Visas to Morocco
Visas to Morocco, and How they Really Work
9 Apr
Written By Zallee Pepper
Visas to Morocco
I have lived in Morocco for 3 years and loved it!!! I love that the rules are ambivalent. They are just a suggestion. Just like the way visas to Morocco work.
I love Morocco. I loved living in Tangier.
And I love that there’s always a way – that is so optimistic to me after struggling with the rules of the rich countries where it’s “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.
Find out how it works, then make your own decisions. But this is how I’ve lived and worked in Morocco for 3 years – I even know someone who did it this way for 30 years!
Legitimate Visa to Morocco
First up, is that things are always changing. But in the end, Morocco wants the tourists and the foreigners.
The legitimate way is to apply for residency. This is cheap, and straightforward. But it is an annoying amount of paperwork. But it will give you some extras that a tourist visa doesn’t.
You can get a proper bank account (be mindful that the dirham is a closed currency, so transferring out isn’t possible via a bank account). You can buy a car. You can stay without worrying about border runs.
Of course you will need to prove adequate living funds from overseas, but for Morocco this isn’t huge.
The other Way Visas to Morocco Work
The other way, which is the way most people around me followed, is with a tourist visa. As long as you can enter Morocco with a tourist stamp at the border, this is an option. The rich countries are very tied up on visa legalities, and there isn’t one that I would try to push the rules.
But if you are moving to Morocco, it is good to understand that rules aren’t black and white in the same way as we understand them. Things work differently – as happens across many cultures.
This is how it works in Morocco.
Tourist Visa
The tourist visa gives you 90 days. Within those 90 days, you need to leave Morocco. I lived in Tangier, which is close to Europe. Many times I just went to Spain for lunch – that is enough.
From Tangier, you can catch the ferry to Tarifa, have a nice lunch, a beer in the sun or a sangria and tapas at my favourite pub at the top of the medina next to the gate – Bossa. Then hop on a ferry and be back in time for dinner.
The ferry takes about 40 minutes (maybe an hour or 2 with faffing). I have set out the complete how to in a blog on ferries from Spain to Morocco.
Your second quick option is a taxi ride to Ceuta in a grand taxi. (Also set out in that blog). The ride takes about an hour along the coast with views of Spain across the sea for most of the way, and is less than 10 euros each way. Again, back in time for dinner. If they ask at the border I say I was doing some shopping – my bag will always prove me right, filled up with cheeses, pork, and alcohol which is way cheaper than in Morocco.
There are also lots of cheap flights, especially to Spain. I’ve heard of 30 euros return from Tangier to Rome. Casablanca is the biggest international airport, and will have cheap tickets, especially if you book ahead. I’ve also been told that you can get cheap flights from Essaouira to Marseilles.
On return, they simply stamp your passport for another 90 days.
Overstays
Even if for some reason things go wrong and you overstay, for the first time or 2 especially, fixing an overstay is easy – as long as you do it the right way.
If you try to leave without fixing your visa overstay, be aware that all hell will break loose.
You will be made to get the paperwork fixed before you catch your flight, which can easily mean missing it. And on your return there will be a court attendance and a fine.
But there is such an easy solution. The first time or even 2 you are unlikely to get a fine, even the third time if you have a very good reason.
The how-to was information given to me at the wilaya – the police headquarters immigration office in Tangier.
By all means, check this up for yourself. But this is how it works, especially in Tangier. (My first overstay was almost 2 years. Since then I have maintained a 3 monthly trip routine).
About 3 days before you leave, go to the wilaya with:
· Your ticket
· Your passport
· Your visa
· Proof of where you’ve been staying and
· 5 Passport photos.
Get 5 copies of each – there is a copier shop right next to the wilaya in Tangier.
Most of the process is then waiting. They may even ask you to come back the next day, and you must make the application with a full 24 hours spare before your departure. But the paperwork itself takes about 20 minutes.
I went early to immigration to make sure, but the worst case is a bit of a wait while immigration makes a phone call confirming your extension. I waited just 10 minutes.
Drawbacks of the Border Run
The main drawback is that you must take a ‘holiday’ every 90 days. You also need to keep in mind that in Morocco, everything is fine until it isn’t. Most of the time everything is fine, but it is worth being aware that sometimes, as with everywhere, get someone on a bad day and they can make things a bit more difficult for you.
I have heard of people being told at Ceuta they have to wait 24 hours, but I have never experienced any problems at all. I just smile and say I had a good day of shopping and eating tapas. They haven’t even checked my bags for customs.
As always, take into account the consequences and decide what works for you. But in Tangier, this is how it works.
If you want a bank account, to buy a car, or find the idea of these 3 monthly trips tedious, get yourself residency – first one is one year, second is for 3 years, third and after is for 5 years.
If, like me the residency seems like too much paperwork and you’re happy taking a holiday every 3 months, then the tourist visa is easy, and nobody will check whether you are working, or stop you at the border.
Over time I found I didn’t even have to keep track of my 3-month limit because I was starting to trip to Spain to meet friends and explore new parts more often than that.