Germany Schengen visa refusal rate for applicants in India (2025)
Germany decided 153,179 uniform visa applications lodged in India in 2025 (13.3% of India's total), issued 136,674 and refused 16,126, a refusal rate of 10.5%. The all-India average across all Schengen states was 15.7%; Germany's worldwide refusal rate for all applicants was 13.1%.
16,126 refusals out of 153,179 applications, 2025
Germany's consulates in India, 2025
Each consulate decides its own files. Where you apply is set by your state of residence, so this table tells you what to expect, not where to shop.
17-year record
| Year | Applied | Issued | Multi-entry share | Refused | Refusal rate | India avg | Consulates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 153,179 | 136,674 | 99.6% | 16,126 | 10.5% | 15.7% | 5 |
| 2024 | 142,955 | 126,812 | 99.6% | 15,806 | 11.1% | 14.9% | 5 |
| 2023 | 132,825 | 118,919 | 99.6% | 13,779 | 10.4% | 15.7% | 5 |
| 2022 | 76,352 | 67,477 | 99.3% | 8,615 | 11.3% | 18.0% | 5 |
| 2021 | 20,449 | 17,389 | 96.7% | 2,867 | 14.0% | 22.8% | 5 |
| 2020 | 30,793 | 25,847 | 93.0% | 4,895 | 15.9% | 16.9% | 5 |
| 2019 | 169,205 | 152,138 | 89.3% | 16,723 | 9.9% | 10.8% | 5 |
| 2018 | 167,001 | 152,928 | 85.7% | 13,839 | 8.3% | 9.3% | 5 |
| 2017 | 153,961 | 143,288 | 81.2% | 10,505 | 6.8% | 8.5% | 5 |
| 2016 | 142,860 | 133,807 | 91.0% | 8,869 | 6.2% | 8.2% | 5 |
| 2015 | 121,002 | 113,762 | 15.3% | 7,098 | 5.9% | 6.5% | 5 |
| 2014 | 109,730 | 100,746 | 13.2% | 8,883 | 8.1% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2013 | 102,862 | 96,119 | 13.2% | 6,655 | 6.5% | 6.2% | 5 |
| 2012 | 97,138 | 91,818 | 13.9% | 5,320 | 5.5% | 6.1% | 5 |
| 2011 | 99,924 | 95,412 | 11.3% | 4,512 | 4.5% | 6.9% | 5 |
| 2010 | 99,065 | 94,648 | 10.4% | 4,440 | 4.5% | 6.5% | 4 |
| 2009 | 80,252 | 75,810 | 0.0% | 4,497 | 5.6% | 7.8% | 4 |
Reading Germany's numbers
Between 2009 and 2025 demand for Germany visas from India went from 80,252 to 153,179 applications, and the refusal rate from 5.6% to 10.5%. In 2025 Germany ranked #3 of 27 Schengen states on refusal rate for applications lodged in India (1 = lowest) and #3 on volume. 99.6% of the visas it issued were multiple-entry, which under Article 24 of the Visa Code is the reward for a clean prior travel record and the difference between a sticker you can reuse and one that expires when you leave.
Not covered here National (type D) visas for study, work or family reunification are decided under German national law and do not appear in the European Commission's uniform-visa statistics. Student-visa refusal rates for Germany are a different dataset; if a page quotes one without a source, treat it with suspicion.
Which Germany consulate covers your state of residence
Consular districts as published by the mission (read 2026-08-17). Under Article 6 of the Visa Code you apply at the consulate responsible for where you legally reside.
| Consulate | Covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New Delhi (district for national visas; Schengen decided centrally) | Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Consular district for national visas and services; Schengen decisions largely centralised at Mumbai (see centralisation). | official page |
| Mumbai | Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli | official page |
| Chennai (district for national visas; Schengen decided centrally) | Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry Consular district for national visas and services; Schengen decisions largely centralised at Mumbai. | official page |
| Kolkata (district for national visas; Schengen decided centrally) | West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh Sikkim is under the New Delhi Embassy. Schengen decisions largely centralised at Mumbai. | official page |
| Bengaluru (district for national visas; Schengen decided centrally) | Karnataka, Kerala The mission page's sentence about visa applications is not visa-type-specific; the India-wide Schengen page says Schengen files go to Mumbai for decision, and the any-centre rule 'does not apply to applications for national visas'. | official page |
Applications are lodged through VFS Global (centres: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Goa, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Puducherry, Pune): official portal.
Questions this page answers
What is the Germany Schengen visa rejection rate for Indians?
In 2025, Germany refused 10.5% of the 153,179 short-stay visa applications lodged by Indians at its consulates in India (India-wide average across all Schengen states: 15.7%).
Which Germany consulate in India has the lowest refusal rate?
In 2025, the Germany consulate in Bengaluru had the lowest refusal rate at 1.5%.
Does Germany give multiple-entry Schengen visas to Indians?
In 2025, 99.6% of the visas Germany issued in India were multiple-entry (136,063 of 136,674).
Source: European Commission, "Visa statistics for consulates", 2009 to 2025 annual releases; figures cover uniform (short-stay, type C) visas applied for at consulates located in India, regardless of applicant nationality; airport-transit visas excluded from headline figures. Refusal rate = visas not issued / visas applied for, computed by us from the counts. Rankings use a floor of 1,000 applications. Last verified 2026-08-18. Full methodology. Download the CSV.