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Entry Requirements & Customs in Morocco
Every non-Moroccan visitor to Morocco requires a current passport, valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry and with a minimum of two blank pages. Children traveling on a parent's passport must have a recent photograph affixed to the passport; if this isn't done, the whole family is at risk of being denied entry. All visitors are given a 90-day entry upon arrival. Extensions are possible, but time-consuming. You must visit the nearest Préfécture de Police (police headquarters) with your passport, four passport-size photos, and a letter from your embassy requesting a visa extension on your behalf. The process can take hours or even days, and usually involves an indefinite amount of bureaucracy depending on the whim of the police involved. It may prove easier to simply cross over to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta or Melilla in Morocco's north or across the Straits to mainland Spain and reenter Morocco after a day or two. Moroccan immigration officers are usually very courteous, if at times a bit rigid. Sometimes there are not enough of them on duty at the major airports and long queues ensue. An arrival form needs to be completed for immigration. This form asks for your name, date of birth, passport details, occupation, your hotel address in Morocco, and the amount of money you have with you. State how much cash you are carrying, along with any credit/debit cards you have.
Note: An occupation of "journalist" or "writer" entered on your arrival form can potentially lead to extended questioning as to your intentions while in Morocco. Choosing an occupation less threatening is advised. It's always best to carry around your passport -- or at least a copy of the most relevant pages -- while in Morocco. Police checks are numerous throughout the country, and usually the only thing they want to do is look at your passport, ask where you're from, and welcome you to Morocco.
See www.frommers.com/planning for information on how to obtain a passport. For other information, please contact the following agencies:
For Residents of Australia -- Contact the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.
For Residents of Canada -- Contact the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).
For Residents of Ireland -- Contact the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh).
For Residents of New Zealand -- Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.
For Residents of the United Kingdom -- Visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0870/521-0410 or search its website at www.ukpa.gov.uk.
For Residents of the United States -- To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel. 877/487-2778) for automated information.
Most visitors to Morocco don't need a visa, including citizens from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, including Ireland. Currently, the most notable exceptions are Israeli, South African, and Zimbabwean citizens.
What You Can Bring into Morocco -- All visitors to Morocco may bring in, free of duty, the following: (1) tobacco (200 cigarettes/100 cigarillos/25 cigars), (2) 1 liter of alcohol, (3) 150ml of perfume/250ml of eau de toilette, (4) 2,000dh worth of gifts, (5) personal electrical and photographic goods, musical instruments, and nonmotorized sports equipment.
What You Can Take Out of Morocco -- Visitors are allowed to travel out of Morocco with locally made crafts and souvenirs, including a reasonable number (not in the dozens) of fossilized, ornamental, and semiprecious stones. Objets d'art and antiques theoretically require signed authorization from the Ministry of Culture, though this is only required for expensive or large items, and will be taken care of if purchased from any reputable shop owner. Note: It is forbidden to import/export the national currency, the Moroccan dirham.
For further details regarding Moroccan customs procedures, visit the Moroccan Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation website (www.maec.gov.ma; click on "Consular Action" in the English version).
What You Can Take Home from Morocco -- For information on what you're allowed to bring home, contact one of the following agencies:
U.S. Citizens: U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667; www.cbp.gov).
Canadian Citizens: Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).
U.K. Citizens: HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.
Australian Citizens: Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.
New Zealand Citizens: New Zealand Customs, the Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).
No compulsory vaccinations are required to enter Morocco, though travelers arriving from cholera-infected areas may be asked for proof of vaccine. It is always wise to be up-to-date with your immunization status for tetanus, polio, diphtheria, typhoid, rabies, and hepatitis A.
The only inoculation requirement is a yellow fever vaccination certificate for travelers 2 years of age and over entering Morocco within 6 days of leaving an infected country. Visitors who travel through or disembark in these areas are advised to be inoculated against the disease before visiting Morocco.
Moroccan authorities officially deny the existence of malaria, but other sources report very occasional summertime cases in a few of the more northern reaches of the country. Rabies cases are very uncommon, but do still occur. Vaccination against rabies doesn't provide absolute immunity, however, so it's worth seeking medical advice before you leave, should you be concerned.
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