In Senegal, it is difficult to obtain visa application appointments for Europe. It sometimes takes several months to find a slot. Trafficking has therefore been organized, with intermediaries who manage to seize these slots and resell them at a high price to desperate Senegalese. Drawing.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliette Dubois
Aliou has been constantly updating the same internet page for more than two months: the VFS global site, on which appointments for visa applications for France are reserved. And the same message appears every time. “ No appointments found », summarizes Aliou.
This graffiti artist was to go to Réunion, a French department in the Indian Ocean, by invitation for a festival. One of his friends then put him in contact with an intermediary. Aliou explains: “ If I am told that I have to go through the platform and I have been trying for two months and it does not work, I will try to use other resources. The guy told me I need to send him money so he can find me a date. So far, I have sent him 100,000.”
Appointments that can cost up to 400 euros
100,000 CFA francs, or 150 euros, with no guarantee of results. Amounts that can soar up to 400,000 CFA francs. This man, who wishes to remain anonymous, also had to go through this black market to buy a date for his sister-in-law. He noticed that the salespeople had well-established methods: “ These are often people we can’t get through on the phone and we often communicate by WhatsApp and when it comes time to pay, we often pay by mobile money. »
Mary is a marketing student. She and six of her classmates were going to France for a university exchange. But again, impossible to find an appointment. The students exchange messages on Messenger with resellers, but end up giving up. “ We have completely lost hopesighs Mary. What hurts the most is that we did all the steps. We have all the papers, but we just need the visa.”
For Aliou, the graffiti artist, the departure for October 1st is strongly compromised.
There is a shortage of online slot availability. Such situations are exploited by fraudsters who defraud travelers by offering them appointment slots in exchange for money. We strongly advise all candidates to be wary of touts, sometimes posing as partners of VFS Global. And one of the key measures that we have introduced is the requirement of online payment and service fees for certain countries like Senegal. This guarantees that appointments are blocked by real candidates. And it also solves the problems of “No Show”; that is to say people who make an appointment and who do not come. We have amplified warnings at multiple touchpoints: social media platforms, SMS, voice messages, call center, announcements. VFS Global is a consular service provider for governments. Appointment times, processing times and decisions regarding visa applications are the sole prerogative of the embassy or consulate concerned. Visa application processing times vary depending on the country. I urge applicants to apply for a visa in advance and most countries accept visa applications between 3 and 6 months before the planned travel date.
Lamine Diagne, director of operations for VFS in Senegal, on the shortage of appointments