Japa: Nigerians spent N130bn on Schengen visa applications – Report

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About N130bn was spent by Nigerians on Schengen visa applications over the past 11 years, official data obtained by Sunday PUNCH has shown.

According to figures compiled by SchengenVisaInfo.com from European Commission data, Nigerian applicants spent a total of €72.5m (approximately N129bn at current exchange rates) on visa applications to Schengen-area countries between 2014 and 2024.

The data showed that Nigerian applicants submitted approximately 1.1 million Schengen visa applications between 2009 and 2024, of which 491,844 were rejected.

A breakdown of the spending showed that Nigerians spent €43.9m on applications during the pre-pandemic years (2014-2019), €11.3m during the pandemic period (2020-2022), and €8.9m in 2024 alone.

Of the 2024 spending, about €4m (approximately N7.1bn) was lost to rejected applications, as 50,376 out of 111,201 applicants were denied visas.

During the pandemic years, Nigerian applicants lost approximately €5.2m to rejections despite the reduced number of applications due to travel restrictions.

According to the European Commission, Nigerian applicants recorded a 45.9 per cent rejection rate in 2024, up from 40.8 per cent in 2023, representing a 12.5 per cent year-on-year increase. Punch