EU migration chief calls Pakistan's 50pc Schengen visa refusal rate 'too much'

The European Union must make legal travel easier for Pakistanis and tackle the obstacles genuine travellers face, the bloc’s migration chief has said, calling Pakistan’s Schengen visa refusal rate of nearly 50 percent “too much”.

Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, made the remarks to The Express Tribune in an interview during his first visit to Pakistan. He held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

“We have to do a better job”

“We have to do a better job there as a European Union,” Brunner said of visa access. He said the quality of documents submitted with applications also needed to improve, which had “led to refusal rates of Schengen visas in Pakistan [of] almost 50%, which is too much. So we have to work on both sides.”

He acknowledged that Pakistanis struggle even to get visa appointments. “Sometimes it’s a bit frustrating, I suppose, for Pakistanis who want to travel legally to the European Union,” he said, adding that visas remain mainly a matter for member states but the Commission was working to improve coordination and speed.

Illegal crossings falling

• EU figure: irregular arrivals of Pakistanis in the EU have fallen by more than 50 percent, Brunner said
• Pakistani figure: officials said irregular migration from Pakistan to Europe fell by 64 percent over the past 18 months
• Returns: about 30 percent under the readmission agreement, which Brunner called “okay” with room to improve

He warned young Pakistanis against the route through the Gulf, Egypt and Libya to Italy and Greece, calling it the most dangerous. “Don’t put your life into the hands of the smugglers and the human traffickers… The probability of getting asylum in the European Union is almost zero,” he said. “Stick to the education, the right skills, and then find the legal ways.”

Europe needs workers

Brunner said Europe needs legal migration because of ageing populations and labour shortages, but admitted the EU’s Talent Partnership with Pakistan had not delivered enough. He cited Italy as an example, said other member states could do more, and praised Pakistan’s legal labour arrangements with countries such as South Korea.

He also praised Pakistan’s role between Iran and the US. “I trust totally the Pakistani government. They’re doing everything they can to bring peace,” he said.

MEPs back Pakistan on Indus Waters

In Brussels, two members of the European Parliament backed Pakistan’s position on the Indus Waters Treaty at a meeting on global governance, Geo News reported. Czech MEP Andrej Dostál supported Pakistan’s stance, while German MEP Michael von der Schulenburg urged the international community to help ensure the treaty is implemented.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the EU, Rahim Hayat Qureshi, raised concerns over violations of the treaty, which India announced in April 2025 it would hold in abeyance, and called for the Kashmir dispute to be resolved under UN resolutions. Pakistan maintains the treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally.

Why it matters

For the many Pakistanis who apply for European visas, a senior EU official admitting the system is failing them is significant. Pakistan has cut illegal migration sharply, and it now expects Europe to open legal doors in return. Read our report on Pakistan’s stand on the Indus Waters Treaty at the UN.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and Geo News.