2 people arrested in Portugal for involvement in Schengen visa appointment fraud

Portuguese police have arrested two Cape Verdean nationals for involvement in a visa fraud for Portugal.

According to Portuguese media reports, a 53-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman are arrested in Santa Catarina de Santiago, a Cape Verdean municipality, on suspicion of 40 crimes related to applying for visas to Portugal, Schengen.News reports.

After searching two houses, Portuguese law enforcement officers found several passports and documents that served as evidence of the arrest.

EU increases Schengen visa fees for Cape Verdeans

From June 11, 2024, Cape Verdeans will have to pay a fee of €67.50 to apply for a Schengen visa – an increase of 12.5% ​​compared to the previous price.

These changes follow an EU decision to increase fees for international Schengen visas,

From 11 June 2024, the fee for a Schengen visa will increase from €80 to €90 for adults and from €40 to €45 for children aged six to under twelve. The fee for nationals of Cabo Verde under the relevant visa facilitation agreement has increased from €60 to €67.50. Visa fees under other visa facilitation agreements will remain unchanged at €35.

The authorities have indicated that the revenue from this measure will be invested in simplifying and improving the visa process in the future, with one of the main priorities being reducing waiting times.

Portugal is the most popular destination for Schengen visa applicants from Cape Verde

According to statistics from SchengenVisaInfo, Portugal is the most popular destination for Cape Verdean visa applicants. In 2023, Cape Verdeans submitted 18,341 applications for a Schengen visa.

Over 91 percent of these applications (16,725) were addressed to Portugal, the rest to Spain (1,616).

The approval rate for applications for Schengen visas by Cape Verdeans in Portugal is 77.6 percent, with 12,977 applications approved. Around 37 percent of the visas approved were multiple-entry visas (MEVs), while 3,748 applications were rejected.

Data also shows that the number of visas granted to Cape Verdeans has increased over the past seven years, with the exception of the pandemic period (2020 and 2021). In 2019, Cape Verdeans were granted 14,598 visas out of 22,948 applications submitted.

In 2022, the number of visa applications from Cape Verde increased and continued to increase in 2023. In the following years, even more Schengen visas are expected to be granted to Cape Verdeans.