Germany says more visas issued to Turkish citizens in 2023, does not provide data on rejections

Germany's foreign ministry said that substantially more Schengen visas were issued to Turkish citizens in the first five months of 2023 compared to the same period the previous year.

In a written response to BBC Turkish's questions, the ministry stated that 100,000 Schengen visas and 18,000 national visas were issued to Turkish citizens in the past five months, while the numbers for the same period of 2022 are respectively 60,000 and 16,000.

It was recently brought to public attention through figures provided by the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB) that the rejection rate for Schengen visa applications by Turkish citizens have almost doubled in 2023.

German authorities declined to respond to BBC Turkish's questions about the total number of applications from Turkey and the rejection rate.