The Tunisian Organization to Inform the Consumer denounced, on Tuesday, the proliferation of overcharges related to visa application processing services by private intermediation companies, as well as the growing financial charges and the resulting malfunctions, undermining the principles of transparency, fair competition, and protection of personal data.
The organization estimated that the fees imposed in exchange for administrative services, such as appointment scheduling, file preparation and receipt of applications, have exceeded, in many cases, the limits of reasonableness, notably in the absence of effective competition and alternatives, transforming this activity into a disguised monopoly linked to a sovereign and sensitive service.
Failings
The organization reminded, in this regard, that Law No. 36 of 2015 relating to competition and prices allows public authorities to intervene in cases of market dysfunction or practices leading to unjustified price increases. It considered that the visa services sector has become one of the most striking examples, in a context marked by the domination of a limited number of private companies over an administrative process directly linked to individuals’ right to mobility, as well as to the image and sovereignty of the State.
It stressed that the delegation of part of visa procedures to private companies gave rise to a system generating substantial profits from low value-added services, while the citizen bore alone an increasingly heavy financial and procedural cost, without sufficient guarantees regarding service quality, processing times or the protection of personal data, despite the sensitivity of the documents and biometric, professional and family data processed.
A Global Audit
In this context, the organization called for the opening of a global audit on compliance with Tunisian legislation relating to the protection of personal data, as well as subjecting intermediation companies to strict legal, financial and tax oversight. It also advocated for a revision of the framework governing this activity, according to the principle of reciprocity and in respect of national sovereignty, to prevent the citizen from being turned into a source of financial exhaustion under the cover of delegated consular services.
It also called for establishing the principle of financial equity, allowing visa applicants to recover all or part of service fees in case of rejection of their applications, notably the intermediary fees and administrative charges. The organization believes that making the consumer bear the entire cost without receiving the final service constitutes a manifest contractual imbalance and a violation of the basic consumer protection rules.
Creation of a Mechanism within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The organization noted that several countries and visa service providers adopt fairer mechanisms, based on partial reimbursement of fees or compensation in case of rejection, delay or service failure, contrary to absolute non-refund policies applied by some companies, despite the purely commercial nature of the services provided.
In the same vein, it called for the creation of an official and transparent mechanism within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tasked with receiving and following up on complaints from visa applicants, whether they concern financial overcharges, maltreatment, failure to meet service deadlines or issues related to the protection of personal data.
The organization argued that the absence of an effective and clear recourse path places citizens in a weak position vis-à-vis intermediation companies and deprives them of their right to challenge and to fairness. It emphasized the need to empower this mechanism with oversight prerogatives and to coordinate with diplomatic missions and competent control bodies, while publishing periodic reports on the nature of complaints and actions taken, in order to strengthen transparency and to enshrine the consumer’s right to access administrative justice and legal protection.
The Tunisian Organization to Inform the Consumer has stated that the persistence of these dysfunctions, without effective reforms, risks entrenching the monopoly and exploitation, while heightening citizens’ sense of injustice, which would undermine confidence in the economic and legal system as well as the credibility of services related to their fundamental rights.
