French outsourcing provider Capago Algeria warned on 16 December 2025 that its four visa-application centres in Algiers, Oran, Constantine and Annaba will close from 25 to 27 December inclusive, reopening at 08:00 on Sunday 28 December. The company urged applicants to “anticipate their démarches” and submit files early, noting that walk-in services will not be available during the shutdown.
The temporary closure, officially attributed to a year-end systems upgrade, hits at the peak of seasonal traffic when business travellers and diaspora communities book last-minute trips to France. Algeria is France’s third-largest source of Schengen applications; in 2024 the consular posts processed more than 413,000 files.
![Capago Algeria Announces Christmas Closure of French Visa Centres]()
For applicants who want to keep their travel plans on track despite the Capago outage, VisaHQ can step in with a fully digital service that walks you through France-visa requirements, pre-screens documentation and arranges appointments online. Its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/) also offers live status tracking and customer support, helping travellers and HR coordinators avoid surprises during the year-end rush.
Employers planning January kick-offs for Algerian engineers or technicians should factor in the three-day pause, plus existing backlogs caused by biometric-capture staffing shortages. HR teams are advised to advance appointment scheduling this week and to use Capago’s premium-return courier option to avoid courier congestion after the holidays.
The incident highlights the fragility of outsourced visa logistics in North Africa. French authorities are evaluating contingency plans, including pop-up submission days and expanded electronic document-upload pilots, but no measures will be in place before Q2 2026.
The temporary closure, officially attributed to a year-end systems upgrade, hits at the peak of seasonal traffic when business travellers and diaspora communities book last-minute trips to France. Algeria is France’s third-largest source of Schengen applications; in 2024 the consular posts processed more than 413,000 files.
For applicants who want to keep their travel plans on track despite the Capago outage, VisaHQ can step in with a fully digital service that walks you through France-visa requirements, pre-screens documentation and arranges appointments online. Its dedicated France page (https://www.visahq.com/france/) also offers live status tracking and customer support, helping travellers and HR coordinators avoid surprises during the year-end rush.
Employers planning January kick-offs for Algerian engineers or technicians should factor in the three-day pause, plus existing backlogs caused by biometric-capture staffing shortages. HR teams are advised to advance appointment scheduling this week and to use Capago’s premium-return courier option to avoid courier congestion after the holidays.
The incident highlights the fragility of outsourced visa logistics in North Africa. French authorities are evaluating contingency plans, including pop-up submission days and expanded electronic document-upload pilots, but no measures will be in place before Q2 2026.
