The fee for refused Schengen visas should be returned to tourists: the first country is officially outraged by the theft of money by Europe

The first country was officially outraged by the theft of money by Europe: in Morocco, they calculated the EU’s earnings on rejected requests for Schengen visas and were outraged. As a result, local deputies said: the fee for refused Schengen visas should be returned to tourists and this requirement should be legalized. And this is logical – the service was not provided, and Russia should have learned this experience from Morocco.

The amount is really impressive: according to local media, in 2023, Moroccans spent a total of 10.9 million euros on rejected applications for Schengen visas, which is 14.2% more than the level of expenses in 2022. As a result, Moroccan MPs called on the government to reimburse the costs of visas for which a negative decision was received.

The deputies justify this, among other things, by the fact that an application for a Schengen visa costs a quarter of the national salary in Morocco. Recall that until June, the fee for applying for a Schengen visa was 80 euros. However, since June 11, the visa fee has increased to 90 euros. At the same time, on average, Moroccans working in the public sector receive 328 euros per month, while citizens of the private sector receive about 292 euros. That is, the application for a Schengen visa alone costs Moroccan applicants up to a quarter of their wages – 24.3% of those who work in the public sector and 27.3% of the wages of those who work in the private sector.

The initiative is being vigorously discussed on social networks, where real Moroccans, who were denied a visa, also speak. Many of them condemned the EU for “stealing from them”, while others said that their desire to visit Schengen due to visa refusals is getting smaller every time. Interestingly, among the alternatives, along with Turkey, the UAE and China, tourists named Russia.

And this experience is clearly interesting for Russia. Although there are significantly fewer requests for Schengen visas from Russia now than in the “pre-sanction” years, while the percentage of refuseniks has not increased, they still exist. And even though the diplomatic level of relations between the Russian Federation and the EU countries is now lower than ever, our authorities probably should consider the Moroccan experience and support the demand for a refund for services not rendered by Europeans, otherwise it is an obvious theft from which Russian citizens suffer.

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