An information and analytics digest for everyone going abroad or staying home
Visas

Embassies where Ukrainians are not welcome

Since the beginning of the year, the rejection rate for visas from the Greek embassy has been one of the lowest – 2%. Meanwhile, in 2010, according to the public organization 'Europe Without Barriers', the Greeks turned away every tenth Ukrainian, reports Korrespondent.net.

Overall, the most favorable embassies turned out to be those of Greece, Poland, and Spain. The latter issues visas, including multiple-entry ones, in five days. Recently, the Spanish even expanded the list of documents that a tourist can use to confirm their financial solvency. Instead of a bank statement, one can now just use an ATM receipt.

But Italy and Germany are the leaders in the number of rejections. According to the Foreign Ministry, in 2011 the Italians rejected 8.5% of applications. These two countries, as well as the Czech Republic and Hungary, have further tightened visa conditions this year.

According to experts, the reason is the dense flow of illegal migrants from Ukraine to these countries. As the State Statistics Committee attests, almost 1.3 million of our compatriots are currently working abroad, and every fifth of them is illegally. Nevertheless, the Foreign Ministry reports that the overall share of rejections for Ukrainians for Schengen visas has decreased this year from 4% to 3%. According to Eurostat statistics, 2.5 million people annually apply for tourist visas to the European Union.

_