As Washington’s ‘America First’ agenda hardens borders, with 16 of the 20 countries facing new US travel restrictions or outright bans located in Africa, similar dynamics are now emerging in Europe.
Exclusive research commissioned for the Henley Global Mobility Report 2026 finds that recent EU visa reforms are deepening the global mobility divide for African travellers, despite rising demand linked to work, education, and family ties.
Authored by Prof Mehari Taddele Maru of the European University Institute and Johns Hopkins University SAIS, the study shows that access to Schengen visas is becoming increasingly restrictive even as mobility pressures intensify.
Eurostat data reveal that between 2015 and 2024, Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants climbed from 18.6% to 26.6%, while application volumes rose only marginally.
Reforms introduced between 2024 and 2025, including higher fees, longer processing times, expanded surveillance, and punitive sanctions, are expected to drive rejection rates higher still, further entrenching unequal access to mobility.
“These policies do not simply regulate mobility. They institutionalise it,” said Maru. “What we are witnessing is a form of conditional racial discrimination in visa policymaking, shaped by geopolitical power rather than individual risk.”
The research concludes that EU visa sanctions and the rollout of its entry/exit system compound this exclusion by raising financial and administrative barriers, extending processing times, and intensifying surveillance for travellers from countries already facing the highest rejection rates.
Demand for additional residence and citizenship rights continues to diversify and deepen.
In 2025 alone, Henley & Partners received applications from 100 different nationalities, rising to 142 nationalities over the past five years, across more than 60 options worldwide. By the end of last year, overall application volumes were 28% higher than in 2024.
Led by the U.S., the remaining top five countries of origin are Türkiye, India, China, and the UK, with applications from Brits rising to unprecedented levels in 2025.
“What we are seeing is a fundamental shift in how globally mobile individuals think about access and security”, said Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO at Henley & Partners. “In an era of geopolitical uncertainty and increasingly fragmented travel regimes, residence and citizenship planning has evolved into an essential strategy for building resilience, optionality, and mobility certainty across multiple jurisdictions.”
This shift is most pronounced among US nationals, now the firm’s largest client market.
“Americans are continuing their scramble for alternative residence and citizenship amid ongoing political turbulence, with interest now at an all-time high,” stated Prof. Peter J. Spiro, professor at Temple University Law School.
Spiro added, “What was once seen as an extreme contingency has become a mainstream form of risk management, a durable Plan B that offers security, mobility, and peace of mind in an increasingly unpredictable world.”
