British wife of Morocccan husband (moving to Morocco)

hi sunflower,

I'm English, married to a Moroccan man and we have lived in Marrakech on and off for 10 years. We have an apartment in Gueliz at the moment, but we have lived in the medina.

Currently I am in Torquay Devon helping my daughter move into her new flat.

But when I return around 15th September (2013)it would be nice to meet up for a coffee.

I haven't found it so easy to meet English speaking people. Many are busy with their riad businesses etc or are transient owning homes in varoius parts of the world, so that you pass like ships in the night!

Have you settled in now happily and have you sorted out all the rules and regulations etc ?

Hi Coffee, anyone

I'm half Moroccan half Egyptian born in London and studied & spoke only English growing up. I have been living in Marrakech for the past 6 years and would also like to meet more English speaking people. If you would like to meet for a coffee, please let me know.

To meet other English people, you could go to the quiz nights at Café des Livres or join the British Business Group.

Hope to see you and maybe sunflower soon!

Hi

you come in on yr passport   you have 3 months   to start the process of residency   it is not difficult  there are 2 different ways to obtain residency   1) thru your marriage to a Moroccan   2) the other if you start a business   it takes paperwork and rime but its not that difficult    but  you dont n,eed to explain that as you enter the country as mentioned you have 3 months to obtain the residency

cheers

@sunflowers1980....you enter as a tourist and like Kaan said you have 3 months to start the process of your residency. Since you are leagally married you should have no problem staying in Morocco and you will eventually get your residency card, just prepare for lots and lots of paperwork and such..... as far as refusing to let you stay in the country that I never heard of in case of marriage, maybe in case of work related residency?!?!?
Good luck and looking forward to meet all of you one day
I got married in November of last year and I did not get my actual residency card until the beginning of 2013 but I was giving a reference number in case I need to leave the country.
peace
Sahar

hi my names Sue. i live in Marrakech with my husband Hicham. im originally from Southend on sea Essex....when u come back id love to meet up and have coffee with you. if u want to then contact me on    sunnisu@ yahoo.co.uk      lk forward to hearing from u Sue.x

Hi, thanks for replying to my post. I'm sorry for not having answered your message earlier - haven't been on here much recently. Ahh Torquay in Devon, I used to go there every year on holiday when I was a kid! It brings back memories How long have you been living in Marrakech and how did you settle in? I haven't moved yet (still in the process of thinking about it, haven't made a final decision yet but it's looking more likely that we'll have to live there because it's so hard to get non-EU spouses over to the UK) Do you work in Marrakech? Yes, I'd love to meet up for coffee if I end up moving (will probably know for sure within the next few months) but will certainly keep you updated Thanks again for getting in touch x

Hi Sue, thanks for getting in touch, it's always nice to hear from new people! You must be the expat who recently met up with Zena (from London) I'm friends with her (we met through our husbands who are good friends), she told me that she met someone nice called Sue/Sunni through this forum so I guess it's you :)Yes, I'd love to meet up next time I'm in Marrakech. Still haven't made any final decision about moving over there permanently but I visit as often as possible, so would be lovely to meet up..Maybe the 3 of us

Hi ladies,

How are you? I hope life here is treating you well.

I hope everybody is enjoying the sunshine.

My name's Natasha and I'm originally from Northampton, England. I have just married my fiance Jaouad and we live in Tan Tan Plage. We have spent a lot of time visiting other cities and know Marrakech and Agadir very well.

I am happy to see other English-speaking women getting in contact with each other, it's like a piece of home away from home.

Keep in touch, would be nice to know how everyone is getting on.

Take care

x

I didn't know that so many english-speaking peopel live in marrakech. I'm actually from switzerland but do speak a little engilsh. Never learned it at the school but I'm sure peopel do understand me. I would also like to meet some of u guys even if I'm not from UK :-D

so that we can exchange experiences and / or we can help in certain situations. vitamin b is always good.by vitamin b I have found an apartment and work.

I'm not really that much in Expat.com, so I will write here my FB Name if u wanna contact me. At the moment I'm in switzerland vist my Family. So my FB Name is Latifah Bint Al Islam (if u contact me just do write from where u have it).




Now to the actual Topic. I just began to make my residence permit. I do need copies of my passport, copies of my husbands identity card,working confirmation from you and / or your husband (if you have a Job),Translation and confirmation of your wedding documents,a confirmation from the Ministry of Justice in rabat, that you never had problems with the Police, confirmation of your residence in Marrakech.
and further, I do not remember precisely. I have everything written down in marrakech but am currently in switzerland.

@Tasafout....
what do you mean by vitamin b?!?!?!?

hello
from what i understand it does not matter what wnich box you tick, once you are in morocco you can then proceed to apply for your residency, just be prepared to supply plenty of papers, i will ask a friend as to what docs you might need, hope this helps,
kind regards, touhami

sunflowers1980 wrote:

I'm a British citizen married to a Moroccan man and planning to settle in Morocco with him. He is from Marrakech, so we would probably settle in the Marrakech area.
When I enter Morocco with the intention of applying for residency, which box should I tick on my landing card (I mean the card that I hand in at immigration when arriving)..Is it best to tick "Tourism" is main reason for visit? That's the option I usually tick as there's no "family" visiting option on the card.

Which documents from the UK will I need to supply? And how soon after arriving in Marrackech can I start the residency application process?

So if this question has been asked before by other people in the same situation but I have been told so many different stories about the process. Some make it sound easy and straighforward, but others tell me it's a real hassle.

Can the Moroccan authorities "refuse" to let me settle there with my husband? I understand that the Moroccan government likes to keep couples/families together, so is there any possibility they would refuse to let me have permission to live there on a permanant basis? (Sadly we can't settle in the UK because we are unable to meet the long list of government requirements). I have visited Marrakech several times before and have no criminal records in any country, and have substantial savings.

I would really appreciate a step-by-step guide, as well as details of any officials in the Marrakech police/immigration departments who are particularly helpful/efficient!

When getting married in Marrakech we came across some exceptionally helpful officials who went out of their way to help us, but others were a waste of space. So any tips/guidance would be great.

Also, I'd love to hear from any other British girls settled in Marrakech as it would be nice to have new friends.

Thanks

hello
from what i understand it does not matter what wnich box you tick, once you are in morocco you can then proceed to apply for your residency, just be prepared to supply plenty of papers, i will ask a friend as to what docs you might need, hope this helps,
kind regards, touhami

In Swiss  we say Vitamin B when u find a job or anything during peopel u know (family,friends,friends from friends...)...

Hey

I've been living here a year and always happy to meet more English people:)

Let me know how your getting on?

Speak soon

Hello,

I've just seen your message. I'm also British and live in Marrakech with my Moroccan husband. We've been married 8 years and in Marrakech for 2 years. The Moroccan system still baffles me sometimes. All I can say is don't expect things to go to plan! The residency application can't be made until you have a moroccan address so you won't be asked about this at the airport. Just tick the tourism box. Forward planning is not the Marrakech way! You can stay as a tourist for 3 months but as long as you've made the application before the 3 months is up you're entitled to stay. The residence card can take about 3 months to be made so they'll give you a receipt that you can use in the meantime that you should carry with you. You'll need 2 photocopies of your passport (photograph and entry stamp pages), 2 photocopies of your birth certificate and 2 photocopies of a translation of your birth certificate. Hold on to the original birth certificate and the translation as they often assume that the uk has the same system as france and morocco (i.e their birth certificates only last 3 months so they'll always take the original). All the other documents you'll have to get once in morocco and are subject to change(!) but I can give you an idea from my last application earlier in the year if you need any advice. You're married so you won't be refused as long as you prove you can support yourselves. If your finances are in the uk and you don't have a convertible bank account (i.e pounds to dirham) then you'll need to open one to show you can transfer money from the uk if needed. Hope this helps. Paperwork will be your new best friend. Lucky you!! All the best, Jess.

Hi, I am not moving to Morocco but thinking of doing business there. It would be nice if we could meet up since you have been living in Marrakech for many years you many know the formalities or just have a chat really.
How do we get in touch since I am new here.
Many thanks
Tantely

Hi Sue,

My name is Fatene, I'm French, I live in France and work in Geneva.

I got your email adress from the Expat.com website, I'm planning to go to Marrakech in December and stay there for 6 months or so, to be with my fiancé.

I was surprised to see that there were so many English-speaking people in Marrakech, that's a good thing!

I know I could look for French people to hang out with but I lived in London for 3 years and since that experience, I became more international than anything!

It would be nice to meet in Marrakech for a coffee maybe, if you are still there! I'd like to make some friends when I'm there.

What about you? how is life for you in Morocco?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Fatene

Hi there,
Hope you don't mind me contacting you out of the blue like this but I have just been reading your helpful advice about applying for the Moroccan residence permit as the wife of a Moroccan.

I'm hoping to apply for a Moroccan residency permit but have a question regarding my birth certificate:
When we got married in Marrakech last year, the Morrocan authorities insisted on KEEPING my original birth certificate and left me with just a photocopy. Our marriage certificate mentions my birth cert and it's unique serial number (this appears in the top right hand corner of a full UK birth cert).

This meant I had to contact my local registry office and obtain a new "original" birth cert after returning to the UK. They issued this and it's the same as the first one but the serial number in the top corner is DIFFERENT to the one used for marriage purposes:

I know an original birth cert needs to be provided when applying for Moroccan residence card but will it matter if the serial number on the one I now have is different to the one shown on the marriage certificate?

Have you or any other Brits you know  been in this predicament? If so, how did you get around the issue and do the Morrocan authorites understand that each replacement UK birth cert has a different serial number (even though all other details remain the same?)

It's really not my fault that the Moroccan authorities kept the first one, I tried hard to get it back but they wouldn't let me have it back so now I'm really stressing that they might notice the descrepancy with the serial numbers and end up refusing my application for residence! Please let me know if you have any information or experience, thanks a million

Hi I actually have just taken my original cert back from the lawyers and left them a photo copy one so hopefully u will be able to do the same.

Hi sunflowers and welcome to Marrakesh.  I really do not think the different serial numbers not matching is going to matter - this is likely to be the least of your problems!  Based on my experience (used to be married to a Moroccan, I am British), your husband (not you) will need to show he has sufficient income to support you.  If he does, all will be hunky dory and you will have your residency relatively painlessly.  Having said that, I had my residency card from outside of Marrakech and the procedure may be different.  Good luck...

Hi CathyMarie,

Thanks for your reply.
Can't I just show the Moroccan authorities my own bank statements/savings to prove that I'm self-sufficient when applying for the residence card? I have substantial savings but my husband doesn't and he works on a cash in hand basis and doesn't have bank statements etc. I just think it would be easier to show my own statements? He can provide evidence of our address in Morocco though.

It is to do with cultural attitudes.  The assumption is that the husband will support the wife and not vice versa.

" I have substantial savings but my husband doesn't and he works on a cash in hand basis and doesn't have bank statements etc"

Oh dear.

CathyMarie wrote:

It is to do with cultural attitudes.  The assumption is that the husband will support the wife and not vice versa.

Hi CathyMarie, yes I know about the cultural attitudes and expectations I know my husband WILL support in terms of letting me move into his home and providing me with food (kind of goes without saying! And it's never been a problem all the times I'll stayed with him in the past), but as you may be aware - cash-in-hand payment is very common practice in Morocco, and although he works his wages are not put into a bank account so it would be kind of difficult to prove his earnings on paper :-/ Do you know if they are likely to insist on that particular aspect of the application? As I say, I do have savings and and very capable of supporting myself, should the need arise.

I hope the house is under your full ownership. And that you protect your substantial savings.

My home in the UK isn't under my ownership, it's owned by a relative. Or do you mean the Moroccan address I'd be moving into? The home in Morocco is owned by my in-laws, I understand that the head of the household would need to write a letter confirming that they allow me to live there.

My savings are very well protected ;-)

sunflowers1980 wrote:

Do you know if they are likely to insist on that particular aspect of the application? As I say, I do have savings and and very capable of supporting myself, should the need arise.

In the provincial town where I applied for my residency, yes.  I am a reasonably successful freelance translator with independent income.  This was completely irrelevant and they didn't want to look at my income.  They wanted ONLY proof of my husband's job, letter from his employer, salary slips, etc.

How long ago did you apply for residency? How did you find the process? My first encounter with Moroccan bureaucracy was when getting married in Marrakech, I'm just trying to get an idea about how long it generally takes and any hints/tips.