Internet Cafes Sell Visa Application Appointments At DZD 10.000

The phenomenon of selling appointments for the filing of files to obtain a visa to France in Internet cafes raised the resentment of citizens who have to pay at least DZD 5000 to 10.000 to get an appointment for any period or month they wanted, while travel agencies and the official website of VFS Global which recently contracted with the TLS Contact Center remain absent.

Mr. Farid A. Director of a Travel Agency in Tizi Ouzou province (eastern Algiers), told Echorouk that despite the position he occupies and his chances of obtaining an appointment for filing the visa application file, but the lack of dates makes him fail to reach that, and because he has a professional date after two months in Europe he was forced to resort to what is actually a black market and bought an appointment for the beginning of next month at DZD 8000 from the Internet cafe known for the sale of appointments to several European countries, notably France, considering it as illegal, since it is not reasonable that the service is absent in the travel agencies that are authorized after the website of the Center to ensure it, and it is available in Internet cafes for all times and at varying prices, despite the illegality of the process, which is done in accordance with ambiguous mechanisms.

Some citizens considered it a fraud because they are forced to pay additional amounts for studying the file that is rejected in most cases, asking the concerned authorities to intervene and investigate the process, as the French consulate in Algeria is responsible for it, wondering how to provide these dates from the same body on the black market and the absence of a formal and legal framework.