Italy will no longer work with TLS Contact for issuing visas to Morocco and has retained VF Worldwide for this service, the Italian Embassy in Rabat has announced.
TLS Contact has multiplied the scandals in recent months, such as the systematic refusal of visa files despite having no tangible reason for refusal, waiting times, the impossibility of finding appointments, fraudulent intermediaries who make Moroccans pay up to 5,000 dirhams more to be sure of obtaining a visa, or the latest, which concerns the sending of video surveillance images of Moroccan citizens to foreign countries.
It is the reduction of visas to France that has exposed all the practices of the company, denounced by citizens, influencers or even Moroccan artists.
Italy was one of the first countries to take action against TLS Contact fraud after learning of testimonies from Moroccan citizens complaining that they had to pay for an appointment when this service is supposed to be free.
The European country has launched a call for tenders for the management of the issuance of individual entry visas to Italy to change TLS Contact (to VF Worldwide).
The Italian Embassy in Rabat has announced that appointments already made or future ones will still be handled by TLS Contact until the complete transition to the new service provider.
Regarding appointments for visa applications issued at the Consulate General of Italy in Casablanca, certain exceptions are to be taken into account, indicates the embassy. They relate to family reunification with EU citizens, family reunification with Nulla Osta, tourism, with the exception of tourism for family members of AIRE residents for whom, from Monday 16 January 2023, a appointment system will be put in place to facilitate the transition to the new operator.
From January 16, new appointments will be limited to the three types of visa indicated on the Consulate General’s platform, with the following conditions:
– Appointments will be open every Monday of each week, until the weekly quota is exhausted (350 appointments divided between the three types).
– At the time of reservation, the indication of a contactable telephone number is mandatory: the Consulate General will confirm appointments only after verifying that they have been made directly by the applicant or a member of his family. If the appointment is made through an intermediary, or if there is no response after several attempts to contact the applicant (at least 5), or if the number provided is not correct, the appointment you will not be confirmed and will be made available again.
– The service is limited to setting the date of the meeting: each applicant will then be called by the new outsourcer who will take over from TLS, which will indicate the time and place of the meeting for submitting the request.
The Embassy and Consulate General in Casablanca “reaffirm their commitment to providing users with ever more efficient, comprehensive and rapid services, within the framework of the management reforms carried out in recent years by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation” , said the embassy.