Schengen visas in Japan: refusals consulate by consulate
5.8% of applications refused in 2025 — 920 of 16,369.
2024: 5.3% of 14,698 applications (+0.4 pts). 25 Schengen consulates active in 2025.
What the national rate hides
- Fewest refusals
- 0.6%
- Italy — Tokyo · 1,524 applications
- Most refusals
- 14.2%
- Germany — Tokyo · 1,181 applications
- Biggest drop since 2024
- −1.6 pts
- Spain — Tokyo · 2,328 applications
- Highest share of multiple-entry visas
- 99.9%
- Italy — Tokyo · 1,524 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 France — Tokyo, with 4,553 applications.
Every consulate, fewest to most refusals
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy — Tokyo | 1,524 | 0.6% | 0.9% | −0.3 pts | 99.9% |
| France — Tokyo | 4,553 | 5.2% | 4.4% | +0.8 pts | 23.8% |
| Spain — Tokyo | 2,328 | 7.1% | 8.7% | −1.6 pts | 2.1% |
| Netherlands — Tokyo | 1,100 | 9.7% | 12.7% | −3.0 pts | 26.1% |
| Germany — Tokyo | 1,181 | 14.2% | 6.5% | +7.7 pts | 10.5% |
Under 1,000 applications — rates not significant
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland — Tokyo | 857 | 6.2% | 5.1% | +1.1 pts | 49.5% |
| Austria — Tokyo | 838 | 0.4% | 3.6% | −3.2 pts | 9.4% |
| Italy — Osaka | 694 | 0.7% | 1.3% | −0.6 pts | 100.0% |
| Germany — Osaka | 452 | 5.2% | 6.0% | −0.9 pts | 66.6% |
| Portugal — Tokyo | 383 | 12.0% | 4.1% | +7.9 pts | 12.2% |
| Belgium — Tokyo | 372 | 4.7% | 2.5% | +2.2 pts | 86.2% |
| Hungary — Tokyo | 372 | 3.2% | 9.7% | −6.5 pts | 5.3% |
| Finland — Tokyo | 366 | 3.1% | 4.0% | −0.9 pts | 0.9% |
| Greece — Tokyo | 340 | 2.7% | 3.1% | −0.4 pts | 27.4% |
| Czech Republic — Tokyo | 326 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 13.5% |
| Poland — Tokyo | 278 | 15.8% | 8.0% | +7.8 pts | 10.7% |
| Croatia — Tokyo | 97 | 4.2% | 0.0% | +4.2 pts | 73.6% |
| Romania — Tokyo | 59 | 3.4% | 0.0% | +3.4 pts | 10.5% |
| Bulgaria — Tokyo | 58 | 0.0% | 0.8% | −0.8 pts | 33.3% |
| Lithuania — Tokyo | 49 | 44.2% | 34.6% | +9.6 pts | 8.3% |
| Estonia — Tokyo | 45 | 17.8% | 23.5% | −5.8 pts | 40.5% |
| Luxembourg — Tokyo | 42 | 2.4% | 14.8% | −12.4 pts | 35.0% |
| Slovenia — Tokyo | 25 | 8.0% | 7.1% | +0.9 pts | 39.1% |
| Slovakia — Tokyo | 16 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 0.0% |
| Latvia — Tokyo | 14 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 0.0% |
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 Japanese 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).