Family · Guide
Children of a Moroccan and a foreigner
Your child is Moroccan from birth through the Moroccan parent. The other nationality depends on the other country's law, sometimes on a short deadline.
These pages describe the law in force in October 2026: the Family Code of 2004 and the Nationality Code. The reform of the Family Code announced in December 2024 has not been voted. They inform you. For your own case, see a lawyer, an adoul or a notary.
Key facts
- A child with one Moroccan parent is Moroccan from birth, whether that parent is the father or the mother, and wherever the child is born.
- The rule on descent sets no condition of religion.
- Whether the child also has the other parent's nationality is decided by that country's law. See the country notes below.
- In Morocco the child is treated as Moroccan, and the Family Code applies to the child, whatever the second nationality.
- To exist in Moroccan records, the birth must be entered in Moroccan civil status: at your consulate, or directly at the civil status office in Morocco.
- If the Moroccan parent is the mother and the consulate asks for proof of the child's nationality, request a nationality certificate from the King's prosecutor, through the consulate.
- The choice between 18 and 20: a child of a mixed marriage who is Moroccan through the mother can declare to the Minister of Justice that he or she keeps only one parent's nationality. Before 18, the mother can make this declaration for the child, who can undo it between 18 and 20.
- A child who is Moroccan through the father has no such declaration. Giving up Moroccan nationality then needs a decree.
- First name in Moroccan records: it must not offend morals or public order, and must not be a family name, more than two first names, or the name of a town, village or tribe, the Foundation's guide says.
- Among the duties of parents, the Family Code lists the child's religious guidance.
Steps
- Register the birth with the local authority of the country of birth, and get a full copy of the birth certificate.
- Moroccan parent: have the birth entered in Moroccan civil status through your consulate, and the child added to the family booklet.
- Foreign parent: check your own country's rule the same month. Some deadlines are short.
- Apply for the child's papers on both sides: the Moroccan passport and, later, the CNIE.
- At 18, a child who is Moroccan through the mother and wants only one nationality has two years to file the declaration.
What to bring
- Consular registration of the parents and the Moroccan family booklet
- A full copy of the child's local birth certificate
- The parents' marriage certificate
- The Moroccan parent's birth certificate extract and a copy of the other parent's identity document
- The identity document of the person who declares the birth
- For a nationality certificate through the mother: the child's full birth certificate, her full birth certificate and a copy of her CNIE
Watch out
- Missing the other country's deadline can cost the child that nationality.
- Parents can prevent their children from leaving Morocco, Canada's official travel advice notes. Travel with the other parent's written consent.
- In Morocco, the second country's consulate can do less for a child who is also Moroccan.
- Register the Moroccan birth early. Sources disagree on whether a deadline still applies: ask your consulate.
Official sources
consulat.mafh2mre.maservice-public.gouv.fr (FR)diplomatie.belgium.be (BE)mjusticia.gob.es (ES)esteri.it (IT)government.nl (NL)auswaertiges-amt.de (DE)sem.admin.ch (CH)gov.uk (GB)canada.ca (CA)travel.state.gov (US)
Checked: October 2026. Independent guide, not a government site. Rules change: confirm on the official page before you act.
Does the child get the other nationality?
Rules read on each country's official site in October 2026. They often depend on where the foreign parent was born or has lived.
- France
- The child is French if at least one parent is French, wherever the child is born, once the link with that parent is legally established.
- Belgium
- If the Belgian parent was born in Belgium, the child is Belgian. If that parent was born abroad, a declaration must be made within five years of the birth.
- Spain
- A child of a Spanish father or mother is Spanish by origin.
- Italy
- Rules changed in 2025. A child born abroad with another nationality is Italian automatically only if a parent or grandparent holds only Italian citizenship, or if the Italian parent lived two years in a row in Italy before the birth. Otherwise a parent who is Italian by birth can file a declaration within three years of the birth.
- Netherlands
- The child is Dutch if a parent is Dutch at the birth, or if a Dutch man acknowledges paternity.
- Germany
- If the German parent was born abroad after 31 December 1999 and the child is born abroad with another nationality, the child is German only if the birth is registered with the German registry office within one year.
- Switzerland
- A child born abroad who has another nationality loses Swiss nationality at 25, unless he or she has been registered with a Swiss authority or has declared in writing the wish to keep it.
- United Kingdom
- A child born outside the UK to a British parent may be British, depending on the dates and the parents' situation. Use the official checker on GOV.UK.
- Canada
- Rules in force since 15 December 2025: the child of a Canadian born in Canada is Canadian. If the Canadian parent was also born abroad, that parent must have spent at least 1,095 days in Canada before the birth.
- United States
- With one American parent married to the other parent: the American parent must have lived in the United States for five years before the birth, two of them after the age of 14.