Corporate mobility planners moving staff from Algeria to France face a new headache next week. Outsourcing partner Capago has warned that the government’s France-Visas portal will undergo “major technical maintenance”, rendering all e-forms, appointment scheduling and file-tracking functions unavailable on Wednesday 3 December (15:30–19:30) and again on Tuesday 9 December (06:00–09:00).
Because every Algerian applicant—tourist, student or work-permit holder—must first create an online file before submitting biometrics, the four-hour outages risk cascading delays during the peak Christmas-travel period. Capago says all affected appointments will be automatically re-scheduled, but warns that no-shows will lose their slot. HR teams with December mobilisations should therefore audit project timelines, alert travelling employees and prepare fallback options such as remote onboarding.
![France-Visas Portal to Shut Twice in December, Disrupting Algerian Applications]()
The shutdown underscores a broader trend: France aims to digitise 100 per cent of immigration processes by end-2025. While the shift promises faster service long-term, recent crashes—including a four-hour outage during July’s air-traffic-controller strike—highlight the system’s fragility. Advisers recommend keeping paper copies of critical documents and padding timelines by at least a week for assignees originating in Algiers, Oran or Annaba.
For Algerian business travellers, the maintenance comes on top of a tight appointment market; roughly 6,700 bookings were cancelled this year because applicants failed to upload complete files. Companies should monitor Capago’s SMS and email alerts and ensure that staff confirm new slots within 24 hours.
Bottom line: brief as they are, the twin outages could ripple through December deployment schedules. Early communication and contingency planning will minimise knock-on project costs.
Because every Algerian applicant—tourist, student or work-permit holder—must first create an online file before submitting biometrics, the four-hour outages risk cascading delays during the peak Christmas-travel period. Capago says all affected appointments will be automatically re-scheduled, but warns that no-shows will lose their slot. HR teams with December mobilisations should therefore audit project timelines, alert travelling employees and prepare fallback options such as remote onboarding.
The shutdown underscores a broader trend: France aims to digitise 100 per cent of immigration processes by end-2025. While the shift promises faster service long-term, recent crashes—including a four-hour outage during July’s air-traffic-controller strike—highlight the system’s fragility. Advisers recommend keeping paper copies of critical documents and padding timelines by at least a week for assignees originating in Algiers, Oran or Annaba.
For Algerian business travellers, the maintenance comes on top of a tight appointment market; roughly 6,700 bookings were cancelled this year because applicants failed to upload complete files. Companies should monitor Capago’s SMS and email alerts and ensure that staff confirm new slots within 24 hours.
Bottom line: brief as they are, the twin outages could ripple through December deployment schedules. Early communication and contingency planning will minimise knock-on project costs.
