Italy issued over 15,000 Schengen visas to Libyans in 2024

Rome:” The Italian Embassy in Libya has announced that a large number of Schengen visas were granted to Libyan passport holders in 2024, exceeding the 2023 figures.

As the authority revealed, the Italian Embassy in Tripoli and the Consulate General of Italy in Benghazi issued over 15,000 visas last year, Schengen.News reports.

Such a high number of granted visas represents a 35 per cent increase compared to 2023, and according to the Italian Embassy, this represents the strong relationship between the two countries.

The Italian Embassy in Tripoli and the Consulate General of Italy in Benghazi issued more than 15,000 visas in 2024. A 35 per cent increase in processed requests, which is evidence of the closeness and great cooperation between Italy and Libya.

While the Embassy did not share more specific information on the types of visas that were granted to Libyan passport holders in 2024, it is anticipated that the majority of them were short-term Schengen visas.

Italy remains a popular Schengen Area destination among travellers from all over the world, including Libya.

Italy started seeing more Schengen visa applications and arrivals from Libya specifically from the last quarter of 2023, following the resumption of direct flights between the two countries after a ten-year.suspension

Italy suspended direct flights to and from Libya in 2014 due to instability. However, as soon as the situation improved, in an effort to facilitate the movement of citizens of both countries, flights were resumed again, strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

Statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo show that in 2023 Libyans applied for a total of 24,428 Schengen visas.

Of those who filed an application, 17,996 were granted a Schengen visa whereas 5,676 of them had their applications rejected.

The Schengen country that granted the most visas for nationals of Libya in 2023 was Italy. As figures reveal, Libyan passport holders filed 12,040 Italian Schengen visa applications. Italy approved 10,002 of these visa applications and rejected 1,599 of them in 2023.

In addition to Italy, only another three Schengen states received visa applications from Libyans – Greece, Malta, and Spain.

Greece received 5,160 Schengen visa applications, Malta received 7,023 Schengen visa applications, and Spain received 205 Schengen visa applications for Libyans in 2023.

These three countries issued 3,096, 4,882, and 16 Schengen visas to Libyans in 2023, respectively.