Tunisian Consumer Protection Organization Expresses Concerns Over Visa Service Fees
May 12, 2026
The Tunisian Organization for Consumer Information (Otic) has expressed its deep concern over the increasing number of irregularities related to visa application services provided by private intermediaries, particularly TLScontact. In a statement released on May 12, 2026, the organization highlights a continuous rise in financial charges imposed on applicants, as well as practices that undermine the principles of transparency, fair competition, and data protection.
Excessive Fees and Lack of Transparency
According to the statement, fees for limited administrative services, such as scheduling appointments, collecting documents, or receiving applications, have reached excessive levels in several cases, particularly in the absence of real competition and accessible alternatives. The organization considers this situation to be a form of "de facto monopoly" around a sovereign and sensitive service.
Non-Compliance with Tunisian Law
The organization recalls that the Tunisian Law No. 36 of 2015 on Competition and Prices allows authorities to intervene in cases of market dysfunction or practices leading to unjustified cost increases. It considers the visa services sector to be a prime example of this problem, given the dominance of a limited number of private companies over a procedure directly linked to the right to mobility and the image of the state.
Lack of Guarantees and Protection of Personal Data
The organization also notes that the delegation of part of the consular procedures to private companies has led to the emergence of a system generating significant profits from low-value-added services, while citizens bear the sole financial and administrative costs. It denounces the lack of sufficient guarantees regarding the quality of services, processing times, and, above all, data protection, as the treated files contain sensitive biometric, professional, and family information.
Call for Action
In this context, Otic calls on Tunisian authorities to launch a global audit of the respect of data protection legislation and to subject intermediation companies to strengthened judicial, financial, and fiscal control. It also demands a review of the regulatory framework governing this activity, based on the principle of reciprocity and respect for national sovereignty.
Demands for Fairness and Transparency
The organization emphasizes the need to establish greater financial fairness by allowing visa applicants to recover all or part of the service fees when their applications are rejected, including intermediation fees and administrative services. It considers imposing the full costs on the consumer without guarantee of obtaining the final service to be a breach of the contractual balance and elementary consumer protection principles.
Creation of a Mechanism for Complaints
Finally, Otic calls for the creation of an official mechanism within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive and process complaints from visa applicants regarding financial abuses, delays, poor treatment, or data protection breaches. The organization believes that the absence of a clear recourse mechanism currently leaves citizens in a position of weakness vis-à-vis intermediation companies.
Call for the Application of the Principle of Reciprocity
This position reflects growing discontent with the way visa procedures are currently managed by private companies mandated by several European countries. In Tunisia, the debate has moved beyond administrative difficulties or high costs to touch on more sensitive issues, such as national sovereignty, data protection, and the feeling of inequality experienced by many applicants.
In a statement to our newspaper, Otic President Lotfi Riahi denounced the persistence of these practices, recalling that a first alert had already been sounded last year, during a period marked by a surge in visa applications, particularly for seminars and academic meetings, without any concrete measures being taken since.
According to him, the issue now goes beyond the administrative framework to directly touch on national sovereignty. He calls for a thorough review of the intermediation system and the application of the principle of reciprocity. "How long will our doctors, lawyers, and journalists continue to suffer from such practices?" he asked.
Lotfi Riahi also highlighted the injustice of current procedures, noting that in the event of a visa refusal, the Tunisian applicant receives no compensation or reimbursement of the fees incurred. It is worth noting that since June 11, 2024, the Schengen visa fee for short stays for Tunisians has risen to 90 euros, approximately 300 to 310 Tunisian dinars for an adult, not counting additional fees charged by intermediation companies.
The Otic president adds that for many Tunisians, visa applications have become synonymous with significant fees, complex procedures, and sometimes a lack of transparency, without guarantee of obtaining the requested visa.
This situation fuels growing discontent around a system perceived by some as a highly profitable market for a few private companies, while the possibility of traveling, studying, or joining family abroad remains a major concern for a large part of the population.
