German Visa Delays: Moroccan Professionals Face 7-Month Wait for Schengen Appointments

Despite the incentive measures put in place by the German Government to encourage the immigration of skilled labor from 2020, these new provisions do not seem to have an impact on the waiting times in force in their diplomatic representations.

The tribulations of a 27-year-old doctor shed light on the difficulties encountered by Moroccan executives when applying for a professional visa. "It is absurd that a doctor has to wait several months to get an appointment, knowing that Germany has a glaring shortage of medical staff," laments the young doctor quoted by the DW channel.

Other young Moroccans are also affected by this problem. Hussein, 28, with a Master’s degree from the National School of Commerce and Management and a diploma in Journalism from the BBC Academy, has not been able to get an appointment since July 2019, even though he has a job contract with a press agency in Berlin.

According to data from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only 400 professional visas were granted to Moroccans in 2018, placing the country far behind Serbia, which holds the pole position with 10,153 visas, or even Egypt.