As European countries age and their workforces shrink, policies to attract and retain talent are back on the table for European governments. In recent weeks, the European Union reached political agreement on a digital Talent Pool to support recruitment of international workers in priority sectors. And in January, the bloc will launch a pilot legal gateway office in India to facilitate legal migration of skilled workers. Yet EU efforts to attract skilled workers risk being derailed by inefficient national visa policies and procedures that prevent otherwise qualified candidates from accessing education and labor pathways.
The European Commission’s forthcoming visa strategy, which will target students, researchers, skilled workers, and start-ups, offers one opportunity to tackle the bureaucratic hurdles and backlogs that risk hindering Europe’s competitiveness. But EU-wide channels account for only a small share of total legal migration pathways to Europe, so national governments will need to take decisive action of their own.
Current visa processes can be inefficient and time-consuming. For example, Swiss missions in Turkey require all student visa documents be accompanied by notarized translations into a Swiss national language, illustrating how documentation requirements and related costs can stack up for applicants. Schengen visa applicants are often required to provide extensive paperwork to document they intend to return to their country of origin, such as employment or family ties, as well as proof of their financial well-being, the personal nature of which can deter some applicants altogether.
Left unaddressed, visa bottlenecks will do more than frustrate applicants—they will determine whether Europe can meet its long-term economic needs. Countries that make it seamless for talent to enter and settle will shape the industries of the future; the others risk cementing labor shortages, slowing innovation, and losing talent to competitors with smoother systems.
Visa processing may seem like a bureaucratic afterthought, but its consequences ripple across entire economies. European policymakers should prioritize addressing the following visa challenges:
1. Reduce Delays and Undercut the Black Market by Expanding Appointment Availability
Visa appointments at consulates and embassies can be elusive, in some cases driving a black-market solution. For example, Migration Policy Institute Europe analysts found that third parties were booking out all available appointments at Spain’s embassy in Senegal, resulting in wait times of 1-2 years unless applicants paid up to 1,000 euros to these intermediaries to secure an appointment within two weeks. With smugglers charging as little as 600 euros to transport people by boat from Senegal to Spain, application backlogs can incentivize irregular migration.
European governments could allocate resources to make more appointments available and consider interview waivers/mail-in applications, thus freeing up slots at consulates and visa application centers for applications that require closer scrutiny.
There is also a compelling case for exploring alternative appointment systems that prevent bulk-booking and reselling, such as the U.S. approach of gradually releasing visa appointments and preventing post-booking changes to applicant information. Tracking appointment wait times systematically can also improve predictability for applicants and their sponsors (e.g. employers) and help governments detect capacity issues in real time. European governments could look to examples such as the United States, which has historically maintained a publicly available visa and appointment system showing wait times by country.
2. Cut Costs, Speed Processing, and Stop Excluding Qualified Candidates by Streamlining Documentation Requirements
Documentation requirements have stacked up in recent years. Prior to digitization, officials at Germany’s mission in New Delhi reportedly were moving paperwork for visa applications and passports in crates, with paperwork being sent to Germany by diplomatic courier. Visa applicants are being asked to provide more evidence, slowing processing times and driving up cost—yet with little evidence that this improves security or tackles visa misuse or overstay risk. For example, some French missions require Schengen visa applicants to submit family record books to prove their ties to their home country.
Documentation challenges are even more acute for refugees due to displacement conditions, and risk excluding an otherwise qualified talent pool. The evidence available from work and education pathways that accept more flexible documentation to facilitate access to refugees suggests no compromise on integrity or candidate quality.
To reduce processing costs as well as the burden on applicants, governments should consider streamlining documentation requirements and accepting digital documents and machine translations in lieu of hard copies of original documents or certified translations.
3. Reduce Unfair Denials and Visa Shopping by Investing in Better Data and Harmonized Decisions
There is worrying evidence that applications for temporary visas (for example by students, visiting researchers, or short-term stays by family members and friends) can receive inconsistent and at times unfair decisions. There are recorded instances where elderly travelers were flagged for seeking medical treatment; young, unmarried people were screened for higher overstay risk; and a case where a mother was approved for a wedding trip but her children were denied. In Italy, dozens of students took legal action for visa rejections on vague grounds. Data from Schengen visa applications also reveal that rejection rates range widely by nationality, often disadvantaging applicants from lower-income countries.
These examples speak to risk assessments being driven by precaution, rather than high-quality screening protocols. Such inconsistencies risk deterring prospective, highly skilled migrants from considering Europe as a destination, particularly if they fear family members will face issues visiting them or that their study visa may be rejected, which can come with significant costs for higher education institutions and the economy at large. In the United States, for example, additional screening requirements coupled with growing backlogs and new travel restrictions have led to new international student enrollment falling by 17 percent this fall, costing billions of dollars and depriving the United States of a future talent pipeline.
Moreover, inconsistent visa decisions can encourage applicants to “visa shop” at consulates where they perceive a greater chance of success. Improving data collection and systematic cross-checks on the rates and profiles of Schengen visa overstayers who make unfounded asylum claims could help create a better evidence base for defining risk profiles, and ensure that across Europe, there is greater consistency in how visa decision criteria are developed and applied.
4. Give Applicants Greater Transparency around Processing Timelines
Across Europe, there is little visibility into visa processing times. Prospective migrants have little certainty about when they can relocate, and thus if they can successfully enroll in classes, keep their job offer, or visit family. Collecting and publishing these operational metrics could improve predictability, while the European Union can support Member States to expand consular presence and thus speed up processing times (for example, by establishing additional visa desks or expanding the use of joint consular processing to avoid applicants traveling long distances for appointments).
Governments could also explore premium processing options, such as those offered by the United Kingdom and the United States, which guarantees decisions within 1 to 15 business days for an additional fee.
5. Introduce Visa Flexibility for Students, Researchers, and Academics
Short-term visas are an important part of Europe’s talent pipeline. Researchers, academics, and students frequently rely on short-stay visas for conferences or visits that complement or precede long-term study and work. But unpredictable processing times and high rejection rates can make short-term visits inaccessible.
The European Union could tackle this unpredictability by negotiating more visa facilitation mechanisms, which address fees, documentation requirements, and processing times. At present, these agreements take too long to negotiate and activate, in part due to the challenges of reaching agreement among Member States—limiting their potential impact on the talent pipeline as well as their potential value in meeting the objectives of partner countries in migration-related cooperation.
In turn, the European Union could make it easier and quicker to introduce or adjust visa facilitation measures for key groups linked to talent, on a par with their powers to suspend visa facilitation agreements, which are comparatively more flexible. Not only would this allow the European Union to address issues as they emerge for different groups, but it would also make it easier to offer visa flexibility as part of broader negotiations on migration with third countries.
Positioning Europe for the Global Race for Talent
The United States’ shift towards more restrictive immigration policies, including for skilled workers, and its crackdown on research in and beyond academia, has inspired countries around the world to position themselves to attract this exodus of talent.
China, Canada, France, Spain, and other countries have rolled out new pathways and incentives to woo disaffected H-1B workers, researchers, and international students, alongside the EU Choose Europe for Science initiative, which will provide 500 million euros over the next two years to attract research talent.
But generous funding packages cannot fully compensate for inefficient visa policies that can slow decision-making, rack up costs, and deter employers and potential applicants alike.
If Europe wants to compete more fully for global talent, it will need to start with the fundamentals: faster, clearer, and more predictable visa procedures for people to come and contribute. Such a modernization is not just administrative housekeeping— it is Europe’s ticket to staying in the race.
Europe’s Talent Race Starts at the Visa Counter
As European countries age and their workforces shrink, policies to attract and retain talent are back on the table for European governments. In recent weeks, the European Union reached political agreement on a digital Talent Pool to support recruitment of international workers in priority sectors. And in January, the bloc will launch a pilot legal gateway office in India to facilitate legal migration of skilled workers. Yet EU efforts to attract skilled workers risk being derailed by inefficient national visa policies and procedures that prevent otherwise qualified candidates from accessing education and labor pathways.
The European Commission’s forthcoming visa strategy, which will target students, researchers, skilled workers, and start-ups, offers one opportunity to tackle the bureaucratic hurdles and backlogs that risk hindering Europe’s competitiveness. But EU-wide channels account for only a small share of total legal migration pathways to Europe, so national governments will need to take decisive action of their own.
Current visa processes can be inefficient and time-consuming. For example, Swiss missions in Turkey require all student visa documents be accompanied by notarized translations into a Swiss national language, illustrating how documentation requirements and related costs can stack up for applicants. Schengen visa applicants are often required to provide extensive paperwork to document they intend to return to their country of origin, such as employment or family ties, as well as proof of their financial well-being, the personal nature of which can deter some applicants altogether.
Left unaddressed, visa bottlenecks will do more than frustrate applicants—they will determine whether Europe can meet its long-term economic needs. Countries that make it seamless for talent to enter and settle will shape the industries of the future; the others risk cementing labor shortages, slowing innovation, and losing talent to competitors with smoother systems.
Visa processing may seem like a bureaucratic afterthought, but its consequences ripple across entire economies. European policymakers should prioritize addressing the following visa challenges:
1. Reduce Delays and Undercut the Black Market by Expanding Appointment Availability
Visa appointments at consulates and embassies can be elusive, in some cases driving a black-market solution. For example, Migration Policy Institute Europe analysts found that third parties were booking out all available appointments at Spain’s embassy in Senegal, resulting in wait times of 1-2 years unless applicants paid up to 1,000 euros to these intermediaries to secure an appointment within two weeks. With smugglers charging as little as 600 euros to transport people by boat from Senegal to Spain, application backlogs can incentivize irregular migration.
European governments could allocate resources to make more appointments available and consider interview waivers/mail-in applications, thus freeing up slots at consulates and visa application centers for applications that require closer scrutiny.
There is also a compelling case for exploring alternative appointment systems that prevent bulk-booking and reselling, such as the U.S. approach of gradually releasing visa appointments and preventing post-booking changes to applicant information. Tracking appointment wait times systematically can also improve predictability for applicants and their sponsors (e.g. employers) and help governments detect capacity issues in real time. European governments could look to examples such as the United States, which has historically maintained a publicly available visa and appointment system showing wait times by country.
2. Cut Costs, Speed Processing, and Stop Excluding Qualified Candidates by Streamlining Documentation Requirements
Documentation requirements have stacked up in recent years. Prior to digitization, officials at Germany’s mission in New Delhi reportedly were moving paperwork for visa applications and passports in crates, with paperwork being sent to Germany by diplomatic courier. Visa applicants are being asked to provide more evidence, slowing processing times and driving up cost—yet with little evidence that this improves security or tackles visa misuse or overstay risk. For example, some French missions require Schengen visa applicants to submit family record books to prove their ties to their home country.
Documentation challenges are even more acute for refugees due to displacement conditions, and risk excluding an otherwise qualified talent pool. The evidence available from work and education pathways that accept more flexible documentation to facilitate access to refugees suggests no compromise on integrity or candidate quality.
To reduce processing costs as well as the burden on applicants, governments should consider streamlining documentation requirements and accepting digital documents and machine translations in lieu of hard copies of original documents or certified translations.
3. Reduce Unfair Denials and Visa Shopping by Investing in Better Data and Harmonized Decisions
There is worrying evidence that applications for temporary visas (for example by students, visiting researchers, or short-term stays by family members and friends) can receive inconsistent and at times unfair decisions. There are recorded instances where elderly travelers were flagged for seeking medical treatment; young, unmarried people were screened for higher overstay risk; and a case where a mother was approved for a wedding trip but her children were denied. In Italy, dozens of students took legal action for visa rejections on vague grounds. Data from Schengen visa applications also reveal that rejection rates range widely by nationality, often disadvantaging applicants from lower-income countries.
These examples speak to risk assessments being driven by precaution, rather than high-quality screening protocols. Such inconsistencies risk deterring prospective, highly skilled migrants from considering Europe as a destination, particularly if they fear family members will face issues visiting them or that their study visa may be rejected, which can come with significant costs for higher education institutions and the economy at large. In the United States, for example, additional screening requirements coupled with growing backlogs and new travel restrictions have led to new international student enrollment falling by 17 percent this fall, costing billions of dollars and depriving the United States of a future talent pipeline.
Moreover, inconsistent visa decisions can encourage applicants to “visa shop” at consulates where they perceive a greater chance of success. Improving data collection and systematic cross-checks on the rates and profiles of Schengen visa overstayers who make unfounded asylum claims could help create a better evidence base for defining risk profiles, and ensure that across Europe, there is greater consistency in how visa decision criteria are developed and applied.
4. Give Applicants Greater Transparency around Processing Timelines
Across Europe, there is little visibility into visa processing times. Prospective migrants have little certainty about when they can relocate, and thus if they can successfully enroll in classes, keep their job offer, or visit family. Collecting and publishing these operational metrics could improve predictability, while the European Union can support Member States to expand consular presence and thus speed up processing times (for example, by establishing additional visa desks or expanding the use of joint consular processing to avoid applicants traveling long distances for appointments).
Governments could also explore premium processing options, such as those offered by the United Kingdom and the United States, which guarantees decisions within 1 to 15 business days for an additional fee.
5. Introduce Visa Flexibility for Students, Researchers, and Academics
Short-term visas are an important part of Europe’s talent pipeline. Researchers, academics, and students frequently rely on short-stay visas for conferences or visits that complement or precede long-term study and work. But unpredictable processing times and high rejection rates can make short-term visits inaccessible.
The European Union could tackle this unpredictability by negotiating more visa facilitation mechanisms, which address fees, documentation requirements, and processing times. At present, these agreements take too long to negotiate and activate, in part due to the challenges of reaching agreement among Member States—limiting their potential impact on the talent pipeline as well as their potential value in meeting the objectives of partner countries in migration-related cooperation.
In turn, the European Union could make it easier and quicker to introduce or adjust visa facilitation measures for key groups linked to talent, on a par with their powers to suspend visa facilitation agreements, which are comparatively more flexible. Not only would this allow the European Union to address issues as they emerge for different groups, but it would also make it easier to offer visa flexibility as part of broader negotiations on migration with third countries.
Positioning Europe for the Global Race for Talent
The United States’ shift towards more restrictive immigration policies, including for skilled workers, and its crackdown on research in and beyond academia, has inspired countries around the world to position themselves to attract this exodus of talent.
China, Canada, France, Spain, and other countries have rolled out new pathways and incentives to woo disaffected H-1B workers, researchers, and international students, alongside the EU Choose Europe for Science initiative, which will provide 500 million euros over the next two years to attract research talent.
But generous funding packages cannot fully compensate for inefficient visa policies that can slow decision-making, rack up costs, and deter employers and potential applicants alike.
If Europe wants to compete more fully for global talent, it will need to start with the fundamentals: faster, clearer, and more predictable visa procedures for people to come and contribute. Such a modernization is not just administrative housekeeping— it is Europe’s ticket to staying in the race.