Portugal opens new visa centre in Mozambique with improved accessibility

Lisbon: Starting February 10, applicants from Mozambique can now file their Schengen visa applications at a new application centre, which offers improved accessibility options, especially for applicants with disabilities.

According to the local media, the location of the new visa application centre remains the same – Maputo, the capital of Mozambique but has been moved to the Maputo Business Tower, Schengen.News reports.

The new Visa Application Centre has wheelchair access ramps. Clients who have a disability or require assistance are encouraged to bring someone to assist them throughout the application process. Elevators are also accessible when required and all staff will be available to assist any clients with special needs.

The event was hosted by the Portuguese Ambassador, António Costa Moura and Alok Singhal, the Director of VFS Global Maputo, at the Sub-Saharan Africa level.

The process of applying for a Schengen visa can be lengthy and stressful. On a subreddit for South African nationals, a netizen from Mozambique has expressed their frustration with this process.

Yeah and I do understand their reasoning for making it a difficult process, it just makes it more annoying that it is so easy for Europeans to come to a lot of African countries. I actually live in Mozambique, where until recently, most European countries still had to go through a visa process and pay between €50 and €100. I’d sometimes hear people from Europe or US complain about it, and I would often quickly remind them of the process for us to visit their countries.

By improving accessibility, the Schengen visa application process will be easier for some categories of people, making it possible for them to file their visa requests.

Mozambique is one of nine member countries in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP). Portugal recently eased some rules for nationals of CPLP countries, but that would not be sufficient for applicants from this country, who have to go through the application process and obtain a visa to be permitted entry into the Schengen Area.

According to statistics published by SchengenVisaInfo, the number of applications that were received from Mozambique as a country of origin for applicants reached 20,313 in 2023.

Portugal represents the main destination for applicants from Mozambique, with 66 per cent or two-thirds of all applications being filed to this country alone. That translates to 13,383 Portugal visa applications.

In general, applicants from Mozambique filed visa applications to only seven out of 27 countries that receive visas; Portugal, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. After Portugal, France and Spain are the second and third countries with the most applications from Mozambique – 1,930 and 1,713, respectively.