The Schengen Consulates in the Republic of Turkey have received about 9.5% less Schengen Visa applications in 2018, compared to the previous year.

According to the latest Schengen Visa Statistics by SchengenVisaInfo.com 879,238 short-term visa applications to the Schengen Area were filed at the consulates located in Turkey. Figures show that while in the last 5 years the number of applications has been increasing continuously, a decrease in this number was marked in 2018.

The number of applications through years lodged at consulates in Turkey:

2018 – 879,238 applications received

2017 – 971,710 applications received

2016 – 937,487 applications received

2015 – 900,789 applications received

2014 – 813,339 applications received

Yet, while the number of applications has decreased, the visa rejection rate has steadily increased from 4.4% in 2014 to 8.5% in 2018.

799,862 out of the total number of the applications lodged, received a positive answer, while the rest were turned down. 537,138 out of the overall visas granted were Multiple Entry Visas, which enable their holder to enter the Schengen Area with the same visa more than once.

In fact, the number of MEVs issued in 2018 dropped from 675,104 in 2016 and 666,043 in 2017.

Statistics show that the German consulate in Istanbul was the busiest with 125,702 applications received, followed by the French Consulate in Istanbul as well, that received as many as 101,411 applications. Next in this list are the Italian and Greek consulates, both in Istanbul.

Consulates of countries as Malta, Estonia and Portugal located in Ankara received least visa applications in Turkey in 2018.

Despite that there is not an official number of the amount of money Turkish nationals and residents spent for Schengen Visas in 2018, it is estimated that they spent millions.

A Schengen Visa for Turkish applicant currently costs €60. However, children under the age of 6 are exempt from paying this fee and those under 12 can pay a lower fee of €35. In addition, several categories are exempt from the fee, or can pay a lower fee.

Even if only half of the applicants paid a normal fee, and the other half were either exempt or fell under a category that enabled them to pay a lower fee, it still means that Turkish applicants paid about 30 million euros for Schengen Visas.

More statistics:

For country-specific data and more detailed information visit the new Schengen Visa Statistics Portal.