Schengen Visa Fees to Increase 12% for Moroccan Travelers in June 2024

This reform had been proposed last February and could be adopted by the European Commission. It provides for a 12% increase in visa fees, effective Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Thus, short-stay visa fees for adults will increase by 10 euros, going from 80 to 90 euros, and by 5 euros for children, i.e. 45 euros instead of 40 currently, reports Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the information in a press release published on Monday on the Schengen News website. Short-stay visa fees, better known as "Schengen type C visas", will increase by 12%, the note said, specifying that the measure will be in effect in all countries of the world, except those that do not have cooperation agreements with the EU for the return of their nationals in an irregular situation. The latter could pay visa fees ranging from 135 to 180 euros.

For now, the European Commission has not yet officially commented on this increase in Schengen visa fees. However, leaks indicate that this reform will be recorded in the Official Journal at the end of this week. According to the European Commission’s regulation, and in accordance with the Schengen visa code, visa fees can be revised every three years. This announced increase would be driven by the rise in the inflation rate in the EU, based on the evolution of the salaries of civil servants in the member countries.

The measure is poorly received by professionals in the air transport sector, who are calling on the EU to revise this increase, stressing that the measure will be reflected in the cost of transporting travelers, which should also increase by 31 to 34%. The increase in visa fees will deal a blow to air traffic to the EU, as tourists will end up abandoning destinations requiring a Schengen visa in favor of other countries that do not require a visa or whose visa fees are within their budget.