France falls foul of Saudis in Schengen visa dispute
May 06 2009 by Gareth McConnell
French Saudi relations being tested
A diplomatic sand-storm is developing concerning Schengen visas for Saudi nationals granted by France, Germany and Italy after Saudi Arabia accused the EU countries of discrimination.
The Schengen visa is required by non-EEA nationals wishing to visit any of the twenty-five member countries.
The Saudi foreign ministry has reported their nationals must submit more documents and wait much longer than any neighbouring country making it more difficult to go about business.
Talks of boycotting France and their products now feature in several newspapers, reports AFP.
"The visas take longer than it should be ... We want to be treated as the other Gulf countries are," foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told AFP.
Dawood al-Shirian, a high profile columnist in Saudi Arabia expressed equal dismay at why the Gulf state country is being singled out.
"The Kuwaitis don't have to wait, the Omanis don't, so why the Saudis?" he told AFP.
Saudi people are asked to supply return tickets, bank statements and insurance and expect to wait more than three weeks before being granted the Schengen visa.
"These are people who have businesses and houses there. People who go stay in a five-star hotel, people who spend thousands of euros, people who go to Germany for medical reasons,” said Shirian.
The French ambassador defended the screening process of all Schengen visa applications adding Europeans wanting to visit Saudi Arabia must wait longer than any other Gulf state country.
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