Data has shown that Africa experiences a disproportionate number of visa rejections for popular tourism destinations. Visa experts weigh in on what South African applicants are possibly getting wrong when applying for a tourist visa.
VFS Global reported that in 2023, South African visa applications reached 94% of pre-pandemic levels.
The most popular destinations were found to be Canada, Australia and the Schengen region.
While visa applications surge, data from Schengen Visa Statistics showed that, of the 10 most rejected nationalities for Schengen Visas, six are from Africa. The visa rejection rate for Schengen visas was found to be 4,8% for South Africans and the country was found to be in the top 10 nationalities that spend the most money on Schengen visa applications.
Data from the US government found South Africa to be the second most common African nationality to apply for non-immigrant visas in 2023, after Egypt. South Africans had a refusal rate for US visas of 11,27% for the 2023 fiscal year, an increase from the 2022 refusal rate of 9,68%.
