Schengen visa applications filed in Saudi Arabia

553,967 applications · 5.9% refused · 2025

In 2025, 553,967 short-stay Schengen visa applications were filed at consulates in Saudi Arabia. 5.9% of them were refused.

These are the consulates located in Saudi Arabia, so the figures cover everyone who applied there — residents of any nationality. The data says nothing about applicants' passports.

Applications
553,967
Filed in 2025
Visas issued
521,087
Including multiple-entry and limited-validity visas
Refused
5.9%
32,880 applications not issued
Multiple-entry share
92.5%
482,242 of the visas issued
Consulate posts
23
Across 2 cities
Schengen states present
20
Issuing states with a consulate here

Consulates in Saudi Arabia, 2025

23 consulate posts run by 20 Schengen states across 2 cities, in 2025.

Sort by
Schengen stateFrance
CityRiyadh
Applications146,125
Issued141,034
Multiple-entry131,747
Refused3.5%
Schengen stateFrance
CityJeddah
Applications88,206
Issued83,171
Multiple-entry77,526
Refused5.7%
Schengen stateItaly
CityRiyadh
Applications62,513
Issued61,103
Multiple-entry58,453
Refused2.3%
Schengen stateSpain
CityRiyadh
Applications58,670
Issued55,954
Multiple-entry47,654
Refused4.6%
Schengen stateGermany
CityRiyadh
Applications50,920
Issued46,638
Multiple-entry46,598
Refused8.4%
Schengen stateSwitzerland
CityRiyadh
Applications31,146
Issued29,593
Multiple-entry26,449
Refused5.0%
Schengen stateItaly
CityJeddah
Applications20,676
Issued20,107
Multiple-entry19,735
Refused2.8%
Schengen stateAustria
CityRiyadh
Applications18,942
Issued18,224
Multiple-entry18,131
Refused3.8%
Schengen stateNetherlands
CityRiyadh
Applications18,930
Issued15,911
Multiple-entry13,801
Refused15.9%
Schengen stateCzechia
CityRiyadh
Applications17,706
Issued17,106
Multiple-entry15,445
Refused3.4%
Schengen statePortugal
CityRiyadh
Applications16,501
Issued14,408
Multiple-entry12,174
Refused12.7%
Schengen stateGreece
CityRiyadh
Applications12,159
Issued9,187
Multiple-entry8,400
Refused24.4%
Schengen stateDenmark
CityRiyadh
Applications2,304
Issued1,988
Multiple-entry1,319
Refused13.7%
Schengen stateSweden
CityRiyadh
Applications2,265
Issued1,435
Multiple-entry908
Refused36.6%
Schengen stateHungary
CityRiyadh
Applications1,724
Issued1,416
Multiple-entry1,053
Refused17.9%
Schengen stateBelgium
CityRiyadh
Applications1,673
Issued1,265
Multiple-entry927
Refused24.4%
Schengen statePoland
CityRiyadh
Applications1,209
Issued1,051
Multiple-entry761
Refused13.1%
Schengen stateBulgaria
CityRiyadh
Applications1,058
Issued459
Multiple-entry237
Refused56.6%
Schengen stateMalta
CityRiyadh
Applications621
Issued508
Multiple-entry454
Refused18.2%
Schengen stateSlovakia
CityRiyadh
Applications376
Issued354
Multiple-entry314
Refused5.9%
Schengen stateRomania
CityRiyadh
Applications185
Issued148
Multiple-entry133
Refused20.0%
Schengen stateFinland
CityRiyadh
Applications57
Issued26
Multiple-entry22
Refused54.4%
Schengen stateGermany
CityJeddah
Applications1
Issued1
Multiple-entry1
Refused0.0%

Applications filed in Saudi Arabia over time

Every year the European Commission has published, 2009–2025.

Visas issuedApplications refused
Year2025
Applications553,967
Issued521,087
Refused5.9%
Year2024
Applications505,455
Issued470,886
Refused6.8%
Year2023
Applications428,954
Issued398,250
Refused7.2%
Year2022
Applications357,764
Issued332,583
Refused7.0%
Year2021
Applications173,485
Issued161,639
Refused6.8%
Year2020
Applications47,152
Issued42,714
Refused9.4%
Year2019
Applications394,200
Issued363,308
Refused7.8%
Year2018
Applications360,287
Issued322,004
Refused10.6%
Year2017
Applications334,786
Issued307,355
Refused8.2%
Year2016
Applications345,006
Issued325,600
Refused5.6%
Year2015
Applications367,028
Issued351,395
Refused4.3%
Year2014
Applications308,879
Issued296,219
Refused4.1%
Year2013
Applications277,332
Issued262,789
Refused5.2%
Year2012
Applications255,083
Issued247,834
Refused2.8%
Year2011
Applications196,327
Issued190,729
Refused2.9%
Year2010
Applications170,029
Issued164,166
Refused3.4%
Year2009
Applications137,988
Issued133,601
Refused3.2%

What these numbers show — and what they do not

The European Commission publishes one row per consulate: the Schengen state that runs it, the country and city it sits in, and how many uniform short-stay (type C) visas were applied for, issued and refused there in a calendar year.

The country dimension is where an application was filed, which is roughly where the applicant lives. It is not the applicant's nationality — the dataset contains no nationality information at all. So these figures cannot say how often citizens of a given country are refused, and they cannot predict how any individual application will be decided.

Read the Commission's methodology note

Questions about this data

No. These are applications filed at consulates in Saudi Arabia, by residents of any nationality. The European Commission's data does not record what passport applicants hold, so it cannot say anything about the refusal rate for a particular nationality.

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Data: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs — short-stay visas issued by the Schengen countries. Reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU. Figures are consulate aggregates for a completed calendar year and are not a guide to individual applications.