Outsourcing Border Control. Politics and Practice of Contracted Visa Policy in Morocco

This book explores the everyday practices of border control and implementation of mobility policy in the European Schengen area by analysing consular visas services on the edges of the territory. Using an original case study, private contractors that implement EU visa policy on governments’ behalf, the author focuses on visa application centers located in Morocco and run by the two major contractors of European Member States, the transnational corporations VFSGlobal and TLSContact.

The analysis builds on ethnographic research that encompasses the making of EU visa policy at the European, national and local levels. It aims at uncovering the reasons that have led to the adoption of outsourcing as a normal and legitimised mode to implement EU visa policy and the effects of that choice.

+ Analyses the political effects of private actors involved in public governance and migration control policies
+ Identifies outsourcing visa services as a political strategic resource in the making of the Schengen area
+ Based on in-depth fieldwork research conducted in consular visa services and visa application centers in Casablanca, Morocco