Which Schengen country is easiest to get a visa from China?

On 2025 figures there is no single easiest country: Luxembourg and Croatia are statistically tied. Across every Schengen state, 96 in 100 applications from China were approved in 2025. The best option approved 99 in 100; the lowest, Malta, approved 81.

Read this before the table. You are required to apply to the country where you will spend the most nights — or, if the nights are split evenly, the country you enter first. That is not a formality: an application lodged at the wrong consulate is refused on that ground alone, and a refusal is visible to every Schengen consulate on every future application you ever make. This table tells you what the odds look like where you are genuinely going. It is not a menu.

Approval rates from China, 2025

#	Deciding country	Approved	Likely range	Applications
1	Luxembourg	98.7%	98.1–99.1%	1,997
2	Croatia	98.1%	97.8–98.4%	10,030
3	Norway	97.7%	97.6–97.8%	52,819
4	Iceland	97.7%	97.5–97.8%	32,982
5	Belgium	97.6%	97.4–97.8%	22,229
6	Austria	97.5%	97.4–97.7%	48,345
7	Czech Republic	97.2%	97.0–97.4%	17,872
8	Italy	96.9%	96.9–97.0%	277,993
9	Finland	96.8%	96.6–97.1%	20,312
10	Spain	96.8%	96.7–96.8%	310,436
11	Hungary	96.6%	96.4–96.7%	62,579
12	Slovakia	96.5%	95.6–97.2%	2,326
13	Germany	96.3%	96.2–96.4%	281,570
14	Netherlands	96.2%	96.0–96.3%	70,361
15	Switzerland	95.6%	95.5–95.8%	84,829
16	Greece	95.3%	95.1–95.5%	37,794
17	Sweden	95.2%	95.1–95.4%	50,590
18	France	94.8%	94.8–94.9%	453,348
19	Portugal	92.8%	92.4–93.1%	22,180
20	Denmark	92.3%	92.0–92.6%	25,641
21	Poland	90.8%	90.4–91.3%	15,938
22	Bulgaria	90.3%	89.3–91.2%	3,687
23	Romania	89.3%	88.0–90.5%	2,345
24	Slovenia	84.5%	83.0–85.8%	2,547
25	Malta	80.7%	79.3–82.1%	3,060

Too few decisions to rank (under 1,000): Estonia 86% of 716; Latvia 96% of 699.

Highlighted rows are statistically indistinguishable from the best option — their ranges overlap, so the order between them is noise. "Likely range" is where the true approval rate probably lies (95% confidence) given how many people applied. Approval rate = visas issued (including visas limited to some countries) out of all decisions — the European Commission's own definition. Source: European Commission consulate statistics, 2025.

The number that actually moves: which consulate

A country's rate is an average over posts that behave very differently. This is the part the listicles leave out, and for most applicants it matters more than the choice of country — it is the one figure that describes their own situation rather than a national average.

Country	Most approvals	Fewest	Gap
Malta	Shanghai 89.2% approved	Beijing 74.1% approved	15.0 pts
Poland	Shanghai 94.0% approved	Guangzhou (Canton) 84.5% approved	9.4 pts
Romania	Shanghai 95.7% approved	Beijing 87.0% approved	8.6 pts
Denmark	Shanghai 99.6% approved	Guangzhou (Canton) 91.7% approved	7.9 pts
Greece	Guangzhou (Canton) 98.6% approved	Shanghai 91.9% approved	6.7 pts
France	Shanghai 96.1% approved	Shenyang 90.0% approved	6.1 pts
Slovakia	Shanghai 98.5% approved	Beijing 92.9% approved	5.6 pts
Switzerland	Shanghai 96.5% approved	Guangzhou (Canton) 91.8% approved	4.7 pts

Your consulate is fixed by where you live, so this is rarely a choice either. Its value is calibration: it tells you how much scrutiny to prepare for.

What this page deliberately does not do

It does not rank countries by how "lenient" they are, because the data cannot support that claim. A consulate's refusal rate reflects who applies there as much as how it decides. Malta's Shanghai and Beijing posts apply the same law; they see different applicant pools.

It also does not tell you your own chances. A national approval rate of 99% does not mean you personally have a 99% chance — your documents, finances, employment and travel history dominate. What the rate is good for is judging how thorough you need to be. The reasons applications actually fail →

The easiest country from elsewhere

India · Algeria · Bangladesh · Egypt · Ghana · Indonesia · Iran · Kenya · Morocco · Nigeria · Pakistan · Philippines · Senegal · Tunisia · Türkiye · Vietnam

Full China breakdown, with every year since 2014 and every consulate → · Check the country you are actually visiting →