Mixed Marriage Process in Morocco

jess1406 · 2016-10-06T22:32:03+02:00

Hi everybody, I am a British female who has recently married my Moroccan fiancé in September 2016. I wanted to write a post on an up to date process to help those who are in a similar situation going through the process or planning to get married in Morocco in the future! ☺ We were married in Tinghir on September 30th after travelling back and forth to court in Ouarzazate. It can be a very long and tiring process, if you are not prepared. In total it took us about 10 working days to complete the papers, get the permission and get married. I do believe that we could have done it in less time, had we known about some papers and there were also days where we decided to wait an extra day. However, I know it can often take people a lot longer but the key is preparation and organisation – it can be done within 2/3 weeks if you are patient and organised. The papers for the marriage need to be dated within a 3 month period to be accepted within Morocco. Both my fiancé and myself prepared the papers that we could prior to me arriving in Morocco. In the UK the papers you need to get are: - A birth certificate issued within the last 3 months (this must be a FULL birth certificate – with information of mother and father) - Letter of employment (stating where I work, start date of employment, working hours and annual salary) - Payslips for the 3 months before arriving in Morocco to submit the papers - A UK police check – ensure this is the ACRO police certificate, which can be ordered online. (Mine took around 10 days to arrive upon placing the order). I had taken copies of these over to Morocco on a prior visit to get translated in preparation to completing the process. If unable to take these over in person, I would suggest emailing/faxing them to your partner to translate prior to arrival, as this usually takes a couple of days. There are a number of different documents that your fiancé will need too. He can contact the local court or an adoul and they will be able to provide a list of the documents. They include: a copy of identity card, updated birth certificate, police check, capacity to marry (single status), medical check. My fiancé needed the medical check and 2 witnesses in order to get the capacity to marry paper, so it is important to begin planning these papers in advance otherwise it can add extra time to the process. The papers you will then need to get whilst in Morocco: - Medical check - Police check from Morocco – Ministry of Justice (Rabat) - Capacity to Marry – British Embassy (Rabat) - Certificate of Nationality – British Embassy (Rabat) We were also asked for a certificate of religion for me when we presented our papers at the court. We completed this in Arabic and had it certified, so it may be worthwhile to also prepare this paper, as I believe some courts do still require it. (The paper we prepared just stated my name, date of birth, passport number and that I am of Christian faith). Make sure that you book an appointment at the British embassy for marriage online in advance. They only have appointments on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. I recommend doing this a few weeks in advance to ensure you get an appointment! Make sure you also have a number of photocopies of your different papers also – the original documents and the translated versions and have these with you at all times. We did 5 copies of everything. We also got 8 passport size photographs each. Below is our experience: MONDAY I had arrived in Marrakech over the weekend and we stayed here for a number of days whilst completing further documents. This day we picked up the papers that we had previously submitted for translation (police check, employment letter, birth certificate). We also then went to a local clinic and requested a medical check. The doctor just asked if I had any medical problems, then wrote a paper to say there was nothing wrong with my health! This cost us 250 MAD, make sure that you take your passport when getting the certificate. TUESDAY We caught the 4:45 train to Rabat from Marrakech. We arrived in Rabat by around 9:30. First – we went to the Ministry of Justice to request a Moroccan police check. I had to go in alone as fiancé’s are made to wait outside. I went inside and was given a form in French to complete – basic details, passport number, mother/father names etc. I then sat and waited before I was called to a desk, I gave the form and a copy of my passport and was given a card saying to come back at 3pm. 11:30 – we had our appointment in the British Embassy. We filled in a couple of forms and were then given the 2 documents we needed. This took 30 minutes. From the Embassy – straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We were given a ticket, and we were both allowed in together. We sat downstairs and a man came in calling out numbers, once they call your number you head upstairs. Once again you wait, they call your number and then you go to a desk where the clerk stamps your papers. It was all finished within about 15 minutes. 3pm – headed back to the Ministry of Justice. Took the card they gave earlier and also a 10DH stamp, which can be bought from a shop just around the corner. Went inside, waited until being called and then collect your paper from the ladies at the desk, and get it stamped by the police officer at another desk. We then headed to a nearby fax shop in order to fax the documents to the translator that we use, so we were able to pick them up the next day. All finished by 3:30pm and we got the next train back to Marrakech. WEDNESDAY Collected our translated papers from the day before at 12. We then made photocopies of all of these (original and translated version). We then made the long 8 hour bus ride to Tinghir. THURSDAY The nearest court to Tinghir is Ouarzazate, another 2 hour journey! Went to submit our papers at the court. Was told all of my papers were correct and good to go. However, they requested that my fiancé got another 2 papers – a paper to state where he is currently living and that he is single (despite already having a number of papers stating this!!). Back to Tinghir to complete these papers. FRIDAY My fiancé headed back to the court the next day with the papers in order to try again. This time was told that I needed the certificate of religion. Myself and my fiance’s father completed this paper in Tinghir and faxed it to the court in Ouarzazate. Papers then submitted, given an envelope to be taken to the Criminal court. Taken there and signed by the representative of the King, then given an envelope to take to the police. MONDAY Went to the police first thing and gave them the envelope. This is easier if you have connections, which we were lucky in that my fiance’s father knew the head of the police in Tinghir. The only things they asked me was the name of the company I worked for, when I started work and the last time that I visited Morocco. They then prepared a paper that they said would be sent to the court the next morning. TUESDAY – we decided to wait a day for the papers to arrive to ensure that we hadn’t wasted another journey to Ouarzazate! WEDNESDAY Went first to the Criminal court, they had received the papers from the police. Gave us a paper to take to the family court. Back to the family court, was told that the judge was not there today. Gave us 2 papers to fill in and said they would get it signed by the representative of the court. Went back at 3pm, the clerk had given the representative the Moroccan marriage papers to sign and had forgotten to give the mixed marriage papers to sign! (Very frustrating!!!). Waited to see if the representative would come back to sign our paper, however he was not able to. THURSDAY Try again – my fiancé went back to the court the next morning. Received our permission to marry signed and stamped by the judge around 10am. FRIDAY Went to the adoul and completed the marriage! All finished! The marriage certificate has then been sent back to the court to certify – once again this may a few weeks for it to be ready. It is hard work but persevere as it all pays off and is so worth it once you are married. Good luck to those of you who are completing this process - if you have any questions feel free to ask I just hope this post will be able to help someone and to understand that it is not always a lengthy, difficult process ☺ Kind regards, Jess

Last activity 26 September 2024 by Bill Shepherd

69896 Views

474 replies

Post new topic

magic2019Active member04 July 2019 15:19:37

#241

Thank you.

If anyone else can give me any more information, it would be much appreciated.

Tried calling the Moroccan Consulate in London but no one answers the phone, very annoying.

I just need to know if we need any appointment in Rabat or is it a walk in service?

trytobekool83Active member04 July 2019 16:47:13

#242

They never answer anyone in any country haha , as per everyone’s experience it’s just walk in so relax.

DeanKisyovMember07 August 2019 12:56:24

#243

I am Europenion and living inUK inshaallah i will mary in Morocco this November but they ask for certificate of residence. From where i can get that is it official document or no. Thanks

AndreaTointonMember14 August 2019 14:16:27

#244

Hi Jess, congratulations on your successful marriage and the process you have explained so well.
I really appreciate that.
I was wondering how important it is that you are to be employed?
I mean in England?
Also, have you both moved back to England or stayed in Morocco.?
Andrea Tointon

magic2019Active member15 August 2019 15:08:40

#245

I have a question if anyone can help:

Do I need to get my UK documents legalised in the UK?
And then have them translated in Morocco?

From what I have read, documents to be legalised:
Birth Certificate
ACRO Police Check

trytobekool83Active member15 August 2019 23:26:17

#246

As per morocco law ,they need all documents attested by your Embessy in Rabat, and am sure perhaps that Uk embessy in Rabat will only legalize them when they see UK stamps on them. This is based on my knowledge however I don’t know much about Uk procedures, as per translation is concerned just get them translated in Morocco- Arabic or French

DeanKisyovMember17 August 2019 02:54:47

#247

But if a put appostile and legalize the acro police check do i need to go to Beitish embassy in Rabat because i am not British i live in UK but i am Europenion but still they are asking me for acro police check from my country and from my country of residence

trytobekool83Active member17 August 2019 12:23:08

#248

What I did was got all my documents attested from my country of residence where I work , then go to my embessy in Rabat got all documents attested - because without Rabat stamp of our embessy they morocco govt don’t recognize any documents. Get capacity of marriage document attested by foreign affairs.

DarlaHouston07Member26 August 2019 06:33:45

#249

I’m a US citizen marrying a Moroccan man. Do I need to bring any employment records? We will be living in Morocco. My problem being that I haven’t been employed in several years.

DarlaHouston07Member26 August 2019 06:47:34

#250

Isn’t there an American embassy in Casablanca?

Pandora99Member26 August 2019 10:38:01

#251

In order to get married in Morocco you have to have proof of income. So if you have not been working, you need to prove that you have some kind of monthly income.

Pandora99Member26 August 2019 10:38:52

#252

Yes. There is a US embassy in Casablanca, Morocco.

DarlaHouston07Member26 August 2019 23:41:54

#253

My fiancé is working and will be my future source of support. I don’t plan to live or work anywhere else in the future.

DarlaHouston07Member26 August 2019 23:50:19

#254

Can we use the US embassy in Casablanca or do we still need to go to Rabat?

Pandora99Member27 August 2019 00:56:50

#255

I was told that if I wanted to marry a Moroccan in Morocco that I, a US citizen would have to prove that I have my own monthly income.

DarlaHouston07Member27 August 2019 01:38:14

#256

Okay. No problem.
At least I can say that my fiancé isn’t marrying me for the money. And he doesn’t want to come to the US ever. He’s been here before and has a brother here, so it’s not that either.

Suhailahmad01Member01 September 2019 15:11:59

#257

Hi muzzy

I thinking married a Moroccan girl in Casablanca. I was wondering what docs I need to sort things out. Also how long does the process take?

Thanks

DeanKisyovMember08 September 2019 01:43:28

#258

Salam alaykum everyone,i was wondering if my uk driving license can be my proof of adress,are the moroccan gonna accept that?

Sjw92Member14 September 2019 22:27:48

#259

Hi,

I noticed you have mentioned you have recently married in Morocco and was wondering if you explain your process/experience, apologies if you have already posted this.

I am due to marry there in April, I have read through a lot of the posts some being quite old and there seems to be a lot of confusion and no clear process, I will be in Morocco for 4 weeks and ideally would like the marriage to be complete within this time frame.

Some of my questions are -
Which professional exactly is it that we would need to translate my documents?
Can we arrange any of the appointments before I arrive?

Thank you

Sjw92Member14 September 2019 22:30:49

#260

Muzzykhan wrote:
For everyone asking about translating documents to Arabic

ALL THE REQUIRED Documents NEEDs to be translated in ARABIC or you can’t marry her or him and will be
There is no option around it

G_oranMember24 September 2019 14:45:41

#261

Hello,

Thanks for a very useful thread full of information.
I too am God willing getting married to a beautiful Moroccan lady soon.
The first question that stumped me:
On the Certificate of No Impediment, do I need to give the exact address where the marriage will take place, or can I just put the city?
The local registry office wasn't very helpful they didn't have a clue.

Many thanks

magic2019Active member24 September 2019 14:55:51

#262

Are you from the UK?

If so, you do not need a certificate of no impediment

G_oranMember24 September 2019 15:27:03

#263

Thanks very much for replying so quickly. The Moroccan embassy website lists it, are you sure its not needed?

https://www.moroccanconsulate.org.uk/en/Marriages.html

I think the Morrocan govenment webiste lists it too, just under a different description:

Certificate of capacity to contract marriage issued by the Embassy or Consulate of the country of the foreign fiancé, certified true copy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

http://www.service-public.ma/en/web/gue … edure=5521

magic2019Active member24 September 2019 15:32:49

#264

Please read this link: UK GOV website

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-an … g-marriage

G_oranMember24 September 2019 15:44:38

#265

Thanks very much. That could be useful if this oath certificate is quicker to obtain than a certificate of no impediment.
I would have to go to Morocco to get it I guess.

magic2019Active member24 September 2019 15:48:52

#266

Yes you will need to book an appointment on the GOV.UK website for the Embassy in Rabat which will need legalising in Rabat or you can do it in the British Consulate in Marrakech then have it legalised in Agadir

G_oranMember24 September 2019 15:52:41

#267

Thanks, much appreciated!
Seems a lot less hassle than Certificate of no Impediment from a UK registry office.

magic2019Active member24 September 2019 16:00:10

#268

Well you need another document from there anyway which has replaced the certificate of nationality from the UK

G_oranMember24 September 2019 16:48:50

#269

Thanks very much!
If I get the certificate of nationality from the UK is that still accepted? Or is it better to just get the new one from UK embassy in Rabat?

magic2019Active member24 September 2019 16:58:58

#270

Needs to come from BE in Rabat

G_oranMember24 September 2019 17:16:45

#271

I can’t thank you enough!
I would have wasted time and money getting the UK nationality certificate

CiaramcMember25 September 2019 15:06:25

#272

Do you know where i can get a certificate of nationality, I am Irish and I'm still in Ireland. I need to get a certificate of nationality and i cannot find it anywhere.

Sjw92Member26 September 2019 18:32:07

#273

Has anyone married recently that can give a clear view on what is needed?

G_oranMember15 October 2019 13:16:26

#274

Sorry one more question.
For the medical certificate, is it absolutely necessary that I get this from a Moroccan doctor?
Will they accept a certificate from a UK doctor?

Many thanks

magic2019Active member19 October 2019 12:30:22

#275

From Morocco only

The DR will send you to a Lab with a slip of what tests are required they will take your blood and the next day provide you with the results: eg positive or negative.

GuestPoster0284Guest19 October 2019 12:51:54

#276

214245

I am also from America. What do I need to prepare while I am still here? My boyfriend is from Algeria not Morocco. Will we have issues getting martied? I have a job in Morocco I am starting in January 2020. He will be coming from Algeria. Thanks

SulllyMember19 October 2019 13:27:41

#277

1) birth certificate
2) proof of employment
3) ACRO police record
4) up to date payslips for last 3 months (maybe)
5) Divorce certificate if applicable
(YOU MAY NEED TO HAVE THEM APOSTILLED BUT THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE BUT IF YOU DECIDE TO APOSTILLE THEM YOU'LL HAVE TO DO THAT BEFORE YOU'RE IN MOROCCO. MOROCCO CAN ONLY APOSTILLE DOCUMENTS OBTAINED IN THAT COUNTRY)

DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO OBTAIN WHILE THERE:
1 & 2) Capacity of marriage from consulate in Rabat or Marrakech). They will need your passport and give you a certificate of identity which you will then take to the Morrocan authorities to have it apostilled. If your visiting the consulate in Rabat you can get it apostilled in Rabat. If it is Marrakech then you can have it apostilled in Agadir.
3) declaration of faith in Islam if you're a man.
4)police report from Morocco
5)Medical certificate
6) police interview

Visit the mahkama(Court) for confirmation

SulllyMember19 October 2019 17:45:29

#278

I'm not 100% sure about Algerians getting married in Morocco but I know some one from Mauritania and he was required to submit all of the documents.

GuestPoster0284Guest20 October 2019 17:14:09

#279

214245

Sounds like similar situation in Tunisia. Thanks

G_oranMember04 December 2019 20:27:37

#280

Sorry another question. This is all so confusing.
So I get my UK papers, and send them here to get them apostilled (certified copies)
https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

But do they have to translate them into Arabic and apostille it in Arabic, or do they copy them in English, then I get the copies translated?

Thanks

Articles to help you in your expat project in Morocco

Getting married in Morocco
If you want to get married in Morocco, there are different steps and a variety of procedures to follow. These can ...
Choosing your neighbourhood in Marrakech
Marrakech comprises five leading neighborhoods, namely Medina, Mellah, Gueliz, Hivernage and Chrifia. Each of them ...
Casablanca neighbourhoods
Stretching over 220 km², Casablanca is more than twice the size of Paris. Like all historical cities and ...
Making phone calls in Morocco
During your stay in Morocco, you will certainly wish to keep in touch with friends and family. To do so, you can ...
Opening a bank account in Morocco
Opening a bank account in Morocco is relatively easy. The language barrier could be an obstacle if you do not ...
Getting around Marrakech
In Marrakech, there are many means of traveling inside the city and outside, whether for work or leisure. Each of ...
Getting around Casablanca
Moving around in Casablanca is a day-to-day challenge. However, the city has a fairly developed ...
Driving in Morocco
You can drive with an international driver's license in Morocco for a period of one year as from your date of ...