Spain Denies Visa to 2-Year-Old Moroccan Boy with Rare Disease, Family Faces Legal Battle

Despite medical reports attesting to the seriousness of Ayoub’s illness, the Spanish authorities did not grant the visa to Ayoub, this Moroccan boy from Nador suffering from a rare disease that has already taken one of his kidneys, and causes malformations in his hands and digestive system, reports La Opinión de Málaga.

"He was born purple, with a swollen belly and the doctors decided to take him urgently to Melilla to operate on him," says his mother, Bouchra Harrachi, 39, who adds that her son’s condition then worsened, requiring his transfer to the Mother and Child Hospital in Malaga. "Over these two years, he has undergone a surgical operation on his bladder and colon, and is awaiting another on his digestive system and a kidney transplant. But before that, he has to weigh ten kilos," explains Bouchra, who specifies that her son has feeding difficulties due to lesions in his palate.

Ayoub’s mother has decided to temporarily settle in Malaga because of her son’s treatment. According to Spanish law, she is entitled to obtain a humanitarian visa. But the Immigration Office in Malaga rejected her application, considering that the visa granted by the Spanish consulate in Nador was "for another reason". Lawyer Antonio Villena filed an appeal for a review of the visa application, which was also rejected. For the lawyer, this decision is inexplicable. "The Ayoub case meets all the requirements set out in the regulations for obtaining a humanitarian visa. Moreover, the medical reports from the Melilla hospital and the Malaga maternity doctors attest that his life is in danger if he returns to Morocco," he explains.

Without papers and forced to remain in Spain to take her son to weekly consultations in Malaga, Ayoub’s mother has no choice but to go to the administrative judge who should be able to order the issuance of the visa, but this takes time. "The judge, of course, would agree, but it will take three years," laments Antonio Villena. In the meantime, Bouchra and her son are being cared for by the Lagunillas neighborhood association. In support of Ayoub, the artist Bogart drew a graffiti at the association’s headquarters on Monday.