Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, has urged the EU to accelerate the visa liberalisation talks as Turkish applicants are dealing with high Schengen visa rejection rates.
Discussing the budget, the Minister addressed the concerns about rising visa denials, which, according to him, have increased by 0.4 percentage points so far this year, Schengen.News reports.
Minister Fidan pointed out that the increased delays in processing visa applications are related to a staff shortage across EU consulates, in addition to tensions over immigration that many EU countries are encountering.
This is not just an issue between Türkiye and the EU. It’s a broader trend seen globally, and we are investigating if this is a case of special treatment toward us or just part of the general policy towards all countries.
The Minister noted that alongside visa rejections, the Schengen application rates among Turkish applicants have also increased, rising by 36 per cent compared to the previous year. According to statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo, Turks filed over one million Schengen visa applications in 2023.
Rejection Rates for Turkish Applicants Increasingly Higher
In 2023, a total of 169,514 visas were rejected for Turkish applicants – the highest number of rejected visas recorded for the year. Rejection rates also stood at 16 per cent, indicating that approximately two out of ten applications were issued a negative decision.
The rejection rates for Turkish applicants have become increasingly higher since 2014, when 4.4 per cent of visas were rejected. Since then, the percentage share of rejected applications has nearly quadrupled, increasing by over 3.5 times.
Turkish diaspora is the largest community in Europe, with over six million people living in Germany, followed by France, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium.
Türkiye Waiting to Become EU Member for 25 Years
Türkiye has been a candidate country for EU membership since 1999, and despite some progress, the accession talks have stalled in recent years.
The visa liberalisation and the update of the Customs Union are the two critical areas we are focusing on in our dialogue with the European Union. We continue to work on these issues with our institutions, and I believe the members of this Commission will support us if these issues are brought to Parliament for discussion.
Visa liberalisation is one of the main issues that Türkiye and the EU have, while the country is also dedicated to improving its relations with the EU, which is implementing its geographical enlargement plans.
schengen.new