Turkey’s Trade Ministry has ordered the suspension of advertisements by six visa brokerage companies that promised guaranteed visa appointments or approvals, amid allegations of a black market in Schengen visa appointments.
The ministry said Friday that its Advertising Board imposed precautionary suspensions of up to three months while an investigation into the companies continues.
According to the ministry, the board launched a review after claims that some companies offering visa appointment and application support services were publishing online advertisements that could mislead consumers.
At its 370th meeting on June 11, the board reviewed advertisements containing claims such as “guaranteed visa appointment,” “guaranteed visa,” “fast application,” “uninterrupted support,” “guaranteed solution,” “100 percent approval guarantee” and “fast results guarantee.”
The board concluded that the advertisements could mislead consumers and ordered their suspension for up to three months pending the outcome of the investigation. The ministry said the Advertising Board would issue a final ruling once the review is completed.
The decision comes amid claims of a black market for Schengen visa appointments in Turkey, where intermediaries are accused of using automated systems to collect available slots and resell them online.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat previously said seven visa intermediary companies were under review over allegations involving bot-based appointment capture, unregistered payments and inflated resale prices.
Bolat also said authorities had received 143 complaints through the Presidential Communication Center, 10 through e-Government channels and 1,187 applications to consumer arbitration boards over visa intermediary companies in the past five years.