Schengen visas in United Arab Emirates: refusals consulate by consulate
24.2% of applications refused in 2025 — 71,261 of 298,064.
2024: 23.8% of 260,229 applications (+0.4 pts). 30 Schengen consulates active in 2025.
What the national rate hides
- Fewest refusals
- 12.9%
- Italy — Abou Dabi · 7,976 applications
- Most refusals
- 58.2%
- Bulgaria — Dubaï · 4,494 applications
- Biggest drop since 2024
- −12.7 pts
- Denmark — Dubaï · 17,288 applications
- Highest share of multiple-entry visas
- 85.2%
- Slovenia — Abou Dabi · 1,049 applications
Ranking based on consulates with at least 1,000 applications: below that, a handful of files moves the rate. The largest consulate by volume is Germany — Dubaï, with 40,555 applications.
Every consulate, fewest to most refusals
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy — Abou Dabi | 7,976 | 12.9% | 17.1% | −4.2 pts | 43.9% |
| Spain — Abou Dabi | 30,265 | 14.1% | 18.3% | −4.2 pts | 37.5% |
| Romania — Dubaï | 1,095 | 14.5% | 15.9% | −1.5 pts | 59.0% |
| Greece — Abou Dabi | 13,587 | 15.6% | 17.1% | −1.4 pts | 59.2% |
| Austria — Abou Dabi | 7,406 | 16.4% | 25.1% | −8.8 pts | 79.5% |
| France — Abou Dabi | 28,160 | 16.7% | 18.9% | −2.2 pts | 53.4% |
| Finland — Abou Dabi | 1,603 | 18.0% | 25.4% | −7.5 pts | 41.9% |
| Belgium — Abou Dabi | 7,460 | 19.8% | 18.0% | +1.8 pts | 59.8% |
| Portugal — Abou Dabi | 2,582 | 20.3% | 15.9% | +4.4 pts | 58.4% |
| Switzerland — Abou Dabi | 25,603 | 21.3% | 21.3% | 0.0 pts | 68.6% |
| Italy — Dubaï | 19,422 | 21.7% | 15.4% | +6.3 pts | 44.1% |
| Germany — Dubaï | 40,555 | 22.0% | 27.0% | −5.0 pts | 85.2% |
| Czech Republic — Abou Dabi | 8,961 | 24.0% | 26.4% | −2.4 pts | 26.6% |
| Slovenia — Abou Dabi | 1,049 | 27.0% | 28.9% | −1.9 pts | 85.2% |
| Netherlands — Dubaï | 31,633 | 30.5% | 20.8% | +9.7 pts | 49.8% |
| Norway — Abou Dabi | 16,232 | 30.5% | 27.6% | +3.0 pts | 58.9% |
| Slovakia — Abou Dabi | 1,110 | 31.5% | 32.8% | −1.2 pts | 52.0% |
| Denmark — Dubaï | 17,288 | 31.8% | 44.6% | −12.7 pts | 58.8% |
| Poland — Abou Dabi | 3,123 | 32.5% | 16.2% | +16.3 pts | 29.6% |
| Hungary — Abou Dabi | 10,424 | 35.2% | 33.5% | +1.7 pts | 32.6% |
| Sweden — Abou Dabi | 6,312 | 40.7% | 41.2% | −0.4 pts | 13.9% |
| Croatia — Dubaï | 2,092 | 42.6% | 45.8% | −3.2 pts | 80.1% |
| Malta — Dubaï | 6,915 | 46.9% | — | — | 49.9% |
| Luxembourg — Abou Dabi | 1,037 | 48.5% | 28.5% | +20.1 pts | 53.9% |
| Bulgaria — Dubaï | 4,494 | 58.2% | 35.9% | +22.2 pts | 33.6% |
Under 1,000 applications — rates not significant
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia — Abou Dabi | 762 | 10.9% | 6.2% | +4.7 pts | 26.5% |
| Estonia — Abou Dabi | 468 | 46.4% | 65.7% | −19.4 pts | 56.6% |
| Lithuania — Abou Dabi | 285 | 21.9% | 24.6% | −2.7 pts | 44.5% |
| Malta — Abou Dabi | 164 | 4.3% | 45.0% | −40.7 pts | 94.8% |
| Netherlands — Abou Dabi | 1 | 100.0% | — | — | — |
Before choosing a consulate
You do not pick your consulate. The Visa Code (Article 5) designates the one of your main destination — or of the first country of entry if no destination dominates. Applying "where refusals are lower" for a trip elsewhere is itself a ground for refusal.
A low rate is not leniency: it also reflects who applies. A consulate that mostly receives seasoned business travellers refuses less than one receiving first-time applicants. The rate shows where files fail most often — a reason to prepare yours carefully, not to change address.
Where to go visa-free with a Emirati passport
Source: Commission européenne — Visa statistics for consulates, 2025 and 2024 editions, published 2026-05-28. Uniform short-stay visas; the rate is the Commission's: refusals / (issued + limited territorial validity visas + refusals).