MONROVIA – Liberians will no longer need to travel to Cote d’Ivore only to get a France short-stay visa. Terrance Wills, French Ambassador in Liberia announced the news during the celebration of France’s 230th Bastille Anniversary in Monrovia, on July 14.
“Bilaterally, we have good news on Schengen Visas. By the end of September, applicants for a Schengen visa to France will not need any more to travel to Abidjan; they will just apply at the VFS office at the Royal Hotel and the passport will be sent back directly to their home,” Ambassador Wills said.
The Liberian Deputy Minister for Administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mawine G. Diggs, thanked Ambassador Wills and the people of France for the move. He also congratulated the ambassador on France’s 230th Bastille Anniversary on behalf of President George Weah, the government and people of Liberia.
Starting from September, France will be the second Schengen country that collects Schengen visa applications in Liberia. So far, only the Swedish embassy accepted short-stay visa applications for the Schengen.
Statistics show that in 2018, 78 Liberia passport holders applied for a Schengen uniform visa at the Swedish embassy in Monrovia. 74 of them were granted with a Schengen uniform visa, and only four applications were turned down. On the other hand, only six of the Schengen visa beneficiaries got to obtain Multiple Entry Visas.
While Liberian travelers seeking a short-stay visa to France previously had to travel to Cote d’Ivore to apply, most of the other Schengen and EU member countries, have outsourced visa processing for Liberians to their embassies in Ghana.