Morocco Tightens Border Controls at Ceuta Crossing, Citing Passport Concerns

According to El pueblo de Ceuta, although there is no written instruction on this, the Spanish police allow entry without a visa into the city to all Moroccans holding a passport and residing in the neighboring regions of Fnideq, Martil, Mdiq and Tetouan.

This tolerance has prompted "many people from other provinces" to try to obtain a passport "in an unnatural way" in [Tetouan]. And this is precisely what is now worrying them.

In their approach, these Moroccans rent a house in a sparsely populated, inexpensive area and declare a residence. Others try to acquire housing in a social neighborhood to declare it as a secondary residence.

However, the police have now been ordered to step up their surveillance. Henceforth, any person who cannot demonstrate more than six months of continuous residence in Tetouan will be denied passage.

The police source did not specify whether the control measures specifically concerned the illegal trafficking of migrants.

Through a circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent to several official bodies, the Moroccan government banned in July its senior officials from accessing the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, whether on a visit or in transit, during their trips to Europe.

Indeed, the circular stated: "It is strictly forbidden for all holders of an official Moroccan passport to use it to access the occupied Moroccan cities of Ceuta and Melilla."

These high-ranking officials were reminded to use other border crossings to exit or enter the territory. In other words, they must go through Tangier or the airports of the kingdom.

These measures prove that Morocco has in a way "frozen" its claims on Ceuta and Melilla, although the official vocabulary still recalls that they are "occupied cities", observes the same source.