Migration is back at the centre of electoral politics in Europe and beyond. In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak invested a great deal of political capital in the possibility of at least one plane leaving for Rwanda to deport illegal immigrants before the elections in early July. His failure is now his rival Nigel Farage’s best chance of snatching a significant number of votes from the Conservatives. In France, Marie Le Pen is resurfacing with the idea of “national preference” in employment and housing, and the suspension of legal immigration from non-European countries. Meanwhile, in the US, Donald Trump is talking about mass deportations and ending birthright citizenship for the children of “illegal” immigrants. Despite being seen as unfair, unrealistic and too expensive, these proposals continue to dominate the political debate.
Against this backdrop, the latest “small” increase in fees for business and tourist visa applications to enter Europe has barely made the headlines. In June 2024, short-stay Schengen visas rose from €80 to €90 for adults, and in October 2023, fees for the UK rose from £100 (€118) to £115. These costs were high even before the increases, with disproportionate effects on applicants from low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa.
Visa application fees are non-refundable, whatever the outcome. Newly published 2023 data shows that the number of short-stay visa refusals for visitors to Europe remains disproportionately high for low- and middle-income countries; as in 2022, the poorer the country, the higher the refusal rates. African countries are hit hardest, with refusal rates as high as 50% for countries such as Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria.
EU member states are also increasingly turning to visa sanctions as a diplomatic weapon when they consider that a country of origin has “low rates” of returning migrants. Ethiopia and Gambia have recently been subject to restrictions on visitor visas for this reason.
In 2023, the cost of refusals for short-stay Schengen visas was £110m. In 2022, it was £89m, and could rise to £127m in 2024 due to increased fees. The cost paid by Africans for visas not obtained in 2023 was £46m.
The picture is not much different in the UK. In 2023, the total cost of rejected visa applications was £44m. Nigerians spent £5.8m, Algerians £3.6m and Ghanaians £1.8m, all of which were non-refundable.
Reverse remittances
These costs of rejected visas can be thought of as “reverse remittances.” Money flows from poor countries to rich ones. These costs rarely come up in debates about aid or trade, where the emphasis is always on money going in the other direction. As with many aspects of traditional narratives about global relations, this needs to change to account for the lost opportunities for low- and middle-income countries that arise from limiting the movement of people across borders.
The costs of rejected visas can be considered “reverse remittances”. Money flows from poor countries to rich ones
These “reverse remittances” are just the tip of the iceberg of costs incurred by those denied visas. In most cases, applicants pay more than the basic application fee, and private agencies involved in processing visa applications and intermediaries provide additional services throughout the process. The costs of not being able to travel for business and leisure also represent significant losses for all involved – from non-refundable flights to not being able to attend a booked academic conference, art fair or concert.
Research and data, however important, will never tell the whole story or be enough to make a difference. It is people and their experiences that will make a difference. The huge cost of visa inequality has received much media attention in some of the worst-affected countries, such as Nigeria. But the outrage outweighs the costs. This is a story of discriminatory and often humiliating practices, with all those affected finding the complete lack of reciprocity in the treatment of people crossing the border unjustifiable.
Privileged passports must be done away with, but this will take a long time. Fixing the deeply unequal and dysfunctional short-stay visa system so that people can travel for business and pleasure is a good way to start.
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