Franco-Moroccan MP Urges Govt to Facilitate Visa Applications Procedures for Africans
The Member of the French Parliament, M'Jid El Guerrab, urged the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the French National Assembly to promote the visa granting process for African residents.
MP M’Jid El Guerrab presented a report to the French National Assembly on January 12 called “For a new visa policy: opening France to those who make it shine,” AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The report is a joint proposal from the Member of French Parliament M’Jid El Guerrab and a representative and specialist in issues related to Africa’s diaspora.
“Excessively long delivery times, unjustified refusals, strained consular services. According to the report, the complicated process surrounding visa-issuing has become a foreign policy issue for France. It is one of the main irritants between France and Africa,” the document reads.
Both French deputies El Guerrab and Sylla recommend issuing visas in 48 hours throughout Africa, as in Asia.
France issued 3.5 million short and long-stay visas during 2019. Only 10 per cent of them were given to citizens of sub-Saharan Africa. Based on 2019 statistics, the visa denial rate worldwide is 16.3 per cent, while for Algeria citizens, the visa refusal rate reaches 45 per cent.
Citizens of Morocco account for the largest number of applicants wishing to get a visa in France.
According to AtoZSerwisPlus.com statistics of 2019, a total of 263,556 applications were filed by Algerians who wished to obtain France’s visa.
Over MAD 424 million ($44 million) were spent by Moroccan visa applicants on 379,347 applications for Schengen, in 2019, based on the same source.
The French consulates in Fez, Casablanca and Rabat received the highest number of applications filed for the visa, in 2019.
In November, France’s government announced that it is planning to grant fewer visas for internationals coming from countries suspected of radicalization or those who do not accept taking back their nationals in an irregular situation. Such a plan was announced by Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune during an announcement.
