Morocco Among World’s Top Schengen Visa Beneficiaries in 2025

Fez – Morocco remained one of the world’s leading beneficiaries of Schengen visas in 2025, with more than 480,000 short-stay visas granted to Moroccan citizens, according to new figures released by the European Commission.

The latest European data shows that 480,354 Schengen visas were issued to Moroccans last year, confirming the country’s position as the fifth largest beneficiary country worldwide.

The figures reflect the continued importance of travel, family ties, business exchanges, education, and tourism links between Morocco and Europe.

According to le 360, Moroccan citizens submitted 619,827 applications for short-stay Schengen visas during 2025.

Only China, Turkey, India, and Russia recorded higher numbers of applications globally.

The data also highlights the growing frequency of repeated travel by Moroccan citizens to European countries.

More than half of the visas granted to Moroccans in 2025 were multiple-entry visas, allowing holders to travel several times within the Schengen area without applying for a new visa for each trip.

European authorities reported that 265,244 visas issued to Moroccan nationals fell into this category, representing 55.2% of all visas granted.

At the same time, 114,320 applications submitted by Moroccan citizens were rejected, corresponding to a refusal rate of 19.2%.

While this remains above the overall Schengen average, it also reflects the very high volume of applications filed by Moroccan travelers every year.

Across the wider Schengen area, European consulates processed nearly 11.93 million short-stay visa applications in 2025, slightly higher than the 11.7 million applications recorded in 2024.

The European Commission said more than 10 million visas were ultimately granted during the year, marking an annual increase of around 3%.

Despite this growth, visa activity across Europe has not yet fully returned to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, Schengen countries had issued nearly 15 million visas worldwide.

The Commission also noted that the overall Schengen visa refusal rate remained stable at 14.8% in 2025, unchanged from the previous year, although rejection rates continue to vary from one country to another.

The visa figures come alongside another major indicator illustrating the strong human and social ties linking Morocco and the European Union.

According to Eurostat’s 2026 “Demography of Europe” report, 97,056 Moroccan nationals acquired the citizenship of a European Union member state in 2024.

This places Morocco as the second largest country of origin among new EU citizens, behind Syria.

Moroccans accounted for 8% of the 1.17 million naturalizations recorded across the European Union during the year.

Eurostat figures also show that Moroccan nationals remained consistently among the leading groups acquiring European citizenship over the past decade.

Between 2016 and 2024, Morocco repeatedly ranked among the top nationalities represented in EU naturalization statistics, reflecting the long-term presence of Moroccan communities across several European countries.

The increase in naturalizations also mirrors a broader trend within the European Union.

Eurostat reported that the total number of citizenship acquisitions across the bloc rose by 12% in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Taken together, the latest visa and naturalization figures underline the depth of mobility flows between Morocco and Europe.

On one side, hundreds of thousands of Moroccan citizens continue to travel regularly to the Schengen area for tourism, studies, work, and family visits.

On the other, tens of thousands are becoming European citizens each year, highlighting the enduring demographic, economic, and social connections between Morocco and the European continent.