Spain hired Tecnologias Plexus SL to set up a new appointment management system for 129 consular visa offices.
Rabat – The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed Tecnologias Plexus SL, a technology company, to design a new management system for visa appointments.
Tecnologias Plexus SL will be responsible for managing online appointments in 129 offices located outside of Spain, as well as an office in Madrid. According to the Spanish news agency Europa Press, the contract is worth € 89,460.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borell indicated in the contract, that “the [visa] services will be improved in order to preserve the image of Spain abroad.”
According to Europa Press, Minister Borell has publicly acknowledged, during an appearance at the Senate, that “the Spanish consulates are saturated and they need more staff and resources.”
During his last visit to Morocco, the focus was on the Casablanca consulate, where there are delays for visa appointments. Schengen visa applicants have been facing wait times of six months due to the Spanish computer systems being “overwhelmed.”
Another goal for the ministry’s new system is to “eliminate any potential fraud, as well as uncontrolled access to consular services, avoiding any interference from third parties.”
There is already an existing contract between the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and BLS for visa processing which covers 58 consular offices.
However, the existing contract with BLS also includes appointment managing services for Schengen visa applications and will not be affected by the new contract signed with Tecnologias Plexus SL.
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