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Join on Telegram Rabat – Moroccans have been listed among the main receipts of EU Member State citizenship, new data from government agency Eurostat showed.
Eurostat, which is a directorate general of the European Commission, said that Moroccans maintained their leading place as the largest group among new EU citizens.
The statistics showed that 86,200 Moroccans acquired citizenship of the EU Member State in 2021. About 71% of the total number of granted citizenships came from France and Spain.
Syrians came in second after Moroccans, with 83,200 granted citizenship. Whereas, Sweden and the Netherlands, were followed by Albanians, who acquired the majority of EU citizenships from Italy.
In addition to citizenships, Moroccan nationals remain the largest group of foreigners to receive a France-issued Schengen visa in 2023.
Visa restrictions, however, continue to stir frustration and concerns among Moroccans, who have been left humiliated as they face discrimination from French consulates that continuously deny their visa applications without justification.
Recent data from Schengen’s Visa Info website said that Moroccans have submitted a total of 157,100 Schengen visa applications in 2021. The number ranks Morocco as the fifth-highest country in the world regarding visa applicants behind Russia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and Saudi Arabia.
The website also said that Moroccans have spent at least €3 million on applications for Schengen visas, which were eventually denied in 2021.
The report also put Morocco as the country with the highest rejection rate compared to the other four countries– with France being among the country with the “highest number of rejected visas for Moroccans.”
