Moroccans lost nearly €11 million in Schengen visa refusals in 2023

Moroccans have lost nearly €11 million in fees for rejected Schengen visas last year.

In 2023, the number of Moroccan nationals who had their Schengen visas applications rejected amounted to 136,367, costing €10.9 million or about 117 million MAD. This places Morocco second among African countries in numbers of visa rejections.

While the Kingdom led African countries in the highest number of Schengen visa refusals in 2022, according to Schengen News, Algeria surpassed it in 2023, with the financial impact estimated to have amounted to €13.3 million.

The visa rejection rate for Moroccan nationals constituted 8.3% of the total for African countries.
African and Asian countries experience high rejection rates, bearing 90% of the costs associated with the denied visa applications, according to the data revealed by Schengen News.

African nationals collectively spent €56.3 million on visa application fees, representing 43% of the global total in 2023, a significant financial burden on applicants from the continent.