Spain’s Border Crackdown Slashes Moroccan Travel to Ceuta and Melilla

Before the border closures in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 health crisis, around 30,000 people and 10,000 vehicles were arriving in Ceuta every day from Tetouan, Morocco. After the tightening of entry conditions, barely 3,000 travelers were recorded per day, according to data provided by the town hall and confirmed by the Government Delegation to El Correo Gallego.

The observation is the same in Melilla where "30,000 to 35,000 people and 4,000 vehicles on average from Nador, Morocco entered the city per day" in 2020, compared to 5,500 people and 1,500 vehicles on average today, according to figures from the government delegation in Melilla. Spaniards, on the other hand, can enter Morocco by presenting and stamping their passports.

Since the reopening of the Moroccan borders in May, after Pedro Sánchez’s recognition of the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, entry conditions have been tightened for residents of Tetouan and Nador who must now have a visa or special work permit before entering Ceuta and Melilla to go to work.

This visa requirement for Moroccans was extended on December 13 by the Secretary of State for Security. In his note published in the official journal (BOE), it was agreed to "maintain the temporary partial closure of the land posts allowing entry and exit from Spain through the cities of Ceuta and Melilla", and this "until the entry into force of a new cross-border circulation regime" which could be adopted by Morocco and Spain during the high-level meeting in Rabat.