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.

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The Council of the European Union (EU) agreed on Wednesday on a negotiating mandate for the digitization and unification of the Schengen visa procedure.

The ambassadors of the Member States agreed on the negotiating mandate to digitize the visa procedure, the EU Council said in a statement, noting that the proposal “introduces the possibility of applying for a visa online and replaces the current visa sticker with a digital visa”.

This initiative aims “to make the visa application procedure more efficient and to improve the security of the Schengen area,” the statement said, adding that the proposed new rules will create a unified platform for visa applications.

Under the proposal, all Schengen visa applications “will be submitted through this platform, a single website, which will transmit them to the relevant national systems”, the Council said, adding that visa applicants will be able to enter all relevant data, upload electronic copies of their travel documents and supporting documents and pay their visa fees on this platform.

Applicants, who will also be informed via the platform of decisions on their visa, will only have to go to the consulate in person if they are applying for a visa for the first time if their biometric data are no longer valid, or if they have acquired a new travel document.

“A digital Schengen visa will make it easier for legitimate travelers to apply for a visa and at the same time help make the Schengen area more secure,” said Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

Under the proposed new rules, visas will be issued in digital format, in the form of a cryptographically signed 2D barcode. According to Maria Malmer Stenergard, this will “eliminate the risk of forgery and theft of the visa sticker”.

The European Commission presented a legislative proposal to digitize the visa procedure last April.

Based on the negotiating mandate agreed by the EU Council, the Council Presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament to reach an agreement on the final text.

Read Also: Moroccans paid €3 million for rejected EU visas in 2021

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