For most visitors, Morocco is straightforward: you arrive, you get a stamp, you stay up to ninety days. The details worth knowing are around passport validity, what the stamp actually permits, and what to do if you want to stay longer. One caveat before any of it — visa policy changes, and it changes without much notice. Everything below is background; the authority is your own government and the Moroccan consulate.
Who does not need a visa
Nationals of most European countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can enter Morocco without a visa for tourism and stay up to ninety days.
The same generally applies to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and a long list of others. Morocco maintains a broad visa-exemption list aimed at supporting tourism.
Ninety days is the standard permitted stay for exempt nationals. It is counted from the date of entry, and it is a maximum rather than an entitlement — the officer stamps what they stamp.
Because the list is long and periodically revised, check your own nationality against the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your government’s travel advice before booking. Do not rely on a tour operator’s website, including this one, as your source of truth on entry policy.
If you do need a visa
Nationals not covered by the exemption apply through a Moroccan embassy or consulate, or in some cases through Morocco’s electronic visa system, which has been extended to a growing number of nationalities.
A standard application asks for a passport valid well beyond your stay, passport photographs, proof of accommodation, a return or onward ticket, evidence of sufficient funds and a completed form. Some consulates ask for a bank statement or an employment letter.
Processing times vary considerably by consulate. Several weeks is a reasonable expectation and applying at least a month ahead is sensible.
There is no visa on arrival in Morocco for nationalities that require a visa. If you need one, you must have it before you travel — arriving without it means being refused boarding or entry.
Passport validity and what to carry
Your passport should be valid for the duration of your stay, and many airlines and officials apply a six-month rule regardless. Travelling with less than six months remaining risks problems that are entirely avoidable by renewing early.
Make sure you have blank pages for the entry and exit stamps.
Carry proof of onward travel. It is not always asked for, but it is within the officer’s rights to request it, and airlines check it more often than borders do.
An address for your first night is routinely requested on the arrival card. Have your riad or hotel name written down rather than searching your email at the desk.
At the border
You complete an arrival card with your details, the purpose of your visit and where you are staying. These are handed out on the plane or available at the desk.
Entry stamps at Marrakech and Casablanca can involve long queues at peak times, particularly when several European flights land together. Allow for it if you have an onward connection.
Keep the entry stamp legible and do not lose the departure card if you are given one. You may be asked for it on the way out.
Arriving overland from Ceuta or Melilla, or by ferry from Spain, follows the same rules but the queues and the paperwork can be slower.
Staying longer than ninety days
Ninety days is the limit for visa-exempt visitors. Staying beyond it without permission means an overstay, which is dealt with at departure and can involve a fine or a formal process at the airport.
To stay legally beyond ninety days you apply for a residence permit — the carte de séjour — through the local police prefecture, and you should begin well before your ninety days expire. It requires documentation including proof of address and means of support.
The frequently repeated advice to leave the country briefly and return for a fresh ninety days is not a reliable strategy and is not something we would encourage anyone to plan around.
If you find yourself close to the limit, speak to the prefecture or your embassy rather than improvising.
Money, customs and what you can bring
The Moroccan dirham is a closed currency and may not legally be taken out of the country in any quantity. Change what you have left before you fly, or spend it airside.
Large sums of foreign currency must be declared on arrival above a threshold set by customs. If you are carrying a significant amount, check the current figure before you travel.
Alcohol allowances are modest and it is sold openly in licensed shops, supermarkets and hotels rather than everywhere.
Drones are restricted and are routinely confiscated at the airport without prior authorisation. Do not bring one casually.
Health requirements
No vaccinations are required for entry from most countries. A yellow fever certificate may be requested if you are arriving from a country where the disease is present.
Routine vaccinations should be up to date, and your own doctor or a travel clinic is the right source of advice for your circumstances.
Travel insurance is not a condition of entry but it is not optional in practice. Medical care is good in the cities and is charged for, and repatriation is expensive.
Practical advice before you book
Check your nationality against an official source, not a blog. Rules change and the consequences of getting it wrong fall entirely on you.
Renew a passport with under six months remaining rather than gambling on it.
Take a photograph of your passport and store it separately from the document. It makes replacing a lost passport considerably faster.
If you are travelling on two passports, enter and leave on the same one. Mismatched stamps create problems at departure that are tedious to resolve.
Travelling with children and different surnames
Children need their own passports; they cannot travel on a parent’s document. The same ninety-day rule applies to them.
If you are travelling alone with a child, or the child’s surname differs from yours, carry documentation — a birth certificate, and where relevant a letter of consent from the other parent. Moroccan border officials do ask, and airlines ask more often than borders do.
Single parents and guardians should expect the question rather than be surprised by it. Having the paperwork turns a potential problem into a thirty-second conversation.
Arriving by ferry or overland
Ferries from Spain — Tarifa to Tangier Ville, Algeciras to Tanger Med — are a common route in. The visa rules are identical, but the process is slower and passport control is sometimes carried out on board.
The land borders at Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast, are functioning crossings and can be busy and slow. Allow far more time than the distance suggests.
Whichever way you arrive, make sure you receive an entry stamp. An unstamped entry causes real difficulty on departure, and it is easier to insist on it at the time than to explain it later.
The land border with Algeria has been closed to travellers for many years and cannot be used to enter or leave.
Frequently asked questions
Most European, UK, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand nationals do not, and can stay up to 90 days for tourism. The exemption list is long but does change, so confirm your own nationality with an official source before booking.
Up to 90 days from the date of entry for visa-exempt nationalities. It is a maximum, not a guarantee — the officer decides what is stamped.
Your passport should be valid for the whole of your stay, and many airlines and officials apply a six-month rule. Renew early rather than travelling with less than six months remaining.
No. If your nationality requires a visa, you must obtain it before travelling, through a consulate or the e-visa system where available.
You would apply for a residence permit (carte de séjour) at the local police prefecture, starting well before the 90 days expire. Leaving and re-entering to reset the clock is not a reliable approach.
No. The dirham is a closed currency. Change or spend what you have left before departure.
None are required for entry from most countries, though a yellow fever certificate may be requested if arriving from an affected country. Keep routine vaccinations current and ask a travel clinic about your own situation.