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Rabat – In Morocco’s first official response to France’s decision to halve the number of visas granted to Moroccans, the country’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, called the decision “unjustified.”
Bourita explained that “Morocco has always dealt with the issue of migration and the movement of individuals with great responsibility and balance.”
He added, “Morocco aims to facilitate the movement of students and businessmen, while simultaneously countering irregular immigration.”
The top Moroccan diplomat stressed that “Morocco is strict when it comes to irregular migration, and migrants with no legal status,” noting that “Moroccan consular services in France have provided over 400 transit passes to [Moroccan] individuals with no legal status, to facilitate their return” to Morocco.
He added that Morocco dealt with the issue in a pragmatic and strict manner, saying that “the problem is very French.”
According to Bourita, “there are clear conditions for entering Moroccan territory for this category of people, firstly, the availability of a valid transit pass, second is proof of Moroccan nationality, and finally a negative PCR test, which the individuals in questions refuse to take.”
He insisted that with the prevailing pandemic situation, Morocco has the right, as a sovereign country, to deny entry to travelers unless they submit a negative PCR test.
France’s decision “betrays consular cooperation,” Bourita argued, promising that that “Morocco will look into this further, despite it not reflecting well on bilateral cooperation between the two countries.”
The French government announced earlier today its decision to halve the number of visas granted to Moroccans, citing Morocco’s refusal to take back a number of migrants against whom deportation orders were issued.
According to data compiled by the French Ministry of the Interior in 2020, Moroccans obtained over 98,000 entry visas to France, compared to 346,000 in 2019, 303,000 in 2018, and 295,000 in 2017.
While the rate of French visas granted to Moroccans reached an average of 300,000 per year until 2020, the decision to halve the number of visas France issues to Moroccans will deprive an approximate 150,000 Moroccans from traveling to France.
According to Gabriel Attal, the spokesman of the French government, the decision to tighten visa requirements also concerns Algerian and Tunisian nationals, and was motivated by the alleged refusal of the African countries to issue the necessary consular permits for the repatriation of irregular immigrants.
