Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, representing Poland’s EU Council Presidency, has reportedly expressed willingness to explore the possibility of opening a visa facilitation office in Sri Lanka.
This expression of intent from Minister Sikorski was made during a high-level meeting in Sri Lanka in light of the growing challenges and demand for Schengen visas, Schengen.News reports.
As local media have explained, Minister Sikorski will be in Sri Lanka for three days. During his official visit, the authorities are expected to discuss a number of matters.
On his first day in the country, Minister Sikorski acknowledged the difficulties that passport holders of Sri Lanka face when wanting to obtain a visa for the purpose of travelling to the Schengen Area.
In response to the visa challenges, Minister Sikorski welcomed the proposal to open a visa facilitation office in the country, News First explains. However, the office is not expected to be opened anytime soon, as approval at the EU level needs to be reached.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Minister Sikorski also spoke about the relationship between Poland and Sri Lanka. He said that Poland is seeking to increase employment opportunities for seasonal workers from Sri Lanka. The same added that the country also wants to increase student exchanges.
Sri Lankan Passport Holders Submitted Over 25,700 Schengen Visa Applications in 2024
The most recent statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo show that passport holders of Sri Lanka submitted 25,721 Schengen visa applications in 2024.
Of those who submitted an application, 16,318 were granted a visa, whereas 9,027 had their visas rejected, with the refusal rate standing at 35.4 per cent.
The top three Schengen countries that granted the highest number of visas to Sri Lankans in 2024 are France, Switzerland, and Germany.
Figures show that France recorded 9,555 visa applications from passport holders of Sri Lanka last year. France’s rejection rate for Sri Lankans in 2024 stood at 35.7 per cent, with the country granting 6,049 visas and refusing 3,358 visas for this nationality.
Switzerland had a slightly lower rejection rate. The Swiss visa application centres in Sri Lanka received 6,617 visa applications from Sri Lankans during the same year. Of the applicants, 4,220 were issued a Schengen visa while 2,255 were denied a visa.
Lastly, Germany registered 5,095 visa applications from Sri Lankans. The country approved 3,371 of the applications and rejected 1,649 of them.