The abuse of appointments by middlemen has been brought up once more by Moroccan residents applying for Schengen visas. All available appointment times are reportedly reserved by these middlemen, who subsequently sell them for inflated fees on the black market, effectively preventing legitimate applicants from receiving visas.

For Moroccan students who have already received admission to universities in the European Union, this approach has particularly negative effects. These students are currently suffering the most because getting a visa is necessary for them to enroll in classes and pursue their studies overseas.

The problem is not limited to students; Moroccans who want to enter the Schengen area for a variety of reasons, including leisure tourism, have also experienced negative effects. Some people have been encouraged by this circumstance to look into alternate trip locations without visa requirements.

This is not the first time Moroccans have expressed disapproval of the unethical practice of intermediaries controlling and benefitting from the scheduling of visa appointments. According to a May report from SchengenVisaInfo.com, unlicensed brokers were using automated bots to book appointments, then selling them to desperate Moroccan nationals.

According to Deutsche Welle, these unlicensed brokers might charge upwards of €1,000 for appointments for Schengen visas. Compared to the usual visa application fees collected through authorized visa centers, this outrageous amount is noticeably higher.

The majority of embassies with operations in Morocco are aware of this alarming trend, according to Adil Tchikitou, the director of the Moroccan League for the Defense of Human Rights. He added that during the period of a year, authorities had not taken any proactive steps to solve this problem.

Moroccans struggle with increased refusal rates for Schengen visa applications in addition to the aforementioned problems. According to Schengen Visa Statistics, Moroccan citizens were denied 30 percent of their requests for Schengen visas in 2022. France and Spain were the countries that made the majority of these unfavorable decisions.

In specific terms, the data shows that 423,201 Schengen visa applications from Moroccans as a whole were submitted in 2022.

A number of important documents must be submitted as part of the application procedure for Moroccans seeking a Schengen visa. These include a civil status certificate, a completed visa application form, a current passport, and two passport-sized photos.

Additionally, applicants must show proof of their lodging reservations, proof of their travel health insurance coverage, proof that their visa fees have been paid, a thorough roundtrip flight schedule, and proof that they have enough money to pay their expenses.