Moroccan Cross-Border Workers Face Job Losses in Spanish Enclaves

Morocco is blocking the renewal of employment contracts for Moroccans from Tetouan and Nador who cross the border every day to work in Ceuta or Melilla. For a few days now, the competent Moroccan services have refused to provide these workers with the residence certificate, a necessary document required by the Office of Foreigners to renew their contracts.

Cross-border workers who have requested to obtain this document have told El Faro de Ceuta that they have been informed that Morocco now only issues this certificate for the issuance of the electronic identity card. A sudden measure that jeopardizes the renewal of their contracts.

More than a thousand Moroccan cross-border workers have a valid employment contract and are affiliated with the social security system in Ceuta. They risk finding themselves without work and without income overnight if a quick solution is not found to this situation.

After the reopening of the land borders at the beginning of 2024, the exemption of visas for travelers to Ceuta and Melilla was abolished, which prevented the signing of new employment contracts in the autonomous city. Cross-border workers had expressed concerns about the application of this measure. But the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reassured them that they would not be affected.