Asylum and refugee status in Morocco

A refugee is a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group and cannot or will not return home. Anyone in Morocco who wishes to seek international protection can contact UNHCR; registration is possible even without identity documents. Morocco's procedure is not run through embassies abroad.

Step one is a registration request, made by phone, by WhatsApp or in person, in which UNHCR records your identity, your family members and why you left. You then receive, by text message, an appointment for a registration interview, where your photo, fingerprints and iris scan are recorded and you receive an asylum-seeker certificate that must be renewed before it expires.

UNHCR later calls you for a refugee status determination interview, scheduled according to registration date, priority and capacity. You may have an interpreter, ask for an interviewer of a particular gender, and your statements stay confidential. The decision is notified in person.

Once UNHCR recognises you, you are scheduled for a hearing with the Bureau of Refugees and Stateless Persons (BRA). After the hearing you receive a receipt and then a national refugee card valid for one year. With that card, apply for a residence card at the Department for Foreigners of the police headquarters where you live, with the application form, proof of residence such as a lease, proof of means or a contract, photos and a criminal-record extract. The residence card is valid for one year and renewable.

Refugees and asylum seekers are protected against return or expulsion to a country where their life or physical integrity is at risk, and should not be prosecuted or fined for irregular entry. They have free legal assistance through UNHCR's partner, access to primary healthcare at public health centres, and refugees may attend public schools and vocational programmes. Births must be registered within 30 days. Duties include respecting Moroccan law, renewing UNHCR documents and keeping UNHCR informed of address and phone changes.

Every applicant rejected at first instance may appeal in writing within 30 days of notification, at the Rabat office or by email, adding any new information or evidence. If needed, UNHCR invites you to an appeal interview with a different staff member. Without an appeal within 30 days, the file is closed.

UNHCR registration helpline: +212 537 54 54 00, WhatsApp +212 666 04 56 06, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 12:00. UNHCR office: 10 Avenue Mehdi Ben Barka, Souissi, Rabat. Outside Rabat, the partner Organisation Marocaine des Droits Humains (OMDH) receives registration requests in Oujda, Tangier, Nador and Casablanca.