Moroccan Expert Complains of Unreasonable Schengen Visa Restrictions

Sofia El Mansouri, who is a well-known Moroccan compliance expert, has condemned the restrictions against nationals of Morocco, which according to her are humiliating, and at the same time has shared that she experienced the same situation a few months now, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Morocco World News explains that since November 2022, El Mansouri has been unable to make a single appointment at EU consular representations in order to renew her visa.

It has been revealed that El Mansouri needs the visa to attend an event in the Netherlands in March. However, her attempts until now have yet to be taken into consideration and she still needs to secure a visa that would allow her to enter the bloc.

Commenting on the matter, El Mansouri said that all nationals of Morocco applying for a Schengen visa must make an appointment online and then be able to submit their files. Taking such rules into account, El Mansouri stressed that it has been impossible to make an appointment through the available platforms that offer such services.

In addition to the above-mentioned, El Mansouri complained that legal intermediaries are making it difficult to make an appointment on purpose so nationals of Morocco resort to illegal intermediaries just to be able to make an appointment.

According to her, these restrictions are humiliating, and thus she has urged the authorities to take measures and ease the restrictions as currently, it is almost impossible to make an appointment.

Besides El Mansouri, tens of other nationals of Morocco face faced similar problems, including here students, business, and public figures, among others.

A Schengen visa is a short-term visa which permits all of its holders to stay in the EU for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, and all citizens of countries that have not reached a visa liberalisation agreement need such a document in order to be permitted entry to the bloc.

>> Who Needs And Who Doesn’t Need A Schengen Visa To Travel To The EU?

Nationals of Morocco applying for a Schengen visa must make sure to submit several documents. They must submit a visa application form, two photos, a valid passport, flight reservation, travel health insurance for Europe, evidence showing where they will stay while in the EU, and proof of financial means, among others.

Depending on the type of visa that one applies for as well as on the employment status, additional documents may be required too.