France visa since morocco: TLScontact restricts automatic appointment allocation

Only tourism, private visit and family visit applications remain eligible for automatic appointment allocation, with a narrower scope in Marrakech. For all other categories, applicants must book an appointment online themselves.

Three centers under the general consulate of Casablanca

The change does not apply to all seven TLScontact visa application centers in Morocco, only three. The split follows the consular map: according to France Visas Morocco page, applications submitted in Agadir, Casablanca and Marrakech are processed by the General Consulate of France in Casablanca, while those in Fes, Oujda, Rabat and Tangier fall under the General Consulate of Rabat. These two posts are the only ones authorized to make visa decisions.

The announcement from TLScontact, published under the title « Système d'attribution des rendez-vous », applies to only three centers in the Casablanca consular district. It does not mention the four centers under Rabat.

Under the automatic allocation system, the applicant does not choose the date: the platform assigns a slot automatically. The service provider now states that for all categories outside of the following list, « appointments will no longer be automatically allocated ». Applicants must log in to their TLScontact account and select an available slot.

Casablanca and Agadir: 6 cases remain under automatic allocation

In these two centers, automatic appointment allocation continues for two travel purposes, each with three scenarios:

• Tourism/Private visit: first application, renewal of a regular “visa” stamp, renewal of a circulation visa;

• Family visit: first application, renewal of a regular “visa” stamp, renewal of a circulation visa.

Everything else shifts to self-booking, whether it's a business trip, study abroad or a long-stay visa. A student submitting an application in Casablanca, for example, can no longer expect an appointment to be offered automatically; they must book it themselves.

Marrakech: only renewals qualify for automatic allocation

Marrakech’s center is even stricter: automatic allocation applies only to renewals of regular short-stay visas (« visa C ») and circulation visas. No new first-time applications—even for tourism or family visits—are handled automatically in Marrakech.

What qualifying previous visas allow automatic renewal

For an automatic renewal, the previous short-stay visa (« visa C ») must meet three specific conditions, as spelled out in the Marrakech center’s announcement:

• be a short-stay type C visa;

• have been issued within the last 59 months;

• carry a date equal to or later than 2021.

Previous long-stay type D visas do not count for automatic appointment allocation. Travelers who once held a type D visa for France and now apply for a short-stay tourism visa must book an appointment manually—even if the D visa is recent.

The 59-month threshold also excludes anyone whose last short-stay visa (« visa C ») was issued more than 59 months ago, which is just under five years.

No change to the rest of the process

Regardless of the center—Casablanca or Rabat—the process always begins with the online France-Visas application form, which generates the receipt to present at the TLScontact center. Only after completing this step do applicants see whether they qualify for automatic appointment allocation or must book manually on the TLScontact website.

France-Visas lists unchanged processing times for Morocco: at least 7–10 days for short-stay visas, up to three weeks at peak season, and three weeks to up to three months for long-stay visas. Applicants are still advised to secure an appointment no later than 15 days before departure for a short stay, and at least one month prior for a long stay, with the warning that these timelines may stretch by several weeks during peak season. None of the other France entry requirements are affected by this new appointment process.

One group remains unaffected by TLScontact’s latest policy shift: holders of official passports must submit their applications directly to the General Consulates of France in Morocco.