Armenian Travellers Filed Record 111,550 Schengen Visa Applications in 2025

Armenian nationals still need a visa to visit the Schengen Area, and demand from Armenia reached its highest point in more than a decade in 2025. Applicants in the country lodged 111,550 Schengen visa applications that year, an 11.2% increase on 2024 and the largest annual total since 2014, according to European Commission visa statistics released on 28 May 2026.

Key facts

• 111,550 applications lodged in Armenia in 2025, up 11.2% on 2024
• 98,819 visas issued, equal to 89.1% of decisions
• 12,081 refusals, a rejection rate of 10.89% against 14.6% worldwide
• Armenia ranked 23rd worldwide for applications in 2025
• Estimated €10.0 million paid in Schengen visa fees in 2025
• Standard adult Schengen visa fee: €90 from 2025

What do the 2025 figures show?

Applications from Armenia stood at 58,996 in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, then dropped to 10,017 in 2020. The 2025 total was 89.1% above the 2019 level, and Armenia moved from 34th worldwide for applications in 2019 to 23rd in 2025.

Schengen countries refused 10.9% of the applications from Armenia they decided in 2025, 3.8 percentage points below the worldwide rate of 14.6%. That was the 23rd lowest rate among the 72 countries with at least 10,000 applications. The rate was 10.1% in 2014 and peaked at 14.3% in 2020. In 2025, 33.35 visas were issued and 4.08 applications refused per 1,000 residents.

Which Schengen country is hardest to get a visa from?

Rejection rates for applications from Armenia in 2025 ranged from 0.9% in Romania to 21.9% in Greece, among Schengen countries that received at least 500 applications. Greece refused 21.9% of 18,932 applications, France 16.0% of 16,784 and Poland 15.5% of 3,960. The lowest rates were Romania at 0.9% (988 applications), Slovakia at 1.2% (825) and Lithuania at 2.7% (13,872).

Poland recorded the largest rise since 2019, from 8.3% to 15.5%. Among the seven Schengen countries with enough applications in both years, the rate was higher than in 2019 at two of them. Applicants must apply to the Schengen country of their main destination, so these rates describe past decisions rather than a choice.

Where do Armenian applicants apply?

Italy received the largest share of applications from Armenia in 2025, with 23,644, or 21.2% of the total, against 18.4% in 2019. Germany followed with 20,748, Greece with 18,932, France with 16,784 and Lithuania with 13,872.

The leading destination has shifted over the years: Germany in 2014–2016, Greece in 2017, Germany in 2018–2020, Greece in 2021–2024 and Italy in 2025.

How much are applicants paying?

Applicants in Armenia paid an estimated €10.0 million in Schengen visa fees in 2025 and €52.6 million since 2014. About €1.1 million of the 2025 total and about €6.3 million since 2014 went on applications that were refused, and the fee is not refunded.

The estimates use the standard adult fee: €60 for 2014–2019, €80 for 2020–2024 and €90 from 2025. The fee actually rose to €80 on 2 February 2020 and to €90 on 11 June 2024, so the 2020 estimate is slightly high and the 2024 estimate slightly low. Reduced fees, waivers and service-provider charges are not included.

What this means for travellers

Travellers from Armenia applying for a Schengen visa should file with the country of their main destination, since refusal rates differ widely between Schengen states. The visa fee is not refunded if an application is refused, so the choice of destination and the strength of the application carry a direct cost.

The figures cover every year from 2014 to 2025 and come from European Commission visa statistics. Visas issued and refusals do not add up to applications, because some applications are withdrawn or still open at the end of the year, and some decisions concern applications lodged the year before.