Nationals of Morocco have continued to express frustration over intermediaries blocking Schengen visa appointments and reselling them on the black market at a very high price.
The Moroccan YouTuber and streamer Bilal Fraiha is the most recent applicant who has complained about the issue and called on the authorities to take measures as soon as possible, Schengen.News reports.
As Morocco World News explains, Fraiha took it to social media to share his frustration with the situation, which is leaving many genuine Schengen visa seekers unable to secure appointments via official channels.
He questioned why he must pay MAD 4,000 (around €383) for someone to book a visa appointment, which is free of charge, stressing that this is not okay and should not be normalised.
This is not okay, we should not normalize such actions. Why should I have to give someone MAD 4,000 just to book me a visa appointment?
In addition, Fraiha also shared the experience of some other applicants. According to him, some individuals interested in obtaining a Schengen visa have been required to pay up to MAD 6,000 (around €575) for an appointment.
Taking into account the current situation and the difficulties that Moroccans are facing, Fraiha called on the authorities to tackle brokers who are manipulating the visa appointment system. The authorities have not made any comments on the matter yet.
Moroccans Filed 606,800 Schengen Visa Applications in 2024
Despite facing troubles in securing appointments, Moroccans continue to remain among the top Schengen visa applicants.
Statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo show that Moroccans filed a total of 606,800 Schengen visa applications in 2024, ranking fourth among all nationalities for the most applications submitted.
The top three member states that received the highest number of applications from Moroccan visa applicants last year are France, Spain, and the Netherlands. On the other hand, Moroccans submitted the lowest number of visa applications to Romania, Czechia, and Finland.
In total, the Schengen member states approved 457,850 visa applications filed by Moroccans in 2024.
As for the rejection rate, data shows that it stands at 20.1 per cent, with 115,774 receiving a negative response on their visa application last year. Nationals of Morocco who had their visa applications rejected in 2024 lost around €9.8 million in non-refundable fees.
