Refusal of visas to Moroccan nationals on the rise

Last year Spain approved 136,828 visas for Moroccan nationals, a decrease in the number of visa applications compared to 2019, before the pandemic began. That year, 222,000 applications were received from Morocco and 45,000 were rejected, showing that the number of visa rejections has increased from 21% to 25%.  

In 2022, Spain received almost 1.2 million visa applications, of which it rejected 19%; France, the Schengen zone country that receives the most applications with 1.9 million, rejected 21.3%. The two countries were responsible for 85% of all refusals in the Schengen zone.  

Last year, Turkey and Russia applied for the most visas in the Schengen area. In the case of Turkey, more than 778,000 visas were requested, with around 15.5% being refused, and Russia with 687,239 requests, of which 10% were refused. In 2021, Luxembourg had the highest Schengen visa approval rate at 98%, while Sweden had the highest refusal rate at 30%.

In 2021, Schengen consulates issued 2,400,000 visas (only 100,000 fewer than in 2020). Europe recorded a 62% drop in tourist arrivals to Europe from 2019 levels. With 1.5 billion fewer passengers than in 2019, airlines lost €18.5 billion in 2021. Europe's most popular tourist destinations, France and Spain, had less than 50% fewer overnight stays than in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

In 2022, Morocco was the fourth most requested country with 423,201 visa applications, of which 28.2% were refused. While part of the reason behind Spain's and France's refusals can be attributed to the large number of applications they receive, this latest push publicly has to do with visa restrictions on Moroccan nationals since 2021. That year, France halved the number of visas approved for Moroccan nationals. This is due to the refusal of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to repatriate their nationals in an irregular situation in France. Thus, Emmanuel Macron decided to reduce by 50% the number of visas granted to Algerian and Moroccan nationals and by 30% those granted to Tunisians, taking 2020 as the reference year.

Despite claims by French politicians and diplomats that consular relations between the two countries have returned to normal, associations and citizens have complained that large numbers of visas are still being refused. 

The Moroccan League for the Defence of Human Rights and the Moroccan Forum of Young Journalists, among others, have warned of delays in visa appointments and the increasing rejection of applications submitted by Moroccans. 

In 2021, 2.3 million migrants arrived in the EU from non-EU countries. According to the World Organization for Migration (IOM), 189,620 clandestine migrants arrived in Europe in 2022, of which 13,187 were Moroccans. The largest number of migrants in 2022 came from Egypt and Syria, with more than 41,000 migrants between them. Spain received almost 29,000 migrants arriving by sea last year, while Italy received 105,000 migrants by sea. 

On the other hand, in 2022 more than 900,000 Spaniards visited Morocco. Morocco has become a major tourist destination in recent years, with more than 11 million visitors each year. In 2022, 84% of the number of tourists recovered compared to before the pandemic, in 2019. With the end of the pandemic, these numbers are expected to increase again. The foreign currency that tourists brought into the country amounted to the equivalent of 81.7 billion dirhams ($8 billion), which is why the Alawi kingdom has been investing in this sector for years and aims to reach 26 million tourists visiting the kingdom by 2030.