Re: how to apply for a residence permit in Morocco

Hi

My name is Gisi,i m a German citizen.
I have been to Morocco 2 times this year.staying 3 months each time.
Morocco is a nice place for me .so i rented an appartment by the beach and i have planned to stay here as i m now retired.Also this country suits me for health reasons.
I would like to know the procedures to take so i can get a residence permit or card.
Plz advise

Thnks a lot

Gisi

Hello Gisi
I have the same question, could u tell me about it as I assume u got an answer.
Also how much rent do one have to pay for a 1 or 2 bedroom flat in Marrocco. I consider retiring there maybe.
Greetings
Sarah rena

>Also how much rent do one have to pay for a 1 or 2 bedroom flat in Marrocco. I consider retiring there maybe.

Depends where. Should not be more than around 3000 dirhams anywhere for a one bed, or no more than 4500 to 5500 dirhams for a 2 bed. We're talking unfurnished prices here. Add around 1000 to 1500 dirhams and up for a furnished apartment. Plus fixtures and fittings deposit of one or two months deposit.

Marrakesh is expensive, and landlords usually charge a monthly maintenance charge as extra (500 to 1000 dirhams a month).

Tangier is becoming expensive, but you don't usually pay a maintenance charge.

Agadir can be cheap - if you speak some Arabic and/or know some of the local people quite well.

I have a big 120 square metre unfurnished apartment in the centre of Agadir and pay a very low rent. My terrace is alone is over 45 square metres. Fantastic. If I was a tourist it would probably cost me around 5 or 6 thousand a month. The owner was so good that they didn't even ask me for a deposit - just the first month's rent.

I have no business interests of any kind in Morocco. If asked, I always advise people to rent, in preference to buying. Maybe rent a furnished property at first, to be sure that you will like it.

If you do like it, you can then rent an unfurnished property and get a 3 year rental contract. It says 3 years, but it means forever. Don't accept a one year contract - if you do, you will not have the same tenants rights. You can then go ahead and buy your own furniture.

The benefit of renting is that you have no big financial outlay. Keep your money in your own country, invest it well in a good account and live off the monthly interest.

Property agents always "talk up" the property market. I know plenty of people who believed the sales pitch and were later unable to sell their property. And even if you find someone, it will have to be a tourist as Moroccans in general don't have the big amounts of money that they ask of us lot. Besides the which, you will probably have overpaid when you bought the property (because you didn't spend a few weeks haggling the price, like Moroccans do )

Another benefit of renting with a 3 year contract is that you have security of tenure. You can live in the property for the rest of your life. Literally.

In a nut shell - the owner can never put you out - as long as:

1) You pay the rent every month within 15 days of it falling due and

2) You do not engage in any criminal activity on the premises that could implicate the owner in a criminal offence - there are two most common ones, but I won't go into them in this post.

Under Moroccan law, an owner can raise the rent by a maximum of 10% every three years. There used to be a 9 year ceiling, but the law was changed in 2008 and so now it's 10% rent increase every three years for indefinitely.

A clever friend of mine, who is a maths genius, reckons that it would take 22 years for the rent to double, irrespective of the amount. If the owner asks for more, just refuse to pay more. That's it. Someone once asked me if that's what I would do and if so, how could I live there knowing that the owner would not be happy with me. My answer is that I would not care if the owner is happy with me or not - it would be my home and I would stay put. Happily, this scenario is hypothetical.

Some owners in Tangier don't raise the rent at all. I know a Spanish guy who has a huge apartment there in the centre of town and pays 700 dirhams a month. Mind you, he's lived in it for almost 30 years.

A lot of tourists don't know about these rental laws in Morocco and jump right in at the deep end and buy. Doing so always gives you the time to repent at leisure.

I hope this info helps.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2009 07:15AM by lotuspods.

hi im teresa doing the same you need to regester at the nearest police station then after 3 months i think you can apply for a residence permit you need 1 to have your belonging shipped

Hello there,

I am a European resident of Morocco and have had my 2 CN (carte nationale) for about 6 years. Here is some accurate information based on my own experiences of getting my first 2 cards.

Firstly, there is no requirement of any kind to register with the Police or even your own country's consulate. As long as you don't break the law or work for money, you can do pretty much as you like. You are free.

You apply for a residents card at the local Police Commissariat in the town where you are living.

Every applicant may be given an informal interview of. You may not even be aware that you are in an interview - but the answers you give to questions will determine whether you pass, or not.

The requirements differ somewhat slightly in different areas of Morocco. Below I will mention the common requirements of all areas, then the specific requirements of Tangier and Agadir - which are the two that I can accurately describe, by my experience with both offices.

1) Photocopies of the 2 pages in your passport that have your ID details and entry stamp into Morocco.

2) Fiscal stamps from a Tabac at the currently required amount of the fee. The commissariat will tell you how much.

All cards (except for French passports) are issued for one year at first. Renewals are issued for five years the second time around (except for US passports, which get 10 years for the second card) and then for ten years for the third card for all other nationalities. French nationals can get a 10 year card from the very beginning.

3) Copy of your birth certificate or marriage certificate.

4) One of the following: either

a) Photocopy of proof of ownership of a property or

b) Photocopy of a Property Rental Contract.

The Commissariat office does not accept monthly rent receipts of a furnished property for a residents card, but they may accept it for a tourist visa extension (in Agadir.)

I know a man in Agadir who lives in furnished flat and has been a tourist in Morocco for over 40 years. He has to leave the country every three months because his landlady won't give him a contract and he doesn't want to move because his rent is cheap.

5) Proof of your possession of a Moroccan bank account in the form of an "Attestation Bancaire". This is proof from your bank to confirm the balance that you hold. In English it is known as a bank letter. My bank (BMCE) charged me a low 150 dirhams for this document.

6) Proof of monthly income. This is the "gotcha" for young people and will exclude a lot of people.

Unless you can prove that you have a monthly income, you will not get a residents card. The only two exceptions to this are:

a) that you already have a business visa or

b) that you already have an official work permit (very hard to get, unless you are married to a Moroccan, are a teacher in a language school or with the US Peace Corps.)

The above requirement is the reason why the majority of overseas residents in Morocco are retired persons - they can prove their monthly retirement pension.

Unless ALL of the above documents are in Arabic or French, you must then take the whole lot to a RECOGNISED translation agency to have them translated into French. Ask them for photocopies for yourself while you are there. There is usually no extra charge. I paid 100 dirhams for each document when I had mine translated. THE COMMISSARIAT WILL NOT ACCEPT TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN TRANSLATED BY A LOCALLY RECOGNISED AGENCY.

All of the above documents (in French or Arabic) must then be officially notarised at the local Baladia. Un-notarised documents will not be accepted.

Regional additional requirements:

In Tangier, you must have at least 200,000 (two hundred thousand) dirhams in your bank account. No overseas bank monthly standing order bank deposit is required in Tangier.

In Agadir, you must prove that you have an overseas bank monthly standing order into your Moroccan bank account of at least 350 Euros a month. Don't cancel the bank mandate after you get your card. You will required to take all of your bank statements with you when you go to renew your card after the first year. No big 200,000 dirhams deposit required in Agadir.

When you present your dossier at the Commissariat, you will receive a temporary paper confirming your residency. Make a note of your CN number, just in case you lose this paper. From then on, you are in the computer as a resident of Morocco.

You can then ship your furniture from Europe tax free during the first six months from the date of this paper. You will need a letter from your consulate to do this tax free. You will need to move quickly if you want to do this. I missed out on this because nobody (not even my consul) could tell me if the six months tax-free period was from the date of the paper or the date of the card. I found out too late that it is from the date of the temporary paper.

Be aware that you need an export licence to take your furniture out of Morocco in the future - and you may not get one. That's how come you see a lot of European furniture for sale in the local flea markets.

Your proper CN card will arrive any time between one month and eight months later (depending on the region you live in.)

You will need to show your card with your passport whenever you leave or arrive in Morocco. Technically, entry or exit can be refused without your card. I know of people who forgot, and they had no problems, but the possibility of refusal is there.

When you get your CN card, your life will change considerably. Moroccans have a lot of respect for people who get a CN card. You will notice the difference.

Hope the above info helps. I will edit this page periodically if the information changes.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/2009 04:02AM by lotuspods.

@lotuspods
Thank you so much for your info. Is hard to come by a piece of info from the "horse's mouht" and also concise.

I am currently living in London and intend to move to Morocco with my wife and 2 kids. We will not be needing work as I have an online business which brings a bit of income.
However at this time the requirements from Tanger (200,000 MAD) into our account is unachievable. Was looking at Tanger because of the new Anglo-Moroccan school in Tanger ( http://www.amschools.ma/ ) which has reasonable registration and tuition fees.

My question to you is:
Apart from Tanger and Agadir, did you hear about other regions what are their requirements with regard to deposit amount in your bank or direct debit from your bank account into the Moroccan bank account?
A side question would be: do you know any source where I can find accurate information about the specific requirements for residency related to different regions in Morocco?

Once again,
Thank you for your post.

@Costello:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @lotuspods
>
> My question to you is:
> Apart from Tanger and Agadir, did you hear about other regions what are their requirements with regard to deposit amount in your bank or direct debit from your bank account into the Moroccan bank account?
> A side question would be: do you know any source where I can find accurate information about the specific requirements for residency related to different regions in Morocco?
>
> Once again,
> Thank you for your post.

You're very welcome, Costello. I'm just back in the West for a few weeks and visited this post.

Answer to both questions: The only way you will find out is to talk with someone in the particular region who has done it. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Morocco is not a democracy and extensive published freedom of information as we know it does not exist. I do not mean this is any derogatory sense - it's just the way it is.

I wish you well in your move to Morocco and if ever you come to Agadir then look us up in TALBORJT. For sure you will find us.

I live in fez. I'm applying for residency. They said I had to have a Moroccan bank account. To open an account you need residency. To get an account as a "stranger" here in fez you have to have $10 / 100 dh.. but it has to be opened in your local currency. I've been here a year so I don't have dollars. I can't buy dollars from the exchange without residency/ citizenship. My husband tried to purchase but they said he needs his passport!! So tomorrow we are coming back with his passport.

wonderful to get such uptodate and accurate information from you lotuspods! youre a good source to have here thanks!

Hello, greetings from Ghazoua ( a happy place)

Well I have been there, done it,and got the T-shirt.

Living in the UK, I fell in love with Essaouira 4 years ago, and bought a house there, my second home, and proving to be a great investment!

If you would like any genuine info on Essaouira please post a message on here.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2009 12:51AM by martynfwheatley.

Hello martynfwheatley,
what are the pros & cons of buying smewhere in essaouira as opposed to marrakech - i'm thinking o finvesting in a small hotel (5/6 bedrooms)
thanks

angiebabe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wonderful to get such uptodate and accurate information from you lotuspods! youre a good source to have here thanks!

@angiebabe:

You're very welcome, angiebabe, and thank you for the compliment!

Hi Guys,
I just got back from Agadir married a lovely lady and have obtained marriage papers. OOOh what a task. I am from California, now I am in a process of moving to Agadir to join my wife. I have property income from here..LA... about USD 1500/ per month. If someone help me...let me know will this be considered as an income to obtain CN in Agadir?. I also would like to connect with US or EU residents there. I plan to start USA imports of Tec or any other which is desirable and profitable. This way we all could benefit financially and at the same time provide Moroccan community as a whole with new technologies. Any feed-back will appreciate. My private email: bizconsultantusa@al.com.
Thanks,
Sai.