Morocco Requires Vaccination Pass or Negative PCR Test for Returning Expats

After two years of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Marhaba operation will be launched in early June 2022. When questioned by deputies to explain the health protocol to be applied on the occasion of this operation, the head of Moroccan diplomacy declared during the session of oral questions at the House of Representatives: "To enter Morocco, each passenger must either have a vaccination pass in accordance with the regulations of the country of origin, or a PCR test less than 72 hours old." According to Nasser Bourita, around three million MREs are expected in Morocco this summer. "It is planned to welcome 35,000 passengers and 4,000 vehicles through 32 ships operating between Spain, France, Italy and Morocco" per day, the minister affirmed, adding that peaks reaching 65,000 travelers per day are not excluded.

For the success of Marhaba 2022, the government has implemented many actions. The minister said that a budget envelope of 200 million dirhams has been allocated to the various ports of the kingdom, particularly those in the North, to carry out renovation work. "The port of Tanger-Med alone has received an allocation of 56 million dirhams," he said. The consulates are also involved. The Moroccan consulates (56 in particular in Europe), as well as the embassies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been mobilized to support the Marhaba operation.

95% of arrivals in Morocco will be through Spain, [Nasser Bourita] also specified. A doctor, some 1,200 reception agents as well as mobile consulates, particularly in Algeciras and Sète, in the south of France, will be deployed on each ship. Regarding the surge in ferry ticket prices, the minister promised an examination to find a solution.