Obtaining an appointment to submit a Schengen visa application is an obstacle course in Algeria. The scarcity and management of slots at the level of European consular representations have given rise to a profitable parallel market for the sale of appointments.
In a written response to a member’s question, published Friday, September 13, Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf assured that the fight against these โshameful practicesโ has become a priority for his services.
Every Schengen visa applicant knows this. To have a chance of obtaining an appointment to apply, it is essential to entrust the file to informal providers, for a fee. The activity of these โfacilitatorsโ is booming in Algeria.
โAppointments are sold at exorbitant prices, up to 100,000 DZDโ
Recently, immigration deputy Abdelouahab Yagoubi sent a written question to the Algerian government, calling for an effective fight against the phenomenon of selling appointments.
โThe phenomenon of selling appointments through intermediaries, tourist agencies or even unknown individuals, via social networks, has recently become widespread,โ underlined the parliamentarian.
According to him, these illegal intermediaries exploit the urgent need to travel of some of our fellow citizens for various reasons to โillegally sell appointments at exorbitant prices, up to 100,000 DZDโ.
The MP also did not fail to talk about the โhumiliatingโ conditions faced by applicants in front of the companies providing consular services, resulting in particular in long queues.
Thus, Yagoubi calls for an effective fight against this scourge which would involve several stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce.
He also asks for explanations about the measures taken by the government to put an end to this scourge and ensure a treatment that preserves the dignity of our fellow citizens and protects their money.
Sale of visa appointments: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains
In his response, published this Friday, September 13 by the MP, the Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that โthe fight against these shameful practices has become a priority for our competent servicesโ.
The authority specifies, in this regard, that it โperiodically alertsโ foreign diplomatic representations as soon as violations of this type occur. The latter are also urged to ensure โcompliance with the national legislation in force, as well as to provide all possible facilities to Algerian citizens in the processing of visa applications under the principle of reciprocityโ.
Moreover, the minister indicates that this awareness-raising work has โprovided good results to dateโ. Some of the foreign consular representations have, according to the same source, put in place technical measures to combat the illicit sale of appointments.
This includes the creation of websites allowing Algerian applicants to directly submit and monitor their visa applications themselves, without resorting to intermediaries.
In addition, it was noted that โcertain foreign diplomatic centers have initiated proceedings against people involved in cases of extortion and fraud at the level of the centers concerned,โ added the ministry.
Finally, the minister assures that he is working, within the limits of his skills, โto continue his efforts in the fight against this dangerous phenomenon and to ensure better treatment of citizens within diplomatic representationsโ.