Schengen visas in Spain: refusals consulate by consulate
13.1% of applications refused in 2025 — 31 of 263.
2024: 10.5% of 367 applications (+2.6 pts). 15 Schengen consulates active in 2025.
Every consulate, fewest to most refusals
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|
Under 1,000 applications — rates not significant
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden — Madrid | 95 | 25.0% | 13.7% | +11.3 pts | 5.8% |
| France — Madrid | 69 | 4.3% | 11.7% | −7.4 pts | 10.4% |
| Italy — Madrid | 24 | 0.0% | 4.5% | −4.5 pts | 100.0% |
| Italy — Malaga | 24 | — | — | — | — |
| Greece — Madrid | 12 | 8.3% | 0.0% | +8.3 pts | 36.4% |
| Switzerland — Madrid | 11 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 88.9% |
| Germany — Madrid | 6 | 0.0% | 25.0% | −25.0 pts | — |
| Luxembourg — Madrid | 5 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 60.0% |
| Norway — Madrid | 4 | 75.0% | 33.3% | +41.7 pts | 100.0% |
| Belgium — Madrid | 3 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 33.3% |
| Croatia — Madrid | 3 | 0.0% | — | — | 33.3% |
| Bulgaria — Barcelona | 2 | 0.0% | 11.1% | −11.1 pts | 100.0% |
| Bulgaria — Madrid | 2 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 0.0% |
| Poland — Madrid | 2 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 50.0% |
| Netherlands — Madrid | 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 Spanish 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).