The Spanish Consulate in Morocco’s Tangier has complained about a large number of brokers who falsify documents that need to be submitted when applying for a Schengen visa.
According to the consulate, several people are producing fake Schengen visa documents and helping Moroccans to obtain Schengen visas irregularly, Schengen.News reports.
Taking into account the seriousness of this issue, a formal complaint has already been filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is now investigating ten people involved in the fraud.
As local Spanish media have explained, the people accused of producing fake Schengen visa documents come from different neighbourhoods in Tangier.
Moreover, it has been revealed that these people have been mainly producing forged bank statements that show the financial stability of applicants.
According to the Spanish authorities, such frauds damage the credibility of the visa process and, at the same time, raise concerns about the security of the system.
In addition, the authorities have expressed their concern about irregular migration to the bloc, suggesting that those who obtain Schengen visas using fake documents, in most cases, do not return back to Morocco after entering the territory of the Schengen Area.
Now that ten people are suspected of being involved in the falsification of Schengen visa documents, the public prosecutor has ordered a thorough investigation. Through this investigation, the Moroccan authorities want to identify everyone involved and gather evidence.
Moroccans Complain of Long Schengen Visa Delays in Tangier
Moroccans file a large number of Schengen visa applications each year. However, they are not always happy with how the EU consulates carry out visa processing, complaining of delays.
Just recently, the citizens of Morocco said that they have had enough of the long and unnecessary delays when applying for a Spanish Schengen visa in Tangier.
Frustrated with the long delays, they have called on the authorities to accelerate the application process and to provide compensation for everyone who has been affected by the delays.
A Moroccan citizen who filed a Spanish Schengen visa application in Tangier said they had been waiting for a long time to receive a response despite submitting all the required documents.
The same applicants said that it is taking up to 60 days for the visa applications to be processed, stressing that this delay is a violation of the laws stipulated on the visa application website.
Data from the Schengen Statistics Portal show that Moroccans were the most rejected applicants by Spain last year.
A total of 174,551 Moroccans applied for a Spanish Schengen visa in 2023, but only 123,270 of them had their application approved.
