Nabil Tabarout, a 29-year-old web developer from Algeria, has faced rejection twice when applying for a French visa to visit his sister. His struggle is emblematic of the broader difficulties many Africans encounter when trying to legally visit Europe’s Schengen Area.
The visa process for Africans is notably arduous, with high rejection rates, especially for those from Algeria. Applicants must secure hard-to-get appointments, prove a minimum bank balance, substantiate the purpose of their visit, and assure authorities they will return home.
“That’s how it is. Every pleasure deserves pain,” remarked Tabarout, who has managed to secure a French visa only once.
Despite much of Europe’s migration debate focusing on unauthorized arrivals, many Africans, like Tabarout, opt for legal routes, only to find these often fraught with obstacles. African applicants face rejection rates 10% higher than the global average, a situation that stymies trade, business, and educational exchanges to the detriment of African economies, according to an April study by UK-based migration consultancy Henley & Partners.
Nowhere are these challenges more pronounced than in Algeria, which saw over 392,000 visa rejections in 2022, resulting in a 45.8% rejection rate. This is closely followed by Guinea-Bissau at 45.2% and Nigeria at 45.1%. In stark contrast, only one in 25 applicants from the United States faced rejection.
The study noted that applicants from poorer countries generally experience higher rejection rates, though those from Turkey and India face fewer obstacles than most African countries. The anti-Africa bias in visa rejections may be politically motivated, according to Mehari Taddele Maru from the European University Institute’s Migration Policy Center. He suggests that European governments, including France, use visa rejections as a political tool to negotiate the deportation of unauthorized migrants, with North African governments often refusing to issue consular documents for their citizens facing deportation.
Maru highlighted that Algeria’s high rejection rates are partly due to the sheer volume of applications, driven by geographic, economic, and historical factors. Many Algerians apply for visas to France, where language and familial ties are common, and the proximity of North Africa to Europe makes travel more feasible compared to sub-Saharan Africa.
The difficulty of applying for visas, beyond rejection rates, also reflects policy choices by European governments. “When we talk about increasing barriers for potential applicants, it’s not only the rate of rejections, it’s also the restrictions to apply,” Maru explained.
In Algeria, new challenges have emerged with the introduction of VFS Global, a subcontractor hired by French consular authorities to handle visa applications. This move followed years of criticism over the previous system, where a “visa mafia” dominated, with third-party brokers securing and reselling appointment slots at exorbitant prices.
“They’re a bunch of swindlers who’ve been at it for years, making fortunes on the backs of poor citizens by making them pay dearly to make an appointment to apply for a visa,” said Ali Challali, who recently helped his daughter submit a French student visa application.
Under the old system, applicants reported paying between 15,000 and 120,000 Algerian dinars (103 to 825 euros) just to secure an appointment.
Many Algerians seek opportunities in France due to limited economic prospects at home or plan to stay after completing their studies on student visas. A 2023 report from France’s Directorate General for Foreign Nationals revealed that 78% of Algerian students expressed no intention of returning to Algeria after their studies.
The visa issue has long been a point of political tension between Algeria and France. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is scheduled to visit France later this year, a visit that could address these ongoing issues.
“Everything that can contribute to increasing trade between France, Europe and Algeria must be facilitated in both directions,” stated French Ambassador Stephane Ramotet at a recent economic conference in Algiers. “Algerians who want to go to France to develop a business must be able to benefit from all the facilities, particularly visas.”
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