Passport holders of Morocco are still struggling to secure Schengen visa appointment slots despite measures taken against intermediaries exploiting the system.
According to some applicants, the situation has worsened, raising suspicions that these difficulties are being made deliberately in order to push applicants to pay intermediaries for their services, Schengen.News reports.
The authorities have said that they have taken a number of measures, including the implementation of a new smart booking system, in an attempt to fight those blocking appointments and selling them on the black market for a high amount of money.
However, as it has been explained by Fes News, appointments have become completely unavailable at consulates and application centres in the country.
Since there are no available appointments, citizens have described the booking system as a ghost. They stressed that appointments disappear as soon as they are made available.
Ahmed, an applicant, said that he checks the website all day to catch an appointment. Nonetheless, he stressed that these appointments are deliberately hidden, making it impossible for him to secure a slot.
I watch the website all day as if chasing a mirage. This is no longer a problem of brokers, but appointments being deliberately hidden or quotas set so low they cover less than one per cent of the increasing demand.
Visa Appointment Struggles Are Depriving Moroccans of Their Right to Travel
The struggles to secure a Schengen visa appointment are considered to deprive the right to travel to the bloc for Moroccan nationals.
Taking this into account, the Moroccans are demanding that there be full transparency and an investigation into the matter.
They noted that it is of significant importance to put an end to such illegal schemes that are blocking legitimate applicants from securing appointments.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the current situation has been considered catastrophic, causing financial losses for Moroccans who have no other choice but to resort to intermediaries.
Schengen visa appointments are free of charge via official channels, with applicants only having to pay the processing fee. On the other hand, intermediaries charge up to €500.
Recent statistics from SchengenVisaInfo show that Moroccans filed 606,800 Schengen visa applications in 2024, ranking fourth among all applicants.
Of all those who submitted an application last year, 457,850 were granted a visa, whereas 115,774 had their visas rejected.