In 2023, the Schengen states generated US$906 million from visa applications, of which US$145 million came from rejected visa applications.
In a report released from a 2024 study titled, “Shengen Visa Discrimination in Numbers”, these refusals cost African nationals US$61 million in application fees.
Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru, Author of the report
The report was done by Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru who is a part-time professor at the School of Transnational Governance and the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute, Florence, and an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna.
Out of the top 10 countries with visa refusals, seven with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates were African countries.
However, in 2024 citizens of Liberia made 123 visa applications, out of that number only one was rejected.
According to Reach Immigration Passport Index, Ducor passport is ranked 91 globally but the Henley Passport Index placed it ranked at 87th for April 2025, while Passport Index shows a rank of 88 in 2025.
“This growing mobility disparity is particularly evident in Schengen visa application outcomes. My 2024 research revealed that African applicants face significantly higher rejection rates than the global average,” says the author of the research study, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru.