According to some MPs, reimbursement of costs is a right for these Moroccans who have had their Schengen visa applications rejected. In a question addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, MP Hanane Atarguine of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) asked to study the possibility of allowing these Moroccans to recover the amounts paid to obtain the visa.
Read: French visas: here’s why the application fees are not refundable
The number of Moroccans applying for Schengen visa continues to grow from year to year. According to a report from the European Commission, Moroccans come first among Schengen visa applicants at the Arab and African level in 2023. Globally, they occupy fourth place, recalled the parliamentarian, stressing that Moroccans inject significant resources financial in this process of obtaining a visa only to ultimately have their applications refused.
Read: France: new reason for Schengen visa refusal
According to the European Commission report, some 136,367 Schengen visa applications submitted by Moroccans were rejected in 2023, reports Hanane Atarguine, who specifies that all these applicants spent a total of nearly 118 million dirhams without winning their case. . Given that the refusal or acceptance of the visa application falls within the prerogatives of the countries of the European Union, the PAMiste MP asks to explore ways and means for a possible reimbursement of visa fees.
