Applicants filling a Schengen visa application at the embassies of France, Germany, and Spain have had their applications rejected, according to newly published statistics. 

The three nations had the highest rejection rates of visa applications submitted by travellers from third-country nationals wishing to visit their territory. 

Out of the 379,207 Schengen Visa applications submitted for consideration, 252,522 were rejected by France, Germany, and Spain, in the statistics published on SchengenVisaInfo.com, showing they are responsible for rejecting 66.5 per cent of the total number of short-term visas rejected in 2021.

According to the data, France had the largest share of rejected applications after denying a visa to 128,672 applicants out of the 652,331 received by its embassies worldwide in the same year under review. 

This also makes France the EU country with the highest number of applications for short-term visas in 2021. Spain followed as the second most Schengen country, which rejected 483,469 visa applications in the same year. 

Germany is listed as the third after receiving 346,284 applications, rejecting 53,987. 

Although the three countries have the highest number of rejected applications, the list changes when it comes to the Schengen countries that have rejected the highest shares of the applications they received. 

In 2021, the number of Schengen visa applications filed at the Schengen embassies and consulates worldwide plummeted by 83 per cent, compared to 2019, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

However, the difference in the number of visa applications lodged in 2021 compared to 2019 is even deeper than the difference in the number of applications filed in the first year of the pandemic, 2020.