The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the appeal processes for visa rejections have been suspended for Turkey, China, and Morocco, citing that it has been overwhelmed by the number of applications since travel restrictions have been lifted post-COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement dated June 7th, the ministry stated that this practice is experimental and will last for six months. Applicants who received rejections prior to June 1, 2023, will still retain the right to have their appeals evaluated; however any appeal filed after the date will be on hold until the end of the pilot program.
The statement from the German Foreign Ministry stated that “after the lifting of travel restrictions following the pandemic, visa departments have been burdened with a substantial increase in applications,” leading to longer waiting times for visa appointments in some locations.
Germany has announced that they have initiated a pilot project for the three countries to shorten waiting times, shifting it’s resources to processing new applications first rather than dealing with pending appeals:
“In order to create additional capacity to process visa applications and reduce waiting times, the appeal process for visa applications has been suspended for China, Morocco, and Turkey.”
The statement continued to state that the appeal process will continue in six months, should the pilot project succeed. However the Ministry also reminded that the appeal process is “a voluntarily recognized means of seeking rights” and therefore is not a process mandated by law.
The Ministry also stated that reasons for visa rejections will be explained in greater detail in the future as the Ministry regains its capacity in the future.
Applicants from Turkey who have been applying for visas to European Union countries have been facing significant difficulties in securing appointments and have complained about increasing rejection rates. The Ministry informed that the visa application process remains unchanged during this time and that applicants meeting the necessary requirements will still be granted their visas.
Following the discussions related to Schengen visas, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed BBC Turkish that 40,000 more Schengen visas were issued to Turkish citizens in the January-May period compared to the same period last year. However, no information was provided regarding the total number of visa applications and the rejection rates during this period.
According to reporting from the BBC, 40,000 more Schengen visas were issued to Turkish citizens in the January-May period compared to the same period last year. However, no information was provided regarding the total number of visa applications and the rejection rates during this period.
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President Erdoğan had previously regarded the delays and rejection rates for Schengen visas for Turkish citizens as “political blackmail”. Speaking at the 79th General Assembly of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) on May 30th, President Erdogan stated, “We will resolve the visa issue, which has been used as a political blackmail tool recently, as soon as possible.” However, there is no indication at this time that rejection rates and suspension of appeals were designed as a wilful and discriminatory measure by the relevant authorities.
