Your trip to European countries can be incomplete, if you don’t have access to a Schengen visa. It is essential for someone willing to travel to multiple countries in the Schengen area to have a Schengen visa. Obtaining a Schengen visa is not a cakewalk. The rejection rate for people applying for the Schengen visa from various countries is very high. In some countries, the total number of applicants rejected for getting the Schengen visa is greater than 50%. If you are a citizen of the UAE or a resident of Dubai, you can apply for the Schengen visa from Spain or Italy, which offers the easiest Schengen visas from Dubai. Citizens or residents residing in Dubai must try to find the easiest Schengen visas from Dubai, depending on the country’s processing time and approval rate.
Schengen Visa: Any individual willing to travel to more than one country in the area must obtain a Schengen visa to travel. The Schengen area includes most European countries that have abolished passport and visa-related documentation on mutual consent.
List of Countries to Obtain Schengen Visa:
As of 2023 countries that are part of the Schengen area and have lowest rejection rate are mentioned below:
Iceland: As of 2024, Iceland’s rejection rate for applying for the Schengen visa was 1.9%.
Lithuania: As of 2023, Lithuania is second in the list of top five countries to apply for the Schengen visa. Lithuania’s rejection rate for applying for the Schengen visa was 7.8%.
Latvia: In 2023, Latvia came third in the list of countries with the lowest rejection rate for applying for a Schengen visa in the Schengen area, with a rejection rate of 9.5%.
Slovakia: Slovakia rejected 9.7% of the total applications received for the Schengen visa in 2023, ranking fourth among the countries with the lowest rejection rates.
Finland: Finland again had the same rejection rate of 9.7%. It joined Slovakia in fourth place, making it one of the top five countries to apply for a Schengen visa.
Luxembourg: In 2021, Luxembourg ranked first on the list, but in 2023, it ranked sixth. The country’s rejection rate for Schengen visas in 2023 was 10.5%.
Poland: Poland stands 7th in the row when it comes to the lowest detection rate for Schengen visa. The rejection rate in the country or the visa for the year 2023 is 11.6%.
Switzerland: In 2023, 12% of the total applications received to obtain the Schengen visa in Switzerland were rejected by the authorities appointed to grant the visa for various reasons.
Greece: Greece is ranked 9th on this list of countries for Schengen visas. In 2023, 12.5% of the total applications received in Greece to obtain a Schengen visa were rejected.
Italy: The rejection rate in Italy for obtaining the Schengen visa for the year 2023 was 12.7%.
It must be noted that visa holders are allowed to stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days. If you went to Europe on January 1 and stayed there for 60 days (from January 1 to February 28) and then want to go again on May 1, you must check how many days you have already spent in Europe during the previous 180 days (from November to April).
Since you have already stayed for 60 days earlier, you can only stay 30 more days within those 180 days. Among the different types of Schengen visas, the easiest one for UAE residents is a tourist visa, which allows for a short stay in the area.
Cost of Schengen Visa: The Schengen visa for an individual (adult) is 80 EUR, 40 EUR for children between 6 and 12, and children below six are free. The application fee for all types of Schengen visas is non-refundable.
Easiest Schengen Visa for UAE Residents: The government of the UAE has signed an agreement with the European Union reciprocal short-stay visa waiver that allows the UAE resident to travel visa-free in the Schengen area. Any citizen of the UAE holding a diplomatic, ordinary, service, or business visa in the UAE is free to travel to the Schengen area for a short time. However, for a long-term stay in the area, you must have a proper visa to travel from the UAE to the Schengen area. The agreement was signed in May 2015.
In January 2024, the UAE government and Kosovo signed another visa exemption agreement. The UK and Ireland are part of the Schengen area.
Application for Schengen visa from UAE: The step-by-step process to obtain a Schengen visa from the UAE is mentioned below. Following the steps will allow you to easily access the Schengen visa for your travel in the different European Union countries.
Determining the Correct Visa Type: You must determine the correct Schengen visa type based on your travel needs. The most issued visas in the Schengen area include tourist, business, family visit, medical, and transit visas. Choosing the correct visa type helps ensure a higher chance of approval.
Choose the Country to Apply for a Schengen Visa: Choosing the correct country to apply for your Schengen visa is a significant step towards obtaining it. Two things must be remembered to obtain your Schengen visa: the maximum time that you are going to spend in any Schengen country and the first country that you are going to visit.
Schedule Meeting: Once you have finalized the country, the next important step is to schedule an appointment with the embassy or consulate to get proper knowledge of the paperwork required to get the Schengen visa. It must be noted that different countries have different procedures to get a Schengen visa. Apart from the procedure mentioned above, you can visit the Rayna Tours office, where you will get assistance from professionals to obtain the Schengen visa from Dubai.
Prepare Required Documents: The basic required documents that need to be submitted to the embassy or tourism company are the same. There might be slight differences between the process, timing, and application fees. Different documents that need to be submitted to the authorities in general are listed below.
- UAE residence visa: the residency visa must be valid for at least 3 months after the return
- A valid passport has a minimum of 3 months of validity after the return date.
- You should submit a completed visa application form to the embassy or tourism company.
- Passport-size photos (as per required specification)
- Per standard rule, you must submit proof of a round-trip flight reservation.
- You must submit hotel bookings or invitation letters from family or corporations to confirm your accommodation in the country.
- Your travel in the Schengen area must be insured with a minimum €30,000 coverage.
- You need to submit a bank statement from the last 3–6 months as proof of financial stability. For a 15-day trip in the Schengen area, your account must have a balance of AED 3500-6000.
- In addition to the required documents, submit a cover letter explaining why you visited the Schengen area.
- As an applicant must obtain a no objection certificate from your employer or sponsor in the UAE
Attend the Visa Appointment: Once you have completed the documentation process, you need to visit the visa appointments at the embassy or Rayna Tours office, where you can submit your application with all the required documents. Your biometric identification process can also be completed at these centers. Biometric identification eliminates all possibilities of fraudulent persons entering the area and is also required to address your safety concerns in the Schengen area.
Track your application: A tracking I’d is provided to the Schengen visa applicant. Through this, they can track the status of their visa. Notifications are sent by email or SMS on your phone that your visa has been approved. Once approved, they can collect the visa from the visa center.
FAQ’s
What is a Schengen visa, and why is it required?
Ans. A Schengen visa is a type of visa issued by any European Union country within the Schengen area. There are 29 different countries in the Schengen area. If an individual wants to travel to more than one country in the Schengen area, they can apply for a Schengen visa.
What is the maximum duration a person can stay in the Schengen area on a visa?
Ans. The maximum number of days one can stay in the Schengen area is 90 within the past 180 days.
Which European country is easy to get a visa?
Ans. Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, and Spain are a few European countries where the visa rejection rate for traveling in the Schengen area is lowest.
Which Schengen visa is easy to get from Dubai?
Ans. Tourist visas are the easiest way to enter the Schengen area from countries like Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, and Spain, with the lowest rejection rates.
What are the most common types of Schengen visas?
Ans. Tourist visas, transit visas, medical, family, and business visas are common Schengen visas applied to obtain the Schengen visa.
What documents are required to apply for a Schengen visa from Dubai?
Ans. Documents required to be submitted to the required authority to obtain the Schengen visa are the UAE resident visa, passport, passport-sized photograph, travel insurance, bank documents, application for the Schengen visa, no-objection certificate from the employer or sponsor, application fees submitted, etc.