It has become difficult or even impossible for the Senegalese wishing to go to Europe to have an appointment for the visa interview, without paying a large sum of money. Journalists questioned European diplomats on the issue, during a press conference held on the sidelines of Europe Day, celebrated on Wednesday May 8, 2024. In response to the question, the Belgian ambassador, Hélène De Bock, said: “We are aware and we are very aware of the difficulties that exist in obtaining an appointment. There are two things that must be distinguished. It is necessary to distinguish the question of making an appointment which takes place (via) an external operator and the management of files».
Furthermore, the ambassador announces measures to resolve the issue of intermediaries. “We are undertaking a whole series of measures to try to regulate the intervention of intermediary players, pharmacies”. Hélène De Bock added, “we are put in difficulty by the intervention of these actors because we have no relationship with them; but who submit files or who monopolize and capture appointments for regular visa applications and therefore take the place of ordinary applicants».
The ambassador noted: “we are in contact with the Senegalese authorities. We strongly advise against going through pharmacies and third parties to request visas. It is a huge injustice to create a business around these appointments. It is the monopolization of these appointments which means that the deadlines for making appointments last more than two months at times.“.
Regarding the issuance of travel documents, she states that “nearly 30,000 new residence permits have been issued by the Member States of the European Union to Senegalese nationals” And “this is more than the previous three years; but it’s less than in 2023”. Likewise, every year, she says, “the consular services of the Schengen area have delivered 30 thousand short-stay visas to Senegalese nationals”.
For the French Ambassador, Christine Fages, “the French consulate general processed 43 thousand files in 2022 and 46 thousand in 2023. Two thirds for short-stay Schengen visas and one third for long-stay visas. The acceptance rate for short-stay visas is greater than 62% and the processing time for short-stay visas is two weeks, regulatory deadlines“. The French diplomat added: “In 2023, we issued a record number of 5,300 student visas. The number of Senegalese students in France has increased by 62% in 5 years. They constitute the fifth foreign student community“.
FATOU NDIAYE
#Senegal
