The Moroccan authorities have said that the country is taking action against illegal intermediaries who are exploiting the Schengen visa appointment system and selling slots for a large amount of money.
Concerned about the current situation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, Nasser Bourita, said that his ministry is working to put an end to such practices, Schengen.News reports.
A large number of Moroccans have been complaining about having to ask for the help of intermediaries to secure a Schengen visa appointment in exchange for money. This has caused significant financial losses for them.
Following complaints by many Moroccans about intermediaries, the Ministry decided to take the matter into its own hands.
As explained by Minister Bourita, the authorities are working together with the EU diplomatic missions to combat this practice that is causing inconveniences for Moroccans who want to obtain a Schengen visa for the purpose of entering the bloc.
While the authorities did not share detailed information on the measures that will be taken, Morocco World News noted that there are many reports of Schengen visa appointments being sold for up to €950.
This has fueled public outrage as Moroccans who are not able to find any available appointments have no other choice but to pay intermediaries for a slot. However, now that the authorities will be involved, it is expected that such issues will be resolved soon.
French Visa Applications in Morocco Can Now Only Be Made via Video Call to Prevent Irregularities
In an attempt to put an end to visa appointment fraud, measures have been taken for those who want to apply for a French Schengen visa in Rabat.
Since September 18, 2024, the outsourcing company responsible for managing French visa applications in Morocco, TLScontact, has been requiring applicants to go through a video call in order to be able to make a visa appointment.
By introducing such a requirement, the company wants to verify the identity of applicants and make sure that intermediaries are not exploiting the system.
The requirement to go through the video call applies to first-time French visa applicants. During the video call, the applicants are required to display their passports on the camera, and the employees verify if the same person whose picture is on the document is applying for the visa.
Despite this, Moroccans continue to face a number of challenges when applying for visas of other Schengen member states, too. Taking into account the current situation, the Ambassador of Morocco to France, Samira Sitail, called for a fairer Schengen visa process. She said that the situation need to be addressed as soon as possible and that the visa issuance system needs to be made more credible.
Source: https://schengen.news/morocco-takes-action-against-intermediaries-exploiting-schengen-visa-appointments/
