Morocco grants residency to 17,000 immigrants

Morocco has accepted 17,916 applications for legal residency in the country, a total of 65 per cent of the applications submitted by migrants, the minister delegate to the minister of the interior said in an announcement made Monday in Salé, the twin city of Rabat.

According to Moroccan ministers, more than 27,000 illegal migrants applied for residency in Morocco in 2014.

Moroccan authorities said that all applications by women and children, a total of 10,178 applications, had been accepted and added that the capital city of Rabat had received the highest rate of applications with more than 8,100 requests.

According to government statistics, Senegalese nationals submitted 6,600 applications followed by Syrians who submitted 5,250 applications while Malians submitted 1,119 applications.

Cherki Drais, minister delegate to the minister of the interior, told Al Arabiya News that the bid to mitigate illegal residency had been successful, highlighting the 27,000 applications.
Drais said granting residency to immigrants is a humanitarian step as it concerns “people who reside in Morocco and who must fix their [legal] status,” adding that this process is linked “to solidarity with African countries.”

He also said that once an immigrant’s status is settled, they can work “within the context of Moroccan laws without a license from the ministry of labor,” adding that this is “an exception and the best means to voice solidarity.”