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

On 2025 figures there is no single easiest country: Switzerland and Germany are statistically tied. Across every Schengen state, 52 in 100 applications from Nigeria were approved in 2025. The best option approved 73 in 100; the lowest, Bulgaria, approved 34.

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 Nigeria, 2025

#	Deciding country	Approved	Likely range	Applications
1	Switzerland	72.8%	71.0–74.5%	2,597
2	Germany	70.8%	69.7–71.8%	7,712
3	Austria	60.9%	58.4–63.2%	1,735
4	Italy	57.8%	57.0–58.6%	13,563
5	France	51.5%	51.1–51.9%	58,583
6	Finland	45.0%	42.6–47.4%	1,630
7	Spain	44.2%	43.2–45.2%	9,489
8	Portugal	43.7%	42.0–45.5%	3,026
9	Denmark	40.8%	38.9–42.8%	2,434
10	Belgium	39.1%	38.0–40.2%	7,461
11	Bulgaria	33.9%	31.9–35.9%	2,453

Too few decisions to rank (under 1,000): Poland 54% of 671; Hungary 47% of 623; the Czech Republic 59% of 610; Greece 63% of 441; Romania 60% of 312.

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
Italy	Abuja 94.0% approved	Lagos 55.1% approved	38.9 pts
Spain	Abuja 76.5% approved	Lagos 41.9% approved	34.6 pts
Germany	Abuja 79.2% approved	Lagos 67.7% approved	11.5 pts
France	Abuja 56.4% approved	Lagos 49.3% approved	7.1 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. Italy's Abuja and Lagos posts apply the same law; they see different applicant pools.

It also does not tell you your own chances. A national approval rate of 73% does not mean you personally have a 73% 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 · China · Egypt · Ghana · Indonesia · Iran · Kenya · Morocco · Pakistan · Philippines · Senegal · Tunisia · Türkiye · Vietnam

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