Kazakhstan Climbs Global Ranks in Schengen Visa Applications

Kazakhstan secured the 16th spot globally for the number of Schengen visa applications submitted in 2024, according to recent data published by SchengenVisaInfo.

Kazakh residents filed 179,446 visa applications to Schengen countries this year, reflecting a 12.8% increase compared to 2023. These accounted for 1.54% of all applications submitted globally, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kazakh media.

Within Central Asia, Kazakhstan led by a significant margin, while citizens of Uzbekistan submitted 58,700 applications, Kyrgyzstan - 28,000, Turkmenistan - 7,800, and Tajikistan - 4,000.

Germany received the most amount of requests for visa, at 25% of all submissions, or 45,094 applications. Italy and Spain followed with 15% and 13%, respectively. The Netherlands recorded the fewest applications from Kazakhstan, with only 20.

The overall Schengen visa rejection rate for applicants from Kazakhstan stood at 8.99% last year, one of the highest in recent years, with Croatia leading the highest rejection rate for Kazakh nationals at 81.57%.