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High Schengen visa rejection rates persist due to difficulties in proving genuine intentions, economic instability, and demonstrating the intent for temporary visits.

Strengthening economic ties and connections to the home country could help reduce rejection rates.

Due to stricter visa policies and checks by the European Union, the number of Nigerians rejected for Schengen visa applications increased by 9.97% to 42,940 in 2023 from 39,189 in 2022.

This made Nigeria the African country with the fourth-highest number of rejections. The cost of rejected visas from Nigeria rose to €3.44 million last year from €3.14 million in 2022, BusinessDay reported.

Read also: Nigeria loses €3.4 million from Schengen visa rejections 

According to The Africa Wealth Report, African visa applicants face stricter restrictions, leading to a 30% rejection rate in 2022, despite having the lowest applications per capita.

This rate is 12.5% higher than the global average. African Schengen visa rejection rates are 10% higher than the global average, three times higher than the highest rejection rate, and ten times higher than for US-Americans.

The report highlighted that African countries account for seven of the top ten countries in the world with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates, Also access to Schengen visas correlates with the economic and passport strength of the applicant’s country.

Read also: Top 10 countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates

Poorer African countries with low gross national income and low Henley Passport Index rankings face higher rejection rates. Visa requirements within Africa and limited global visa access further hinder African applicants’ chances of obtaining Schengen visas. 

According to Henley and Partners, here are the top 5 countries in Africa with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates

Algeria

Algeria tops the list with the highest Schengen visa rejection rate. Out of approximately 392,000 applications, around 179,000 were rejected, resulting in a rejection rate of 45.8%.

Nearly half of the Algerian applicants face rejection, reflecting a complex interplay of factors. The large volume of applications from Algeria may contribute to the high rejection rate, as consular offices might be overwhelmed, leading to stricter scrutiny of each application.

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau, despite its relatively small number of applicants, has a rejection rate just slightly lower than Algeria’s. With nearly 8,000 applications, over 3,600 were denied, resulting in a rejection rate of 45.2%.

The high rejection rate could be attributed to the country’s political instability, economic challenges, and poor diplomatic ties with Schengen countries. The lack of proper documentation, inadequate financial proof, and concerns about the intentions of the applicants also play a critical role in the high denial rate. 

Read also: Japa: 10 common reasons for Schengen visa rejection in 2024

Nigeria

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has a substantial number of visa applications, reflecting the high demand for travel to the Schengen Area. With nearly 87,000 applications, more than 39,000 were rejected, leading to a rejection rate of 45.1%.

Several factors contribute to this, including concerns about fraudulent documentation, financial instability, and a significant number of Nigerians overstaying their visas or working illegally in Europe. These issues prompt visa officers to be particularly cautious, leading to a high rejection rate.

Ghana

Ghana’s rejection rate of 43.6% indicates significant challenges for its citizens in securing Schengen visas. Out of approximately 42,000 applications, more than 18,000 were rejected.

While Ghana is known for its relative political stability and economic progress compared to some of its neighbors, applicants often face rejections due to inadequate financial documentation, insufficient ties to the home country, and doubts about the purpose of travel. 

Senegal

Senegal rounds out the top five with a rejection rate of 41.6%. Out of nearly 57,000 applications, over 23,000 were denied.

Similar to other countries on this list, Senegalese applicants often struggle with providing convincing proof of their intentions to return home after their visit. The economic conditions and the prevalence of illegal immigration cases from Senegal also influence the high rejection rate. By , Business Day 

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (left) and his Communications Director, Salim Swaleh during a past meeting on January 26, 2023.

The Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs (PCS-MFDA) confirmed the arrest of several high-ranking officials within the ministry following a crackdown.

According to a press statement released by the ministry on Sunday, Salim Swaleh, who serves as the Director of the Press service at the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary (OPCS) was arrested for alleged involvement in corruption activities. 

"Those arrested include Salim Swaleh, Director of OPCS Press Service, in whose office the swindlers were found nested with fake door switch-nametags," read the statement in part.

Further, the ministry revealed that the arrested officials and their accomplices rented their offices as spaces for unscrupulous business people to conduct illegal dealings. 

According to Mudavadi's office, the officials had become adept to the illegal trade which included having the officials switch-out nametags on doors to further deceive unsuspecting victims. 

The ministry further detailed that the arrests followed a tipoff that alerted OPCS-MFDA security, who then mounted intense surveillance at the OPCS-MFDA Railways Office to disrupt the reported acts of impersonation and misuse of the facility by the fraudsters. 

To arrest the individuals, the security team tracked a group masquerading as visitors to gain entrance into the Railways Building where Mudavadi's office is located.

The  group would then falsifying their identities (as VIP guests or government officers), and the officers they purported to be visiting on different dates and times. 

Victims of the scam have been identified as mainly foreigners who would be shepherded into the Railways Building ostensibly to meet high-ranking Government officers for favours in exchange for bribes.

More to Follow... By Hellen Njoroge, Kenyans.co.ke

L-R: MPs Michael Mawanda Maranga, Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi, Paul Akamba and lawyer Julius Kirya in court

Another three Ugandan MPs have been remanded to Luzira prison over allegations of engaging in corruption practices.

Micheal Maranga Mawanda (Igara East), Ignatius Wamakuyu Mudimi (Elgon County) and Paul Akamba (Busiki County) were on Friday remanded by the Anti-Corruption court in Kampala on charges of diversion of public resources. 

The trio, alongside city lawyer, Julius Kirya of Kirya Company Advocates and others still at large, allegedly conspired and collectively diverted over Shs 7.3 billion for their personal use between 2019 and 2023. The funds were meant for war loss compensation to Buyaka Growers Cooperative Society in Bulambuli district.

Chief magistrate, Joan Aciro, remanded them until next month July 9. The MPs are also charged with Leonard Kavundira, the principal cooperative officer in the ministry of Trade. Kavundira however was not among the remanded persons because he was not in court when the charges were read. 

This comes just a week after two other MPs; Cissy Namujju (Lwengo Woman) and Yusuf Mutembuli (Bunyole East) were also remanded to Luzira over different corruption charges. The arrests of the legislators come after President Yoweri Museveni separately said during the State of Nation Address and budget reading at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds that he now has evidence implicating MPs and officials at ministry of Finance and Bank of Uganda who have been conspiring to steal public funds via inflated budgets and kickbacks.

The prosecution alleges that Mawanda in October 2021 while in Kampala, diverted public funds amounting to over Shs 1.5 billion. On the other hand, Wamakuyu and Akamba allegedly diverted Shs 2.3 billion and Shs 200 million respectively for their personal benefits. Kirya allegedly also diverted Shs 2.2 billion.

The suspects however denied the charges sanctioned by director of public prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo. The prosecution led by Raymond Mugisa, Jonathan Muwaganya and Edward Muhumuza informed the court that investigations into this matter were complete and asked for a hearing date such that the trial could commence.

Baguma said the disclosure involves protocol and asked the court to remand the accused persons for 14 days as the law requires and also to give the state more time to prepare the voluminous documents about the case set to be shared with the lawyers of the accused persons.

Mawanda has since instructed a team of seven lawyers led by former deputy attorney general Mwesigwa Rukutana to defend him against the allegations. Rukutana informed the court that they were not ready to apply for bail for their client since he had been held incommunicado (without being allowed to speak to anyone) by police and didn't get time to interact with him. Rukutana further told court that MP Mawanda's bail application be deferred to another date.

Similarly, lawyers; Caleb Alaka and Evans Ochieng said they didn't know when their client Wamakuyu would be produced in court and how many charges would be preferred against him. Akamba's lawyer, Roberts Mackay said his client has been in state custody for seven days and they have been looking for him without success.

He said they did not know the whereabouts of Akamba and were surprised to see him in court in the same clothes that he was wearing when he got violently rearrested by security agents after being granted bail by court a week ago. They told court that Akamba is still recovering from the mental shock he suffered from his rearrest.

Meanwhile, criminal summons have been issued requiring Kavundira to appear in court next Monday, June 24. The suspects in the cooperatives cash scandal were arrested by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), headed by Brig Gen Henry Isoke.

Several Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) supporters led by their secretary general, David Kabanda camped outside court premises after being blocked by security from entering court. The PLU supporters were donning T-shirts bearing images of Mawanda and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Mawanda is the chairperson of the disciplinary committee in PLU. By URN/The Observer

EOI requests are appeals by a country’s tax authority to another for disclosure of data on the financial accounts, assets held or income earned by their citizens in foreign countries. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK/Photo Courtesy 

Amid increasing fiscal pressures and debt sustainability in African countries, governments are now making use of exchange of information agreements available to them more than ever.

Last year, the amount of tax revenue raised by countries on the continent from exchange on information (EOI) requests increased steeply from $71.5 million in 2022 to hit $2.3 billion, the highest level in over 10 years, according to the Tax Transparency in Africa Report 2024 published by the Africa Initiative last week.

This was a result of increased use of EOI and automatic exchange of information (AEOI) between countries to net tax cheats stashing money and other assets in offshore accounts to evade taxes in their home countries.

In 2023, the number of exchange of information requests sent to other jurisdictions around the globe by African countries increased by 67 percent to 888, up from only 531 in 2022.

Read: Kenya tax plan to hurt business, economic recovery

Exchange of information requests are appeals by a country’s tax authority to another country for disclosure of data on the financial accounts, assets held or income earned by their citizens in foreign countries.

 

Traditionally, African countries have utilised the avenues available for such EOI arrangements much less that others. The requests Africa has received over the years has been significantly larger than those they sent, highlighting their slow adoption of the agreements.

For instance, in 2022, countries on the continent made only 531 requests, but received about 683 requests from other jurisdictions requesting information on their nationals. Ten years ago, Africa made only 38 requests, but received 279 requests on average.

This is no longer the case.

“In aggregate, African countries also became net senders of EOI requests in 2023 making a total of 888 EOI requests, the highest number since the Africa Initiative was established,” the report says.

Africa Initiative is a project started by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in 2014 to boost Africa’s ability to utilise EOI avenues for them to curb tax evasion and boost revenues.

At least 19 countries utilised EOI avenues last year, up from 15 in 2022, an indication that countries on the continent are increasingly appreciating the need for the tax transparency platforms available to them.

While the data on how much each country raised in additional revenue from EOI is not disclosed, the Global Forum has previously disclosed that four countries — Kenya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Nigeria, dominate the requests made, accounting for over 90 percent of all the requests.

The increased use of these EOI frameworks comes at a time when most African countries are suffering a cash squeeze, as debt servicing costs soar and grants from rich nations dwindle.

According to the Global Forum, utilising these EOI avenues is a crucial way of boosting tax revenues in Africa, and also combating illicit financial flows (IFFs) across the globe to end financial crimes and tax evasion.

“The remarkable additional revenues identified by African countries in 2023 emphasises the relevance of EOI to fighting IFFs from Africa and its potential to generate substantial resources domestically and support other DRM (domestic resource mobilisation) efforts,” the organisation noted in the report.

Read: East Africa is set for higher growth rate due to its diversified economies

Latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reveals that most African countries are expected to narrow their fiscal deficits this year, which will only be made possible if tax revenues increase as their headroom for more borrowing has also grown small.

On average, the budget deficit for the continent is expected to slim to 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, from about 4.1 percent last year and 4.4 percent in 2022.

At the same time, the IMF expects the continent’s average debt-to-GDP ration to drop from 60.1 percent in 2023 to 58.5 percent in 2024, an indication that most countries will be taming their appetite or debt financing this year compared to previous years.

But these projections by the multilateral lender appears to have put more and more countries on the continent to raise tax revenues as other sources of financing, including aid from richer countries, have also been on a downward trajectory in most countries.

In the region, countries appear to be overstretching their limits to raise more money from domestic revenue mobilisation efforts. Kenya, for instance, last year introduced a raft of new taxes that were expected to lift its ordinary revenues from Ksh2 trillion ($15.4 billion) in the 2022/23 financial year to Ksh2.6 trillion ($20 billion) in the current financial year.

In the coming financial year, Nairobi expects additional tax measures to generate at least Ksh324 billion ($2.5 billion), raising its total tax revenues to Ksh2.9 trillion ($22.3 billion).

In Uganda, the government has introduced several new tax measures for the coming 2024/25 financial year, intended to raise tax revenue by Ush1.9 trillion ($488 million) to fund the Ush58.3 trillion budget for the coming year.

Other countries in the region are also exploring new ways to raise tax revenues to finance their coming year’s budgets, and the EOI approach seems to be gaining momentum amongst them. By VINCENT OWINO, The East African 

FILE - Namrata Hinduja, left, and Ajay Hinduja, second right, arrive with lawyers for their trial in Geneva, Jan. 15, 2024. A Swiss court on June 21, 2024, acquitted the Hindujas of trafficking but sentenced them to prison for exploiting workers.
 

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