As of September 1, 2024, Ivorian citizens holding ordinary passports will now need to obtain a visa to enter Morocco. This measure, adopted jointly by the Ivorian and Moroccan governments, will be implemented on an experimental basis for a period of two years. However, this obligation does not apply to Moroccan nationals traveling to Côte d’Ivoire.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire stated in a press release that this decision was motivated by the increase in African migratory flows to Europe, transiting through Morocco. Many illegal migrants, originating from other sub-Saharan African countries, are said to have usurped Ivorian nationality to take advantage of the visa exemption granted to Ivorians in the Maghreb countries.
An analysis carried out by the competent services, in collaboration with the Ivorian embassies, revealed that of the 14,800 migrants who arrived in Lampedusa claiming to be Ivorian, only a small fraction were authenticated as actually being of Ivorian nationality. This situation led to the implementation of the new regulation aimed at limiting abuses.
However, this visa requirement is not definitive. The Ivorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that this is a temporary suspension of the visa exemption, which will be reassessed after a year to measure its effects. At the end of the two-year experimental period, the authorities will decide whether or not to maintain this measure.
It is also important to note that this new rule does not concern holders of Ivorian diplomatic or service passports, nor holders of Moroccan residence permits. Similarly, Ivorians with Schengen, Emirati, American or Canadian visas will continue to benefit from a visa exemption to travel to Morocco.
