🇦🇪 Living in the UAE · 🇪🇺 Official EU consulate data
Which Schengen country is easiest to get a visa from the UAE?
Latvia issued 89.1% of the Schengen short-stay applications it decided in the UAE in 2025; Bulgaria issued 41.8%. That is a 47.3-point gap across 26 states and 294,566 decisions. The UAE's own citizens do not need a Schengen visa for a short stay, so these are applications from people living in the UAE on another passport. You still apply to the state that is your main destination — the ranking tells you what to expect, not what to pick.
Source: European Commission — Schengen short-stay visa statistics for consulates (per Schengen state) · 2025 · retrieved 2026-08.
Every Schengen state that decided applications lodged in the UAE, ranked
Uniform short-stay (type C) visas only, summed over each state's consulates in the UAE. States with fewer than 300 decisions are omitted.
| # | Issuing state | Issued | Refused | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latvia | 89.1% | 10.9% | 753 |
| 2 | Spain | 85.9% | 14.1% | 29,594 |
| 3 | Romania | 85.5% | 14.5% | 1,093 |
| 4 | Greece | 84.4% | 15.6% | 13,544 |
| 5 | Austria | 83.6% | 16.4% | 6,813 |
| 6 | France | 83.3% | 16.7% | 28,107 |
| 7 | Finland | 82% | 18% | 1,598 |
| 8 | Italy | 80.9% | 19.1% | 27,398 |
| 9 | Belgium | 80.2% | 19.8% | 7,380 |
| 10 | Portugal | 79.7% | 20.3% | 2,594 |
| 11 | Switzerland | 78.7% | 21.3% | 25,603 |
| 12 | Germany | 78% | 22% | 40,435 |
| 13 | Czech Republic | 76% | 24% | 8,961 |
| 14 | Slovenia | 73% | 27% | 1,059 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 69.5% | 30.5% | 31,096 |
| 16 | Norway | 69.5% | 30.5% | 16,232 |
| 17 | Slovakia | 68.5% | 31.5% | 1,132 |
| 18 | Denmark | 68.2% | 31.8% | 16,705 |
| 19 | Poland | 67.5% | 32.5% | 3,160 |
| 20 | Hungary | 64.8% | 35.2% | 10,333 |
| 21 | Sweden | 59.3% | 40.7% | 6,214 |
| 22 | Croatia | 57.4% | 42.6% | 1,991 |
| 23 | Malta | 54.1% | 45.9% | 7,044 |
| 24 | Estonia | 53.6% | 46.4% | 468 |
| 25 | Luxembourg | 51.5% | 48.5% | 1,008 |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 41.8% | 58.2% | 4,251 |
Applying from the UAE as a resident
Where: the Visa Code sends your application to the consulate of the competent state in whose jurisdiction you legally reside (Article 6). Living in the UAE, that is a consulate or its visa centre in the UAE — not one in your country of nationality.
Which state: your main destination, judged by the length of stay counted in days or by the purpose of the stay; if no main destination can be determined, the state whose external border you cross first (Article 5). Consulates test this against the bookings you submit.
When: no more than six months before the trip and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before it (Article 9).
Fee: €90 per adult, €45 for children 6–12, free under 6 — plus a service fee (typically €30–45) where an external centre (VFS/TLS) handles the application.
Legal basis: Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Visa Code), consolidated text · checked October 2026 · fee: European Commission — Annex 25, Visa Code Practical Handbook (national reference amounts), 2026-08.
Your own odds, not the average
These are caseload aggregates. Your finances, ties, travel history and any earlier refusal move an individual case a long way from them. The estimator is free, runs in your browser, and asks for no sign-up.
Estimate my oddsFrequently asked questions
I live in the UAE but hold another passport — where do I apply?
At the consulate, or its appointed visa centre, of the competent Schengen state in the UAE. The Visa Code ties an application to the consular jurisdiction where you legally reside (Article 6(1)); a consulate examines an application from someone only present, not resident, in its jurisdiction if they justify lodging it there (Article 6(2)).
Can I apply to whichever state approves the most applications from the UAE?
No. The competent state is your main destination, judged by the length of stay counted in days or by the purpose of the stay; if no main destination can be determined, it is the state whose external border you cross first (Article 5). A consulate that is not competent returns the application and refunds the fee (Article 18), and a visa is refused when the applicant does not justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay (Article 32) — an itinerary that does not match where you applied undermines exactly that. Use the ranking to know what to expect from the consulate you are required to use.
How early can I apply?
No more than six months before the start of your trip and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before it (Visa Code, Article 9(1)). Appointment queues at busy centres can be the real constraint, so book the appointment as soon as your dates are firm.
Where do these figures come from?
The European Commission's per-consulate Schengen visa statistics for 2025, summed over each state's consulates in the UAE. The share shown is visas issued — uniform plus limited-territorial-validity — divided by applications decided (those plus not issued), the denominator the Commission uses for its own refusal rate. States with fewer than 300 decisions in the UAE are left out, because a rate on a handful of files is noise.
