Schengen visas in Saudi Arabia: refusals consulate by consulate
5.2% of applications refused in 2025 — 28,467 of 553,967.
2024: 5.9% of 505,455 applications (−0.7 pts). 23 Schengen consulates active in 2025.
What the national rate hides
- Fewest refusals
- 1.6%
- Austria — Riyad · 18,942 applications
- Most refusals
- 55.4%
- Bulgaria — Riyad · 1,058 applications
- Biggest drop since 2024
- −2.7 pts
- Poland — Riyad · 1,209 applications
- Highest share of multiple-entry visas
- 99.9%
- Germany — Riyad · 50,920 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 — Riyad, with 146,125 applications.
Every consulate, fewest to most refusals
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria — Riyad | 18,942 | 1.6% | 4.3% | −2.7 pts | 99.5% |
| Italy — Riyad | 62,513 | 2.3% | 4.7% | −2.4 pts | 95.7% |
| France — Riyad | 146,125 | 2.7% | 4.0% | −1.3 pts | 93.4% |
| Italy — Djeddah | 20,676 | 2.8% | 3.5% | −0.7 pts | 98.1% |
| Spain — Riyad | 58,670 | 2.8% | 2.8% | 0.0 pts | 85.2% |
| Czech Republic — Riyad | 17,706 | 3.2% | 4.9% | −1.7 pts | 90.3% |
| Switzerland — Riyad | 31,146 | 4.7% | 5.5% | −0.8 pts | 89.4% |
| France — Djeddah | 88,206 | 5.6% | 7.1% | −1.5 pts | 93.2% |
| Germany — Riyad | 50,920 | 8.0% | 8.7% | −0.8 pts | 99.9% |
| Denmark — Riyad | 2,304 | 11.6% | 10.1% | +1.5 pts | 66.3% |
| Portugal — Riyad | 16,501 | 12.7% | 6.0% | +6.7 pts | 84.5% |
| Poland — Riyad | 1,209 | 12.7% | 15.4% | −2.7 pts | 72.4% |
| Netherlands — Riyad | 18,930 | 15.0% | 7.7% | +7.3 pts | 86.7% |
| Hungary — Riyad | 1,724 | 17.6% | 13.4% | +4.2 pts | 74.4% |
| Greece — Riyad | 12,159 | 18.9% | 9.4% | +9.5 pts | 91.4% |
| Belgium — Riyad | 1,673 | 22.6% | 16.1% | +6.5 pts | 73.3% |
| Sweden — Riyad | 2,265 | 35.0% | 31.1% | +3.9 pts | 63.3% |
| Bulgaria — Riyad | 1,058 | 55.4% | 39.5% | +15.9 pts | 51.6% |
Under 1,000 applications — rates not significant
| Consulate | Applications 2025 | Refused 2025 | 2024 | Change | Multiple entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malta — Riyad | 621 | 17.2% | 17.7% | −0.5 pts | 89.4% |
| Slovakia — Riyad | 376 | 4.8% | 8.9% | −4.0 pts | 88.7% |
| Romania — Riyad | 185 | 19.3% | 14.1% | +5.1 pts | 89.9% |
| Finland — Riyad | 57 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0 pts | 84.6% |
| Germany — Djeddah | 1 | 0.0% | 10.5% | −10.5 pts | 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.
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).