New analysis shared with EUobserver reveals that European Union (EU) governments amass €130 million per year from rejected visa application fees, termed as ‘reverse remittances.
Data compiled by Marta Foresti and Otho Mantegazza at LAGO Collective indicates that the cost of Schengen visa rejections in 2023 surged to €130 million, marking an increase from €105 million in 2022. The total amount is anticipated to escalate in 2024 following a decision by the EU Commission to hike the visa application fee from €80 to €90 for adults starting June 11.
In parallel, the United Kingdom garnered £44 million (approximately €50 million) in rejected fees.
It’s worth noting that these fees remain non-refundable, irrespective of the application outcome. Moreover, the figures fail to encompass additional costs such as the inability to travel for business or leisure, along with expenses related to legal advice and private agencies involved in visa processing.
The analysis underscores that African and Asian nations shoulder 90 percent of the financial burden associated with rejected Schengen visas. Notably, rejection rates for short-term visitor visas to Europe and the UK are notably higher for low and middle-income countries, particularly impacting African countries with rejection rates ranging from 40 to 50 percent in nations like Ghana, Senegal, and Nigeria.
According to the data, the highest number of visa applications to the EU originate from Morocco and Algeria.
Marta Foresti, founder of LAGO Collective and senior visiting fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, emphasized, “Visa inequality has very tangible consequences and the world’s poorest pay the price. You can think of the costs of rejected visas as ‘reverse remittances’, money flowing from poor to rich countries. We never hear about these costs when discussing aid or migration, it is time to change that.”
In a related development, the EU estimates that nearly half of all irregular migrants within its 27 member states result from visa overstays. In 2023, over 83,000 individuals were repatriated to countries outside the EU, representing a return rate of 19 percent, according to the EU Commission.
Over the past year, the EU has increasingly employed visa restrictions as a political lever, utilizing Article 25a of its 2019 visa code to impose visa restrictions for countries with low rates of migrant returns.
In April, the EU Council greenlit visa sanctions on Ethiopia, including a ban on acquiring visas for multiple entries into EU countries, while diplomatic and service passport holders will no longer be exempt from visa fees. Furthermore, EU ministers extended the visa processing time from 15 days to 45 days, citing Ethiopia’s failure to cooperate in the repatriation of its nationals residing illegally in EU countries.
Similarly, in April, EU ministers lifted visa restrictions on Gambia, which had been imposed in 2021, following a notable increase in its migrant return rate from 14 percent in 2022 to 37 percent in 2023.
Despite the EU’s pledges to incorporate legal pathways, student and work exchange programs, and other mechanisms in its trade agreements with African states, recent economic support agreements with Tunisia, Mauritania, and Egypt, valued at over €8 billion, have primarily focused on incentivizing these governments to enhance migration control.