Rabat – Moroccans spent €33.8 million on Schengen visa applications last year, new data shared by Schengen Visa Info said this week.
The data showed that Morocco topped the list of countries with highest Schengen visa applications in Africa last year, with over 423,000 applications.
Only a little over half of applications (57.5%) received a “positive response,” the data said.
Over 119,000 applicants had their requests denied.
“This means that almost 30 per cent of applications of Moroccans seeking to travel to the Schengen zone have been rejected,” the visa focused website said.
Schengen Visa Info acknowledged that the number of visa applications by Moroccans changed “significantly” in the past six years. The lowest record was registered in 2021, potentially due to the COVID pandemic, the site added.
The website also cited the economic situation as a direct cause in the decrease of visa applications filed by Morocans.
However, several other reports including from the same website have also put the spotlight on the struggle and challenges Moroccans face when they apply for EU visas.
The issues have been causing frustration among many Moroccans,who have been denouncing the systematic rejection of visa applications particularly in French consulates.
Data from Schengen Visa Statistics earlier this year said that out of over 160,000 visa applications made to France in 2022, over 50,000 were rejected.
France announced its controversial decision to slash the number of visas to Moroccan applicants by half in 2021.
In mid-December 2022, the country claimed that it restored full consular services with Morocco. This, however, has been denied by many Moroccan applicants, who continue to face delayed appointments and unjustified rejections.
