Türkiye ranked as the world’s second-largest source of Schengen visa applications in 2025, with a refusal rate of 14.6 percent, according to figures released by the European Commission.
Applicants from Türkiye submitted 1,268,376 requests during the year, trailing only China, while Greece remained both the most applied-for and most approved destination for Turkish travellers.
Around one million visas were issued to Turkish applicants, including 736,556 multiple-entry visas, while more than 183,000 applications were rejected. The refusal rate edged up slightly from 14.5 percent in 2024, leaving Türkiye above the wider Schengen average and pointing to the persistent difficulty many Turkish passport holders face when seeking short-stay travel permission for much of Europe.
| Country | Refusal rate for Turkish applicants | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Greece | Lowest among major destinations | Top choice and most approvals, 310,920 applications |
| Germany | 21.1 percent | Popular destination, high volume of refusals |
| Poland | High, close behind Malta | Among the strictest for Turkish applicants |
| Malta | 34.8 percent | Highest refusal rate, more than one in three rejected |
The figures place Türkiye behind China, which led the global rankings with about 1.8 million applications, and ahead of India with roughly 1.15 million. Russia and Morocco rounded out the top five applicant countries, with about 679,000 and 620,000 applications respectively.
Greece stood out as the leading choice for applicants from Türkiye, receiving 310,920 applications in 2025, up from 296,377 the previous year. It also issued the most approvals, making it the strongest entry point for Turkish travellers within the Schengen system in the latest data.
The picture differed sharply across member states. Malta recorded the highest refusal rate for Turkish applicants at 34.8 percent, rejecting more than one in three requests, with Poland close behind. Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland and Denmark also ranked among the countries returning the most refusals. Germany, one of the most popular destinations for Turkish travellers, posted a refusal rate of 21.1 percent.
The data also exposed an uneven distribution of access. While appointment availability for Schengen visas from Türkiye rose by 8 percent in 2025, the increase did not reach all destinations equally. Applications for Italy fell by 32.3 percent year on year, and demand for France dropped by nearly 6 percent, a pattern that Turkish travel agents have attributed to a structural access problem rather than any decline in interest from travellers.
The access squeeze has also fuelled a black market for appointment slots. Türkiye‘s travel sector has warned that the shortage of available appointments is worsening ahead of the summer holiday season, with slots reportedly changing hands for as much as 1,000 euros in urgent cases. Read more on the Schengen appointment crisis.
The constraints carry a financial cost. Because application fees are non-refundable, every rejection adds to a growing bill for Turkish travellers, alongside the delay and uncertainty that come before a trip to Europe can be confirmed.
Globally, EU and Schengen-associated consulates received nearly 12 million applications for short-stay visas in 2025, a 1.8 percent increase on 2024, though still well below the 17 million recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 10 million visas were issued worldwide, and the global refusal rate held steady at 14.8 percent.
For now, the figures suggest that Greek consulates remain the most favourable route for Turkish applicants, while Malta, Poland and Germany present a far tougher hurdle. The numbers are likely to keep travel agents, frequent flyers and holidaymakers watching destination choice closely as the 2026 summer season approaches.
Photo Credit: gd_project / Shutterstock.com
