The Moroccan authorities have brought the issue of Schengen visa intermediaries to the parliament and have said that they want to promote application by citizens of the country themselves by ‘limiting the rights’ of intermediaries.
The problem of intermediaries was brought to the parliament by the member of Parliament Touria Afif, who said that it had become a norm in Morocco to make a Schengen visa appointment through intermediaries, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Afif stressed that it is almost impossible to make a Schengen visa appointment without using other services for which applicants must pay and pointed out that this problem is mainly being felt in the city of Casablanca.
For this reason, she suggested that the country takes measures so that Moroccans can make an appointment themselves without having to ask for help from intermediaries, which charge up to €378 per application.
Such a high amount has been seen as unjustifiable by Afif as well as some other members of the parliament of Morocco, who have urged the government to put an end to this trend which is negatively affecting the citizens of the country.
Moroccans have complained for some time now of facing unreasonable restrictions when applying for a Schengen visa in one of the issuing countries.
Just recently, a Moroccan compliance expert, Sofia El Mansouri, condemned the Schengen visa restrictions that are applied against nationals of Morocco and called the rules humiliating.
Mansouri said that it is impossible to make an appointment through the available platforms in the country that offer visa services, and the same said that legal intermediaries are complicating the rules on purpose, so Moroccans resort to illegal intermediaries.
Since Morocco has not reached any agreement with the EU on visa-free travel, all of its nationals are required to obtain a visa in order to be permitted entry into the EU/Schengen Area.
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Nationals of Morocco planning to reach the bloc for travel purposes need to apply for a Tourist Schengen Visa. This type of visa allows all of its holders to stay in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days within a six-month period.
When applying for a tourist Schengen visa, applicants must submit several documents, including the visa application form, two recent photos, and their valid passports.
Moreover, applicants must also submit proof of accommodation, proof of travel health insurance, a roundtrip reservation, and proof of financial means, among others.
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