Receiving a Schengen visa has become more difficult for Turkish passport holders — the list of people who have been unable to obtain a simple tourist visa from EU countries ranges from physicians to prominent journalists and even family members of Turkish diplomats.

According to schengenvisainfo.com, the number of refusals to Turkish nationals has increased by 9 percentage points over the past six years from 4% in 2014 to 12.7% in 2020. In addition to refusals, Turkish passport holders face delays in visa processes or get visas for shorter periods of time than requested. The growing cost of the refusals also adds to the anger of the public, with Turkish passport holders losing more than $25 million over the refusals in the past five years. The number of documents needing to be submitted also increased for visa applications, turning the already hard visa application process into a nightmare for Turkish citizens. 

“European Union countries were asking for too many unnecessary documents; they were turning the direct application into a hassle, and the charges for visa application were too high,” schengenvisainfo wrote.

Official explanations for refusals vary. Turkish sports presenter Sinem Okten was rejected twice, Reuters reported. Veteran foreign policy correspondent and columnist Barcin Yinanc noted that the growing list of rejected applicants also includes Turkish diplomatic personnel’s family members. On Sept 7, prominent journalist Rusen Cakir, editor in chief of the independent news site Medyascope, said that he and his family have been unable to receive a visa from France.