France. The Cameroonian's case is unique as many Africans denied Schengen visas rarely appeal or contest the decisions in court. Like Anyaegbu, the Nigerian gaming consultant, they often reapply, losing more money in the process. Mboulé has travelled several times to the UK and other African countries but was still denied twice for Schengen. 'The financial cost of rejected visas is just staggering; you can think of them as 'reverse remittances,' money flowing from poor to rich countries, which we never hear about,' the LAGO Collective's Foresti says. Schengen visa fees increased from 80 to 90 euros in July 2024, making it even more expensive for the world's poorest applicants. But South African management lecturer Sikhumbuzo Maisela said the visa rejection rates for Africans were lower than he expected. 'The visa vetting process seems to be shaped less by outright prejudice and more by historical patterns of behaviour,' he told CNN via email. 'Western countries have had instances where visa holders overstayed or violated terms, and this has influenced how future applications are scrutinized.' Though he hasn't conducted formal academic research on the issue, Maisela said Africans should treat visas as an act of trust and hospitality, and observe the rules. 'When one person violates these principles, it impacts all of us,' he said. 'It makes it harder for the next applicant — someone who may be fully compliant — to be granted the same opportunity. So, in a way, those who break the rules contribute to the very discrimination others face.' Younger Africans are the most vocal about visa rejections online but older applicants face similar barriers. Julius Musimeenta, a 57-year-old Ugandan engineer, applied for a visa to attend an engineering fair in Munich last year with his family. All six of them were rejected even though they had all previously traveled to Europe. 'Africans contribute a lot to funding these embassies through these rejections. They always think negatively about us travelling to their countries,' he told CNN. He has three grown-up children who are also engineers and the entire family has a long history of international travel so they were surprised by the blanket denial, he says. The European Commission said it does not comment on individual cases but EU law allows visa applicants to appeal negative decisions if they feel that the refusal was unjustified. 'The reasons for refusals vary, and include for example the submission of false or forged supporting documents such as bank statements or civil status documents, and weak socio-economic ties to the country of residence and hence a heightened risk of irregular migration,' it said. While Schengen visa rejections get the most attention due to the large number of countries, African applicants to the UK complain of similar access challenges. UK visa fees rose from £100 to £115 in July 2024 ($134 to $154) and then to £127 ($170) in April this year. There was a 13.5% spike in the cost of rejected visas to £50.7 million ($68.8 million) in 2024, the LAGO Collective estimates. Nigerians alone paid an extra £2 million trying to travel to their former colonial master, according to its calculations.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Africans lost nearly $70M to denied visas applications to Europe in 2024
When Joel Anyaegbu's application for a Schengen visa to travel to Barcelona was denied late last year, he was surprised but immediately reapplied. He sent in more documents than were required, including bank statements and proof of property ownership in Nigeria. He was rejected again. 'The information submitted regarding the justification for the purpose and conditions of the intended stay were not reliable,' read a checklist returned with his passport from the Spanish consulate in Lagos. The 32-year-old gaming consultant said he felt humiliated. 'I had to cancel meetings with partners at the conference I was attending,' he told CNN. 'I emailed the embassy to understand why I was denied but it has not been answered to date.' Anyaegbu's was among the 50,376 short-stay Schengen visa applications rejected in Nigeria last year, nearly half of all submissions, according to newly released data from the European Commission. Applicants worldwide pay a non-refundable visa fee of 90 euros (about $100), so Nigerians alone lost over 4.5 million euros (about $5 million) seeking permission to travel to the 29 European countries that make up the Schengen Area. In total, African countries lost 60 million euros ($67.5 million) in rejected Schengen visa fees in 2024, analysis from the LAGO Collective shows. The London-based research and arts organization has been monitoring data on European short-term visas since 2022 and says Africa is the continent worst affected by the cost of visa rejections. 'The poorest countries in the world pay the richest countries in the world money for not getting visas,' its founder Marta Foresti told CNN. 'As in 2023, the poorer the country of application, the higher the rejection rates. African countries are disproportionately affected with rejection rates as high as 40-50% for countries like Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria.' She says this proves 'inbuilt discrimination and bias' in the process. A European Commission spokesperson told CNN that member states consider visa applications on a case-by-case basis. 'Each file is assessed by experienced decision-makers on its own merits, in particular regarding the purpose of stay, sufficient means of subsistence, and the applicants' will to return to their country of residence after a visit to the EU,' the spokesperson said via email. Africans have long complained about inconsistent, sometimes baffling decisions about who gets approved or denied while applying for European visas. Cameroonian Jean Mboulé was born in France but when he applied for a visa in 2022 alongside his wife using similar documents, his application was rejected but hers was not. 'At the time she was unemployed but with a South African passport. She had no income but received a visa on the back of my financial statement,' he told CNN. 'But the embassy said they refused my application because my documents were fake, and they weren't sure I would come back to South Africa, where I am a permanent resident, if I went to France.' The 39-year-old regional executive took legal action in French courts and won, forcing the French embassy in Johannesburg to grant his visa and pay him a fine of 1,200 euros. He told an administrative tribunal in the French city of Nantes that the embassy's decision to deny him a visa was 'tainted by insufficient reasoning.' Mboulé pointed out that he had provided sufficient guarantees that he would return at the end of his trip to his wife and daughter in South Africa where he owns a building. After he got the visa, he chose to go to Mauritius instead as he didn't want to spend his money in France. The Cameroonian's case is unique as many Africans denied Schengen visas rarely appeal or contest the decisions in court. Like Anyaegbu, the Nigerian gaming consultant, they often reapply, losing more money in the process. Mboulé has travelled several times to the UK and other African countries but was still denied twice for Schengen. 'The financial cost of rejected visas is just staggering; you can think of them as 'reverse remittances,' money flowing from poor to rich countries, which we never hear about,' the LAGO Collective's Foresti says. Schengen visa fees increased from 80 to 90 euros in July 2024, making it even more expensive for the world's poorest applicants. But South African management lecturer Sikhumbuzo Maisela said the visa rejection rates for Africans were lower than he expected. 'The visa vetting process seems to be shaped less by outright prejudice and more by historical patterns of behaviour,' he told CNN via email. 'Western countries have had instances where visa holders overstayed or violated terms, and this has influenced how future applications are scrutinized.' Though he hasn't conducted formal academic research on the issue, Maisela said Africans should treat visas as an act of trust and hospitality, and observe the rules. 'When one person violates these principles, it impacts all of us,' he said. 'It makes it harder for the next applicant — someone who may be fully compliant — to be granted the same opportunity. So, in a way, those who break the rules contribute to the very discrimination others face.' Younger Africans are the most vocal about visa rejections online but older applicants face similar barriers. Julius Musimeenta, a 57-year-old Ugandan engineer, applied for a visa to attend an engineering fair in Munich last year with his family. All six of them were rejected even though they had all previously traveled to Europe. 'Africans contribute a lot to funding these embassies through these rejections. They always think negatively about us travelling to their countries,' he told CNN. He has three grown-up children who are also engineers and the entire family has a long history of international travel so they were surprised by the blanket denial, he says. The European Commission said it does not comment on individual cases but EU law allows visa applicants to appeal negative decisions if they feel that the refusal was unjustified. 'The reasons for refusals vary, and include for example the submission of false or forged supporting documents such as bank statements or civil status documents, and weak socio-economic ties to the country of residence and hence a heightened risk of irregular migration,' it said. While Schengen visa rejections get the most attention due to the large number of countries, African applicants to the UK complain of similar access challenges. UK visa fees rose from £100 to £115 in July 2024 ($134 to $154) and then to £127 ($170) in April this year. There was a 13.5% spike in the cost of rejected visas to £50.7 million ($68.8 million) in 2024, the LAGO Collective estimates. Nigerians alone paid an extra £2 million trying to travel to their former colonial master, according to its calculations.
