Can I Get My Schengen Visa Fee Refunded if My Application Is Refused?

Why there's no refund

The fee covers the cost of assessing your application, the work happens whether the answer is yes or no. So a refusal doesn't trigger a refund of the government fee or the VFS charge, and insurance and prepaid extras generally aren't recoverable either.

The scale of this in India

It adds up. In 2025, Indian applicants collectively lost an estimated ₹154.9 crore in non-refundable fees on refused applications, among the highest such losses in the world. Every refusal is a fee paid for nothing plus a trip that didn't happen.

Source: European Commission data, reported 2026.

What this means for how you apply

Because the fee is gone whether you're approved or refused, the cheapest application is the one that succeeds first time. Cutting corners on documents or insurance to save money is the most expensive approach there is, a preventable refusal means paying the full fee again on the reapplication.

The rare edge cases

If you withdraw before processing begins, or a duplicate/erroneous charge occurs, you can sometimes recover money, but a normal refused application is not refundable. Don't count on any exception.