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Link A general hardening towards immigration throughout the EU has made it harder for Australians to get Schengen visas. Photo: Shutterstock

While it looks like Australians looking to enter the UK will soon be able to use their ePassport gates, and short circuit the long immigration queues at airports, getting a Schengen Visa just got tougher for Australians. Of the number of Australians applying for Schengen Visas in 2017, almost five times more were rejected compared to 2016 according to figures from SchengenVisaInfo.com.

Australian passport holders don't need a Schengen Visa unless they intend to work, study or remain in the Schengen Area for more than 90 days. Australia is one of a number of non-EU countries to which the countries of the Schengen Area apply visa liberalisation, which means Australian passport holders can enter and travel freely within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any six-month period.

See Also Europe travel guide

Belgium Toughest on Visa Applicants

Even though the Schengen Area can be considered a single entity for the purposes of individual movement within the area, the right of anyone to enter and stay is at the discretion of each individual Schengen Area country. The rate at which visas were approved for Australian applicants in 2017 varied significantly from one country to the next.

Toughest of all was Belgium, which received 169 visa applications in 2017 and rejected 128 of those. In 2016, only 9 Australian applicants were rejected out of a total of 184 received.

Measured by the number of visa applications the most popular countries are Austria, France and Italy. In 2017 the Austrian embassy in Canberra received 2305 applications and granted visas to all but 115 of those applicants. The French embassy received 2122 Schengen visa applications and approved 1927. The Italian embassy recorded 1396 visa applications and granted all but six.

Putting these individual countries together, Schengen Area diplomatic offices in Australia received a total of 15,336 visa applications in 2017 and rejected 437, slightly less than 3 per cent. Although the number of visa applications was 21 per cent higher in 2017 than in 2016, in that year only 92 visa applications, or less than 1 per cent, were rejected.

Illegal Immigration Making it Harder for Travellers

This significant increase in the rate of rejection can be put down to a general hardening in the attitude towards immigration throughout the EU, against the backdrop of the immigration crisis which has been at the forefront of European politics over the past couple of years. The EU commission has found that non-EU countries whose citizens have the right of visa-free entry to the Schengen zone are often used a route for illegal immigration into Europe.

Evidence from SchengenVisaInfo.com suggests that this has translated into a general hardening of the attitude among Schengen Area countries to visa applications in general, and in some countries more than others. As well as affecting Australian passport holders, this also applies to nationals of the other 60 countries to which the Schengen Area extends the privilege of visa-free entry – for example citizens of New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and the USA.

ETIAS, The New Regime for Visitors

As a response to the problem of illegal immigration and terrorism the Schengen Area countries will soon impose a new qualification for entry. Starting in 2021, nationals of those countries which are currently allowed visa-free entry to the Schengen Area, including Australia, will have to apply for pre-approval to travel there under the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).


Once established, ETIAS will apply in the same way as other electronic travel authorisation programs. For example the USA ESTA Visa Waiver Process as it applies to Australian passport holders. Under ETIAS, Australian travellers wishing to enter the Schengen Area will complete an online application and applicants between 18 and 70 will pay a fee of €7. Once pre-authorisation is received they can then enter the Schengen Area and travel freely as under the current rules. The pre-authorisation will be valid for three years.

For bona fide travellers, the new ETIAS system should be nothing more than a small hurdle. However those looking to work, study or stay longer than 90 days can expect the EU to be less inclined to lay down the welcome mat.

See also: How Australians can stay in Europe (almost) indefinitely, visa-free

See also: The ten countries that just got much easier for Aussies to visit