PERCEPTIONS Country Report – Morocco

Competences on immigration, international protection and migrant integration fall within the scope of the central government, which launched in 2013, the National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum under the auspices of King Mohamed VI. Centrality also characterises border control, which is assumed by the Interior Ministry. Nowadays, migratory flows between Europe and Morocco are not unidirectional: a sizeable amount of Europeans migrate to Morocco for retirement or economic opportunities (the 2007 recession motivated many Europeans to migrate, especially Spaniards).

Moroccan official data may not accurately reflect this reality (e.g. the French embassy registers a higher amount of French residents) as the government is quite tolerant with these so-called expatriates, many of whom stay irregularly in the country for years, renewing their three-month tourist visas. The number of refugees and asylum seekers is increasing (9,756 in 2019; 25% more than in 2018 when the number as 7,775). Syrians are the most numerous nationals among refugees and asylum seekers (3,676 in 2019). Yemenis are next, followed by Central Africans and Ivorians.