Family · Guide
Marrying a foreigner
A Moroccan can marry a foreigner, in Morocco or abroad. Moroccan law sets a religion rule and, in Morocco, a court authorisation after an enquiry.
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
- The Family Code governs the marriage as soon as one of the two is Moroccan, wherever it takes place.
- Religion rule (article 39): a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man. A Muslim man can marry a Muslim, Christian or Jewish woman. A marriage concluded against this rule is null.
- In practice: a foreign man who is not Muslim must convert to Islam before the marriage. A Christian or Jewish foreign woman does not have to convert.
- Three routes exist. In Morocco, before adouls, with the court's authorisation. Abroad, at the town hall, under local law. Or before adouls at a Moroccan consulate, but only if the law of that country allows it.
- In Morocco, the marriage of a foreigner needs a special authorisation. You file the request with the family judge at the court of first instance, usually that of the Moroccan partner's home.
- The judge sends the file to the King's prosecutor for an enquiry on the foreign partner: no impediment, good conduct, no risk for public order, job and income.
- With the authorisation, two adouls draw up the deed. Foreign embassies in Morocco do not celebrate these marriages.
- No official source gives a fixed duration. The United States Embassy says the document checks take from a few days to a few months, and that the court's time varies.
- Abroad, at the town hall: for Morocco the same rules apply as for two Moroccans, including the two Muslim witnesses and the deposit of the certificate at the consulate within three months.
- At a consulate, a mixed couple applies to the family judge posted at the Moroccan consulate or embassy. The consul runs an enquiry and certifies that there is no impediment. The country of residence may forbid such a marriage when one of you is its national.
- Marriage changes nobody's nationality, and gives the foreign spouse no automatic right to live in the other's country.
- A Moroccan who also holds the other country's nationality stays Moroccan for the Family Code. Two such spouses are not a mixed couple in Morocco.
Steps
- Foreign partner: before travelling, get your home-country papers: birth certificate, police record, proof of divorce or widowhood if any.
- Foreign partner: get the certificate of capacity to marry, or the paper that replaces it, from your embassy or consulate in Morocco or from your home authority. Some embassies add a nationality certificate.
- Have the embassy papers legalised by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and every foreign paper translated into Arabic.
- If a conversion to Islam is needed, it is recorded by adouls. Their deed goes into the file.
- In Morocco, get the medical certificates from a doctor there and the Moroccan criminal record extract.
- File the request with the family judge. Wait for the enquiry and the authorisation.
- Conclude the marriage before two adouls. The judge approves the deed.
- Have the marriage recorded in the foreign spouse's country: see the country notes below.
What to bring
- A written request with your full identity and the purpose of the request
- Birth certificate extracts, and a certified copy of the Moroccan partner's CNIE
- Foreign partner: the certificate of capacity to marry, or its equivalent
- Foreign partner: a copy of the passport. The United States Embassy specifies a certified copy of the identity page and of the page with the stamp of entry into Morocco.
- Foreign partner: a nationality certificate and, where it applies, a certificate of residence
- Foreign partner: the police record from the home country, and the Moroccan criminal record extract issued by the Ministry of Justice in Rabat
- Foreign partner: proof of occupation and income, for example a work and salary certificate
- The deed of conversion to Islam where it applies. For a non-Muslim bride, the German Embassy lists proof that she belongs to a religion of the Book.
- A medical certificate and an administrative certificate for each of you
- Four recent identity photos
- If either of you was married before: original or certified proof that the earlier marriage ended
Watch out
- The list changes from one court to another. Ask the family justice section where you will marry, and the adoul, before you collect anything.
- Sources differ on the counter. The guide of the Hassan II Foundation names the family judge at the court of first instance. The United States Embassy names the family section of the prosecutor's office at the court of appeal. Ask locally.
- Embassy certificates expire. The British one must be used within three months.
- Foreign papers must be legalised or carry an apostille, and be translated into Arabic.
- Polygamy: a second marriage deed cannot be relied on in countries that ban polygamy, and a second wife cannot join her husband there through family reunification.
- An unmarried partner has no status in Morocco: living together is not recognised.
Official sources
service-public.mafh2mre.mama.diplomatie.gouv.fr (FR)exteriores.gob.es (ES)conscasablanca.esteri.it (IT)diplomatie.belgium.be (BE)netherlandsworldwide.nl (NL)rabat.diplo.de (DE)gov.uk (GB)international.gc.ca (CA)ma.usembassy.gov (US)
Checked: October 2026. Independent guide, not a government site. Rules change: confirm on the official page before you act.
What the foreign spouse's country asks
Before the wedding, most countries ask their national for a certificate. After it, most want the marriage entered in their own registers.
- France
- Before: a certificate of capacity to marry (CCAM) from the French consulate covering the place of the wedding. Both come in person, banns are posted for 10 days, and you should allow at least three months. After: transcription by post at the Service central d'état civil in Nantes, needed for the spouse's visa. Married without the certificate? Write directly to Nantes; an interview can be required.
- Spain
- Before: a certificate of capacity to marry from the civil registry of the Spanish partner's place of residence. After: registration at that civil registry. Without the certificate, the marriage is not entered and does not count for a visa or family reunification.
- Italy
- After: transcription at the Italian municipality of last residence or of AIRE registration. If the Moroccan deed lacks names, dates or places of birth, the consulate asks for a correcting deed. A marriage by proxy cannot be transcribed.
- Belgium
- Before: where the Moroccan authorities ask for it, a certificate of non-impediment from the Belgian consulate. After: the deed, legalised or with an apostille and translated, can be entered in the Belgian civil status database by your municipality.
- Netherlands
- Before: a declaration of capacity to marry, from your Dutch municipality or, if you never lived in the Netherlands, from the embassy in Rabat (30 euros). After: registration with your municipality is compulsory if you live in the Netherlands.
- Germany
- Before: the embassy in Rabat issues the certificate of capacity to marry, on the basis of the certificate from your German registry office, and a nationality certificate, 36 euros each. After: the Moroccan certificate must be legalised to be used in Germany.
- United Kingdom
- Before: a certificate of no impediment from your register office if you live in the UK. If you live elsewhere, a marital status affirmation (50 pounds) and a certified passport copy (25 pounds) at the embassy in Rabat. The affirmation is valid for three months.
- Canada
- Before: the embassy in Rabat issues a certificate of non-impediment to marriage the same day, by appointment, for 50 Canadian dollars. Its list for the Moroccan authorities adds a criminal record check with an apostille.
- United States
- The embassy publishes a detailed list of papers. It stresses that the police record must be obtained before you come to Morocco. A Moroccan marriage is recognised in the United States and is not registered there.