With the arrival of summer, Moroccan FM warns against extorting ‘brokers.’

Last updated Apr 9, 2023

Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs, issued a warning against “visa brokers,” claiming that “the injunctive laws in this field are clear, as responsible authorities seek to implement them against anyone proven to be involved in the extortion of a Moroccan rentier in exchange for a visa.”

This week, a written inquiry about the reported difficulties that citizens were having obtaining visas for travel to European nations and the emergence of so-called brokers who demanded large sums of money from desperate citizens in exchange for alleged consular mediation received a response from Bourita.

Nasser Bourita addressed the issue of middlemen interfering with the regular visa application process between Moroccan nationals, embassies, consulates, or Moroccans and delegated management businesses in his response.

In order to encourage foreign missions accredited to Morocco to give visa applicants their full attention, to provide suitable spaces for reception and treatment that preserves their dignity, and to lessen the complexity of procedures, particularly those related to making appointments, Bourita said that his ministry is constantly communicating with these missions.

According to the minister, issuing visas is “a sovereign matter that is managed by the embassy or consulate accredited in the Kingdom,” and that the procedure is either carried out directly with Moroccan beneficiaries, as is the case with many foreign embassies and consulates, or through a subcontractor or a delegated measure to handle and process visa applications.

In accordance with this procedure, some accredited consulates and embassies in our nation entrust some businesses with the duty of researching and putting together applications, as well as scheduling appointments for visas, prior to sending the applications to embassies and consulates in order to obtain the travel document.

Several citizens have already attested to the consular services’ tightening procedures, especially at the Spanish consulate in Casablanca, where the use of visa brokers is pervasive despite the control of the authorities and consulates.

The problem, which will get worse in the coming weeks due to the rise in demand for Schengen visas as summer approaches, is being addressed by Moroccans calling on Moroccan diplomatic authorities to act quickly.