In 2024, a total of 262,017 people applied for Austrian Schengen visas, representing 2.24% of the 11.7 million Schengen visa applications submitted to member states last year.

As reported by Schengen.News, citing data from SchengenVisaInfo, Austria approved approximately 86% of these applications, granting 224,747 visas in total.

Meanwhile, 35,817 visa applications were denied, indicating a rejection rate of around 14%. Austria ranked as the eighth most popular Schengen country in terms of visa applications received.

Notably, five countries accounted for the majority of applicants, submitting a combined total of 157,641 requests, approximately 60% of all Austrian visa applications.

The top countries of origin for Austrian Schengen visa applicants last year were China, which accounted for 51,761 visa applications, making up nearly 20% of all requests submitted to Austria. This was followed by India with 43,504 applications, representing 16.6% of the total. Saudi Arabian applicants submitted 24,782 requests, or 9.4% of the overall figure. Turkey contributed 23,171 applications, equating to 8.8%, while Thailand filed 14,423 applications, making up 5.5% of the total.

However, when it comes to approval rates, certain countries stand out, as Austrian authorities issued a higher percentage of visas to applicants from these nations compared to others.

Indeed, in 2024, Taiwan recorded a flawless Schengen visa approval rate, with all 174 applications granted. Ireland followed closely with a 99.51% approval rate, resulting in 1,215 visas issued though Irish citizens themselves do not require Schengen visas, these figures reflect applications from foreign nationals residing in the country.

Indonesia achieved a 99.02% approval rate, with 4,126 out of 4,167 applications approved. Thailand also had a high success rate, with 98.29% of its 14,423 applicants receiving visas. Similarly, Australia saw a 98.27% approval rate, with 4,603 visas granted out of 4,684 applications, again primarily involving foreign residents since Australian citizens are typically exempt from needing a Schengen visa.

Furthermore, of the total €22.2 million collected from visa application fees, more than €3 million came from rejected applications. These refusals accounted for approximately 13.7% of all submissions, with 35,817 out of 262,017 applications being denied.