Indians lost over Rs 136 crore in fees due to more than 1.65 lakh Schengen visa applications being rejected in 2024, Conde Nast Traveller reported.

Indian citizens suffered the third-highest losses from Schengen visa rejections last year after Algerian and Turkish nationals.

An application for a Schengen visa, which allows for travel in 29 European countries, costs 90 euros, or Rs 8,500. The fee is is non-refundable.

In 2024, Indians filed more than 11 lakh applications for Schengen visas. Out of these, 5,91,610 were approved but more than 1.6 lakh were rejected – a rejection rate of around 15%, Conde Nast Traveller reported.

The highest number of rejections for Indian travellers came from France, where the losses added up to approximately Rs 25.8 crore.

Globally, Algerians faced the highest losses (15.7 million euros or Rs 153 crore), followed by Turks (14.4 million euros or Rs 140.6 crore), Indians (14 million euros or Rs 136.6 crore), Moroccans (9.8 million euros or Rs 95.7 crore) and Chinese (6.8 million euros or Rs 66.7 crore), the outlet quoted data from the European Commission as saying.

In 2023, European Union countries had received 130 million euros, or Rs 1,181 crore, through fees from rejected visa applications, with African and Asian countries bearing 90% of that cost, according to a report by the EUobserver.

The report analysed data compiled by LAGO Collective, an organisation that works on policy-making issues.

The report showed that the visa rejection rate by European Union countries and the United Kingdom was higher for low- and middle-income countries.