The former French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Avé, has warned against applying for Schengen visas through middlemen.
Anne said that all those who pay middlemen to apply for a France Schengen visa on their behalf will have their visa denied, and they will also risk being banned from entering all Schengen member states, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
She further called on everyone to report middlemen who ask for money to secure appointments.
I hear some people still pay crooks to get visas. Anyone asking for money and pretending he can help you get a visa is a crook. Do not reply. Report to the police. Do not use their services: you will be denied 100 per cent and possibly banned from all 27 countries.
Anne stressed that the process of applying for a Schengen visa is simple, and all those who meet the requirements will be issued the document.
She also noted that there is no need to pay middlemen a high amount of money when the entire process can be completed with less than €100.
Fill in the form + Be honest + Provide genuine documents + Don’t lie or hide anything = You will be one of the 1,7 million people who are granted a visa for France this year. Total < 100€.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Anne stressed that sometimes middlemen pretend to be embassy staff and urged everyone not to believe such claims.
If the System Labells You as Fraudulent, Persistent Denials Are Expected
A national of Ghana who had previously paid middlemen to secure a visa appointment for him complained to Anne that he wasted a high amount of money just to have his visa continuously denied.
Responding to him, Anne said that he had been denied his visa because he used agents.
Anne also highlighted that there is a possibility that the applicant will be denied the visa each time he applies, as the system now labels him as fraudulent.
You are now in the system as fraudulent, and it is likely you will always be denied now. Thank your middleman.
Other nationals of Ghana have required that the French authorities do more rigorous checks as the middlemen are booking all the appointments as soon as they are released and then selling them for a significantly higher price.
People wouldn’t need to pay these same crooks if there were appointment dates.. this should be your priority.
Commenting on the matter, Anne said that she used to check multiple appointments booked by middlemen who had the same phone number, email address, and some other strange similarities and cancelled them.
She further suggested that nationals of Ghana no longer sustain middlemen, or else there will continue to be a shortage of appointments.
