France Lifts Schengen Visa Restrictions for Morocco Citizens

Summary

• France has decided to lift all visa restrictions on Moroccans.
• The French Ambassador to Morocco said that everyone who meets the requirements will receive a visa.
• French visa issuance rate for Moroccans is expected to be 80 percent higher than last year.

The French Ambassador to Morocco, Christophe Lecourtier, has said that France has lifted the visa restrictions previously imposed on Moroccans.

Announcing the news, Ambassador Lecourtier said in an interview for 2M that Moroccans are no longer subject to strict rules. He further stressed that all those who meet the requirements will be able to obtain a French visa without having to undergo any additional rules reports.

There are no longer any restrictions on the issuing of visas by Paris. Whoever fulfils the conditions necessary to obtain a visa will get their visa.French Ambassador to Morocco, Christophe Lecourtier

France’s decision comes amid a high number of people reporting unjustified visa rejections and complaining about strict application rules.

In 2021, France decided to cut the number of visas issued to Moroccans. The decision to give fewer visas was taken following complaints from French citizens who said that they were concerned about undocumented immigrants in the country.

The move was highly criticised by Moroccans, who said that they were not being treated fairly. Unhappy with the rules, Moroccans urged the French authorities to facilitate the restrictions so that they are subject to the same requirements as nationals of other countries who need a visa to enter the EU.

Despite complaints, France kept its strict restrictions in place, limiting the number of granted visas.

However, Ambassador Lecourtier said that the decision has deeply damaged the image of France, and for this reason, the country has decided to lift its restrictions.

Now that the restrictions have been dropped, Ambassador Lecourtier said that by the end of the year, the number of visas issued to Moroccans will increase by 80 per cent compared to last year.

Moroccans accounted for the highest number of Schengen visa applications filed in 2022 compared to the other African countries.

Data provided by Visa Statistics show that Moroccans filed a total of 423,201 Schengen visa applications and spent €3.8 million in 2022.

However, despite filing such a high number of applications, just half of them received a positive response.

SVI Statistics reveal that last year, France and Spain issued the highest number of negative decisions on Schengen visa applications filed by Moroccans.

France rejected 51,498 Schengen visa applications, and Spain rejected 50,033 Schengen visa applications filed by Moroccans in 2022.

These two countries together are responsible for 85 per cent of total Schengen visa applications turned down in Morocco last year.