The government of Côte d'Ivoire, in consultation with the Moroccan authorities, has begun a procedure to restore entry visas to Morocco for all holders of ordinary Ivorian passports, Abidjan.net learned from official sources on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
The entry visa to the Kingdom of Morocco has been reinstated for a trial period of two (02) years starting from Sunday, September 1, 2024. In fact, “in the face of the influx of African migrants towards the Mediterranean coasts, with the aim of the transit countries, including Morocco, host countries of these candidates for illegal immigration, in collaboration with the competent services of the Ivorian embassies, have implemented a profiling operation.”, specifies the information note.
According to the Ivorian authorities, “it appears from this classification that most of these illegal immigrants are foreign nationals claiming Ivorian nationality. For example, out of the 14,800 migrants who arrived in Lampedusa and presented themselves as Ivorian nationals, only a few dozen were recognized as Ivorian nationals.”
Moreover, “faced with the discovery of perfectly organized networks, with samples of forged passports and stamps, the Ivorian government had to take measures, which were certainly painful for some of our citizens, but which had the advantage of drying up the sources of supply of the forgers' networks, by strengthening the credibility of the Ivorian passport and de facto national security,” the note explains.
Moreover, “this does not represent a definitive reinstatement of the visa requirement for entry into Morocco, but rather a temporary suspension of the benefit of visa exemption for a maximum period of two years, accompanied by an evaluation of the effects of the measure, at the end of the first year,” the Ivorian government specifies.
He added that “this decision does not apply to Moroccan citizens wishing to travel to Côte d'Ivoire, nor to Ivorians holding diplomatic or service passports, nor to holders of Moroccan residence cards, nor to beneficiaries of Schengen visas from the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America or Canada.”
Cyprian K.
