Armenian tour operators allege systemic issues in Italian visa process

Armenian tour operators say they are facing growing challenges with Italy’s visa application system, alleging lack of transparency, arbitrary cancellations and possible misconduct within visa processing centers.

Alina Petrosyan, director of the travel company ANY WISH TOUR, told Panorama.am on Wednesday that securing visa appointments at Italian visa centers has become “nearly impossible”, particularly for families applying together.

“If you try to book appointments for three or four family members under the same code, the system shows no availability for months,” Petrosyan said. “But when you go to the visa center, you see long lines. That suggests appointments are not being released normally, but distributed through other means.”

Petrosyan pointed to circulating reports that intermediaries, potentially using automated systems or “bots”, are obtaining appointment slots and reselling them for additional fees. She said this raises concerns about possible involvement from within the visa center itself.

Another major issue, she said, is the cancellation of confirmed appointments. Petrosyan described cases where family members secured appointments on consecutive days, only to be told at the visa center that their bookings had been canceled because they were not made under a single code.

“On what grounds can a paid appointment be canceled?” she said. “Each application is reviewed individually by the embassy. This appears to be done either to resell the slot at a higher price or to create artificial barriers.”

She also criticized the lack of refunds in such cases, noting that applicants are not reimbursed despite services not being provided.

Petrosyan added that families with children face additional complications. If a child’s appointment falls on a different day from that of the parents, visa centers may refuse to accept the documents without a notarized authorization from a third party who already holds a Schengen visa.