Kafala in Morocco: This Judgment Could Open the Door to French Nationality for the Child

Born in Morocco in April 2000, a young woman was taken in by a French couple in March 2013 under a kafala. The act was drawn up before two adouls and then approved by the court of first instance of Oujda.

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The Moroccan court had verified that the placement complied with the child’s best interests. It had also authorized the couple to take her to live with them in France.

The young Moroccan woman was subsequently educated and raised continuously in France. In January 2018, a few months before turning 18, she declared that she wished to acquire French nationality under Article 21-12 of the Civil Code.

The registry nevertheless refused to record her declaration. According to the authorities, the kafala had been established before adouls and therefore could not be considered a genuine court decision.

The Judge’s Approval Changes Everything

The young woman brought the matter before the courts and prevailed before the Lille judicial court and then the Douai Court of Appeal. The public prosecutor’s office then appealed to the Court of Cassation in an attempt to have recognition of her French nationality overturned.

In a ruling issued on 21 January 2026, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeal. It held that a kafala act drawn up before a notary may be treated as a judicial decision when it has subsequently been approved by a judge who genuinely verified the child’s best interests.

In this case, the Oujda court had not merely affixed a formal approval. It had examined the situation, authorized the placement of the girl and her departure for France. The requirement of a “court decision” was therefore met.

The Court also noted that the young Moroccan woman had been raised in France for more than three years by people of French nationality and that she was residing in the country when she made her declaration. Her acquisition of French nationality was thus definitively confirmed.

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The decision does not mean that all children placed under kafala automatically become French. The declaration must in particular be made before they reach adulthood, after at least three years of care and education by a French person. Above all, when the kafala was established before adouls, its approval by a court that examined the child’s best interests may be decisive.