The Consulate General of France in Tunisia received 118,846 visa applications in 2023, marking a 24.4 per cent increase compared to last year.
According to Dominique Mas, the Consul General of France, alongside the application rates, the approval rates, and the Tunisians’ interest in long-stay visas have increased in the past year, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Tunisia is the eighth country of origin that received the most French visas during this period. Tunisians are the third-largest nationality to obtain a first residence permit in the EU country.
Over 23,000 More Short-Stay Visa Applications in 2023
The two French consulates in Tunisia, Tunis and Sfax, received 23,331 more visa requests in 2023, while in the previous year, 95,515 applications for France visas were filed by Tunisians.
Mas told Webdo that, on average, the TLS service provider in the two centres accepts more than 600 visa applications every day.
The opening of this new centre in Sfax responds to our wish to facilitate the visa application process for Tunisians from the South without requiring a trip to Tunis. In total, the French consulate general issues more than 56 per cent of Schengen visas granted in Tunisia.
In addition, Mas revealed that 94,700 visas were granted to Tunisians, indicating that 80 per cent of applications were approved.
Up to 80% of Tunisian Applicants Are Granted a Visa in France
Eight in ten Tunisian applicants have been granted a visa to France in 2023. The acceptance rates have also been high this year, with up to 80 per cent of all applicants receiving a positive decision.
Mas also revealed that the refusal rate in the French consulate is considerably lower than the average number of applicants rejected in other Schengen countries. Compared to other Maghreb countries, the refusal rates of Tunisian applicants stand at around 28 per cent, while more than half (53 per cent exactly) of the issued visas are valid for more than six months.
Of course, the refusal rates vary depending on the type of visa: we went down to 19 per cent for refusals on short-stay tourist visas but sometimes went up to 30 per cent for visas for long professional stays due to significant documentary fraud.
France Granted 71,500 Long-Stay Visas to Tunisians
The number of long-stay visa applications filed by Tunisians rose in 2023, rising by 43 per cent in 2023, accounting for 23,000 visas granted to students and employees.
Around 9,000 were issued to employees, researchers, and seasonal workers, showing a 51 per cent increase in visas issued to these workers compared to 2019 levels. The number of student visas granted also rose by 12 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels. Mas also said that another 8,250 visas were issued to Tunisian nationals for family reunification purposes.
