Schengen consulates in Abu Dhabi and Dubai received 298,064 short-stay visa applications in 2025 and did not issue a visa in 24.2% of decided cases, well above the worldwide rate of 14.6%. Germany in Dubai was the busiest consulate with 40,555 applications, while not issued rates at consulates handling at least 1,000 applications ranged from 12.9% (Italy, Abu Dhabi) to 58.2% (Bulgaria, Dubai).
Last checked 23 September 2026. Data year: 2025, the latest year published by the European Commission. Every figure on this page comes from the Commission’s consulate level visa statistics file, and the full list of sources is at the end of the page.
Key findings
- 298,064 applications in 2025, up 14.5% from 260,229 in 2024.
- 221,370 uniform Schengen visas issued in the UAE in 2025, plus 2,218 visas with limited territorial validity.
- 71,261 applications ended without a visa, a not issued rate of 24.2% (2024: 23.8%). The worldwide rate for all Schengen consulates was 14.6% in 2025.
- The UAE was the 9th largest location in the world for Schengen visa applications in 2025, out of 161 countries where Schengen consulates collected applications (10th in 2024).
- Consulates in Dubai had a higher not issued rate than those in Abu Dhabi: 28.4% not issued in Dubai against 21.2% in Abu Dhabi.
- 55.5% of the uniform visas issued were multiple entry visas (122,822 of 221,370).
- The five busiest consulates were Germany in Dubai (40,555), Netherlands in Dubai (31,633), Spain in Abu Dhabi (30,265), France in Abu Dhabi (28,160), Switzerland in Abu Dhabi (25,603).
UAE totals, 2024 and 2025
Totals for all Schengen consulates located in the UAE. Cyprus is not included in these totals because it issued national visas, not Schengen visas, in both years; it is shown separately below.
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uniform visas applied for | 260,229 | 298,064 | +14.5% |
| Uniform visas issued (including multiple entry) | 196,109 | 221,370 | +12.9% |
| Multiple entry visas issued | 108,231 | 122,822 | +13.5% |
| Visas with limited territorial validity | 1,984 | 2,218 | +11.8% |
| Uniform visas not issued | 61,738 | 71,261 | +15.4% |
| Not issued rate | 23.8% | 24.2% | +0.41 points |
| Worldwide not issued rate, all Schengen consulates | 14.8% | 14.6% | -0.13 points |
Abu Dhabi and Dubai compared
Most Schengen states run their UAE visa section from one city only, so this split reflects which states sit where rather than any difference between the two emirates.
| City | Applications 2024 | Applications 2025 | Issued 2025 | Not issued 2025 | Not issued rate 2024 | Not issued rate 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | 163,873 | 174,570 | 134,803 | 36,664 | 22.2% | 21.2% |
| Dubai | 96,356 | 123,494 | 86,567 | 34,597 | 26.4% | 28.4% |
| UAE total | 260,229 | 298,064 | 221,370 | 71,261 | 23.8% | 24.2% |
Applications and refusal rates by member state, 2025
One row per consulate, sorted by the number of applications in 2025. “Issued” counts uniform Schengen visas including multiple entry visas. The not issued rate is the European Commission’s own measure, explained in the methodology section. Country guides: Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy and Greece.
| Schengen state | Consulate | Applications 2025 | Issued 2025 | Not issued 2025 | Not issued rate 2025 | Not issued rate 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Dubai | 40,555 | 31,124 | 8,883 | 22.0% | 27.0% |
| Netherlands | Dubai | 31,633 | 21,358 | 9,481 | 30.5% | 20.8% |
| Spain | Abu Dhabi | 30,265 | 24,814 | 4,171 | 14.1% | 18.3% |
| France | Abu Dhabi | 28,160 | 23,364 | 4,702 | 16.7% | 18.9% |
| Switzerland | Abu Dhabi | 25,603 | 19,881 | 5,449 | 21.3% | 21.3% |
| Italy | Dubai | 19,422 | 15,215 | 4,207 | 21.7% | 15.4% |
| Denmark | Dubai | 17,288 | 11,374 | 5,319 | 31.8% | 44.6% |
| Norway | Abu Dhabi | 16,232 | 11,274 | 4,958 | 30.5% | 27.6% |
| Greece | Abu Dhabi | 13,587 | 11,285 | 2,117 | 15.6% | 17.1% |
| Hungary | Abu Dhabi | 10,424 | 6,691 | 3,636 | 35.2% | 33.5% |
| Czech Republic | Abu Dhabi | 8,961 | 6,713 | 2,150 | 24.0% | 26.4% |
| Italy | Abu Dhabi | 7,976 | 6,947 | 1,029 | 12.9% | 17.1% |
| Belgium | Abu Dhabi | 7,460 | 5,917 | 1,462 | 19.8% | 18.0% |
| Austria | Abu Dhabi | 7,406 | 5,568 | 1,116 | 16.4% | 25.1% |
| Malta | Dubai | 6,915 | 3,654 | 3,228 | 46.9% | no data |
| Sweden | Abu Dhabi | 6,312 | 3,654 | 2,532 | 40.7% | 41.2% |
| Bulgaria | Dubai | 4,494 | 1,778 | 2,473 | 58.2% | 35.9% |
| Poland | Abu Dhabi | 3,123 | 2,094 | 1,027 | 32.5% | 16.2% |
| Portugal | Abu Dhabi | 2,582 | 2,055 | 527 | 20.3% | 15.9% |
| Croatia | Dubai | 2,092 | 1,129 | 848 | 42.6% | 45.8% |
| Finland | Abu Dhabi | 1,603 | 1,304 | 287 | 18.0% | 25.4% |
| Slovakia | Abu Dhabi | 1,110 | 737 | 357 | 31.5% | 32.8% |
| Romania | Dubai | 1,095 | 935 | 158 | 14.5% | 15.9% |
| Slovenia | Abu Dhabi | 1,049 | 690 | 286 | 27.0% | 28.9% |
| Luxembourg | Abu Dhabi | 1,037 | 518 | 489 | 48.5% | 28.5% |
| Latvia | Abu Dhabi | 762 | 671 | 82 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
| Estonia | Abu Dhabi | 468 | 251 | 217 | 46.4% | 65.7% |
| Lithuania | Abu Dhabi | 285 | 220 | 62 | 21.9% | 24.6% |
| Malta | Abu Dhabi | 164 | 155 | 7 | 4.3% | 45.0% |
| Netherlands | Abu Dhabi | 1 | 0 | 1 | not meaningful | no data |
| Total | 298,064 | 221,370 | 71,261 | 24.2% | 23.8% |
Notes on the table. Malta’s consulate in Dubai has no 2024 row in the file. Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen visa system fully during 2024, and the Commission reports their national visas for January to March 2024 on a separate sheet, so their 2024 rates cover only part of that year. The Netherlands recorded a single application in Abu Dhabi in 2025, which is why no rate is shown for it. Iceland does not appear because it recorded no applications in the UAE, and Liechtenstein does not issue its own Schengen visas.
Cyprus (national visas)
Cyprus does not yet fully apply the Schengen rules, so its consulate in Abu Dhabi issues national short-stay visas and the Commission lists it separately. It received 4,080 applications in 2025 (2024: 4,368), issued 3,573 visas and did not issue 507, a not issued rate of 12.4% (2024: 16.5%).
Highest and lowest not issued rates
Among consulates in the UAE that handled at least 1,000 applications in 2025:
Highest
- Bulgaria, Dubai: 58.2% of 4,494 applications
- Luxembourg, Abu Dhabi: 48.5% of 1,037 applications
- Malta, Dubai: 46.9% of 6,915 applications
- Croatia, Dubai: 42.6% of 2,092 applications
- Sweden, Abu Dhabi: 40.7% of 6,312 applications
Lowest
- Italy, Abu Dhabi: 12.9% of 7,976 applications
- Spain, Abu Dhabi: 14.1% of 30,265 applications
- Romania, Dubai: 14.5% of 1,095 applications
- Greece, Abu Dhabi: 15.6% of 13,587 applications
- Austria, Abu Dhabi: 16.4% of 7,406 applications
A low rate at one consulate is not a reason to apply there. Under Article 5 of the EU Visa Code, the application must go to the state that is your sole or main destination, measured by the number of days or by the main purpose of the trip. Applying to a different state to chase a lower rate can itself lead to a refusal. If you are unsure which state is responsible for your itinerary, our Schengen visa guide walks through the rule.
What the numbers mean for UAE residents
- Roughly one in four decided applications made in the UAE in 2025 ended without a visa. That is an average across every nationality that applies here, and the Commission does not publish a breakdown by the applicant’s nationality at consulate level.
- The not issued figure also counts applications where the consulate stopped the examination, for example because the file was incomplete. Many of these outcomes come down to documents rather than eligibility.
- Rates moved sharply at some consulates between 2024 and 2025. Denmark in Dubai fell from 44.6% to 31.8%, while the Netherlands in Dubai rose from 20.8% to 30.5% and Bulgaria in Dubai from 35.9% to 58.2%. One year of data is a snapshot, not a trend.
- The EU Visa Code sets a standard decision time of 15 calendar days, which can be extended to 45 days when further scrutiny is needed, and applications can be lodged up to six months before travel.
- If you are unsure whether your passport needs a Schengen visa at all, see our guide on who needs a Schengen visa from the UAE by nationality. For tight travel dates, our urgent Schengen visa page explains what can and cannot be sped up.
No agency, including Visa Doctor, can influence a consulate’s decision. What a well prepared file does is remove the avoidable reasons for a refusal: missing documents, inconsistent dates, and bank or employment evidence that does not match the stated trip.
Methodology
- Source file. European Commission, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, “Visa statistics for consulates”, 2025 edition (file name 2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx), downloaded on 23 September 2026 from the Commission’s short-stay visa statistics page. The 2024 edition was used for comparisons.
- Selection. We filtered the “Data for consulates” sheet to rows where the country in which the consulate is located is the United Arab Emirates. We did not change or estimate any value. UAE totals on this page equal the Commission’s own total for the United Arab Emirates on its “Totals, third country” sheet.
- Applications means uniform (C type) short-stay visas applied for. Airport transit visas are excluded; there were 37 airport transit visa applications in the UAE in 2025.
- Not issued includes refused applications and applications where the examination was discontinued, as defined in the Commission’s quality and metadata note.
- Not issued rate is the Commission’s published measure: visas not issued divided by all decisions (uniform visas issued, plus visas with limited territorial validity, plus visas not issued). It is not calculated against applications, because some applications lodged in one year are decided in the next. Our percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
- Nationality. The figures count applications by place of application, not by the applicant’s nationality. UAE figures therefore include residents of every nationality who applied at a Schengen consulate or its visa centre in the UAE.
- Ranking. The world ranking uses the Commission’s “Totals, third country” sheet, which orders 161 locations by applications in 2025.
Download the official data
The source spreadsheets are free to download from the European Commission: Visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (Excel) and Visa statistics for consulates, 2024 (Excel). Definitions are in the Commission’s visa statistics quality and metadata note (PDF).
How to cite this page
Visa Doctor (2026). Schengen visa statistics for applicants in the UAE: 2025 data by consulate. Visa Doctor, Dubai. Last checked 23 September 2026. https://visadoctor.ae/schengen-visa-statistics-uae/. Underlying data: European Commission, Visa statistics for consulates 2025. Journalists, researchers and students are welcome to quote the figures and tables with a link to this page.
Frequently asked questions
How many Schengen visa applications were made in the UAE in 2025?
Schengen consulates in the UAE recorded 298,064 uniform short-stay visa applications in 2025, according to the European Commission’s consulate statistics. That was 14.5% more than the 260,229 recorded in 2024. Cyprus, which issues national visas, recorded a further 4,080.
What is the Schengen visa refusal rate in the UAE?
In 2025 the not issued rate for Schengen consulates in the UAE was 24.2%, compared with 23.8% in 2024 and 14.6% worldwide. The figure includes refusals and applications where the examination was discontinued, measured against all decisions taken.
Which Schengen country refuses the most applications from the UAE?
Among consulates handling at least 1,000 applications in 2025, Bulgaria in Dubai had the highest not issued rate at 58.2%, followed by Luxembourg in Abu Dhabi at 48.5%. The lowest was Italy in Abu Dhabi at 12.9%. These are averages across all nationalities that applied.
Should I apply to the Schengen country with the lowest refusal rate?
No. Article 5 of the EU Visa Code requires you to apply to the state that is your sole or main destination, judged by the length of stay or the main purpose of the trip. Applying elsewhere to find a lower rate can lead to a refusal. A complete, consistent file matters far more than the choice of consulate.
Where can I download the official Schengen visa statistics?
The European Commission publishes the files on its Migration and Home Affairs website, on the page titled Short-stay visas issued by Schengen countries. The 2025 consulate file is an Excel spreadsheet that can be filtered by Schengen state, by country and by consulate city.
Sources and official references
- European Commission: Short-stay visas issued by Schengen countries (statistics page)
- European Commission: Visa statistics for consulates 2025 (Excel)
- European Commission: Visa statistics for consulates 2024 (Excel)
- European Commission: Visa statistics, quality and metadata reporting (PDF)
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, the Visa Code, consolidated text (Articles 5, 9 and 23)
- European Commission: Applying for a Schengen visa