Mixed marriage 2021

88kasa wrote:

Does anyone know how long after the police interview the file is returned to the family court. The current procedure requires the file to be sent from the local police to Rabat police for investigation and then returned to family court..has anyone got information about this ?

Hi.

Have you conducted the police interview as yet?

Usally the officer who does the interview does the appropriate checks usually one say then the main police director has to sign and stamp and they send it back to the courts.

Hi, yes I've conducted the police interview in Casablanca, and the officer said the file has to be sent to Rabat police and then they will then send it back for the family court. It's not like before where it would be sent from local police to the family court. I was wondering how long this proces takes now with the extra step of semdinf police file to Rabat.. I asked the family court they said they can't say  exactly how long this extra step takes ... And didnt want to help much with time frame

I got married in June 2021 in Casablanca. The entire process took 8 weeks. The police investigation (the second to last step of the process) takes 14 days.

Getting married in Morocco is a very stressful and tedious process. You need A LOT and I do mean A LOT of patience to go through the process. If you're an American getting married there, the information on the US Embassy site (the check list) is wrong). The fees are a lot more than it states and there are important steps missing. The court does not go by that list.

From my experience...
- The checklist from the US Embassy is only an outdated "guide". There are a lot of steps missing.
- Both, bride and groom, must have proof they are Muslim, even if they swear and say shahadah to their face, wear niqab and thobe...it doesn't matter. Have it with you, even if you are Christian or Jewish, have a document of your faith with you. They love to make life difficult for everyone in the court house, so the more you take with you, the better. You get this document from a doula- good luck finding one.
- Both, regardless of nationality, have to have a local police report (Americans need this as well) and one from Rabat- two reports. In Rabat you will also get the American Affidavit Permission to Marry certified. You have to go to two different places.
- Americans need to go to the US Embassy (make an appt at the morocco us embassy site) and get an affidavit of permission to marry. Here you, only the American, goes in and shows them their passport, shows them divorce decrees, if any, and signs a paper confirming they are free to marry. The US Embassy will then certify the affidavit. $50 for the affidavit, $50 to get it certified.
- Both need to have their passport and ID card photocopied and have it certified in Morocco by the government agency that does it. Americans also have to have their passport copy of picture and the entry stamp notarized at the US Embassy (as the previous comment stated).
- The  doula charges approximately 500-800 dirham- good luck finding one.
- Both have to have copies of the birth certificates certified by the government agency that does it. Americans, if you do not have a copy and you give the court your original, they will keep it. Make sure you have a copy of it because they don't care if it is not permissible to the USA government or not, they will take it. They will keep all original documents you give to them, including any copies you give to them. Make sure you leave them with certified copies of whatever they need to have.
- Everything in English must be translated, including birth certificate. A translator in Morocco, not outside of it that is certified to do translate. This is expensive, call around for quotes or visit in person for quotes. The US Embassy has a list of translators you could call.
- Copies of any prior marriages that ended aka Divorce papers, must be copied, translated if in English or non Arabic and get certified at the government agency that does it.
- Once you have a set of all of your documents with their translations go to the court house. Do not go to the courthouse with incomplete things because they will reject you and you would have to start all over again the next morning. You have to arrive between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. They will not take anyone after 11 a.m.- at all! Unless they specifically made an exception for you which is RARE. You will then get the okay that your papers are in order. Go to the woman who does the photocopies. She will make 4 copies of everything but MOST IMPORTANTLY she will also put it in the order the courthouse wants it to  be. Don't try to do it yourself, trust me it's worth paying extra dirhams to get this done there. It is a headache.
- Once you finally get the clearance from everyone and all departments from all over the place (Subhana Allah) and the court gives you the okay to marry...you go to the doula and finalize this step with them. It will take approximately 3 days to get your marriage certificate. Americans, get this translated. Get two originals of the translation, one for you and one for your spouse to keep.
- Make sure you set aside at least two months to get everything done, in case you have any setbacks. This is a mission.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the information, much appreciated, as I'm also doing the process right now in Casablanca.

Can I ask did it take you the full 14 days for the police interview file to arrive in court or was it less than this for your case ?

Also do you remember how you knew the police file has arrived back from Rabat, did they call you once the file arrived at the family court ?

Thanks again for all the information.

I did the entire process in February and it took 3 weeks.  It all depends on what city you are in and if you have contacts that can help push the process along….someone to nag on your behalf that will be listened to per se.   our police stuff took less than 5 days including interview.  Small cities are faster than large cities. Also note you will need a translator present when you go before the judge so have one lined up.

I got married in casa and the Judge spoke English.

Rabat was easy. You get the police report within an hour or so. I got the Affidavit to Marry in casa, the certification from Rabat and the police report from Rabat in the same day. They close at 4 or 4:30 p.m.

You both also have to get a medical certificate from the hospital that you're in good health.

The Police interviewed my husband and I. They ask about both of our history, school, marriages, where you live(d), work, family, etc. Mostly he was interviewed and they speak English there as well. They take up to two weeks. My husband would go in person every few days to check if they finished. For us it took 10 days. Don't wait for them to call you, go in person at the courthouse and check on the second floor. We never received a call. When they finished, we both had to be there.

What took us the most time was getting all the documents and certifications they needed. This part depends on whether you have everything or you don't. But the Police portion, you have to wait and ask them in person if you want to.

If you're an American, you don't need to return to the Embassy for any certifications from them. The doula might suggest it, but the Embassy says you don't need to. The USA automatically accepts the marriage. You just have to get it translated.

Yep Rabat was quick.  I did embassy 1 day, Rabat the next, and then headed out to her birth city to finish.  Medical was 10 minutes.  The court and police are the longest.   The police were faster than the courts.  She had to act as translator for the police.  But the spouse isn't allowed to translate with the judge. The judge is the  one who approves or denies it all.  He was the most professional out of all during the process.  The abdouk charged around 1200 dirhams to execute the papers after the judge approved.  You will need details of the mahr worked out when you see the abdoul and will also need a mahram if you are marrying a female (Muslim)

The spouse is not allowed to translate when meeting the judge ? Are you sure ... I don't speak Arabic or French..

In casa, I didn't need a translator. I only speak English and Spanish. My Husband was the one speaking to the Judge. The Judge speaks English, but he didn't say much to me. He just reviewed our papers and that's it. I'm Muslim since 2006 and I didn't have the paper that said I'm Muslim. I wore a full Islamic dress with niqab and they still didn't accept me. They wanted a certificate. So we had to go to the doula for me to get one. It was just ridiculous. I even got upset with the Judge and told him that's just ridiculous. I know my Deen, I said shahadah, recited Quran and still. So yeah...they do whatever they want. If they really want to make it difficult for you, they will find any little stupid thing to do so. But they never said we need a translator and the Judge speaks English.

Honestly, I didn't even realize we were talking to the Judge because he looked like any other business man behind a desk. In the USA, oh you know who the Jidge is. Their presence are very intimidating. I would just wonder about that and think about imagine when we stand in front of Allah the feeling will be far worse. These are just humans

Guess it's city dependent.  We absolutely had to have a translator.  It is even documented in the marriage certificate.  Our judge was quite intimidating haha

Lol I remember walking out when we finished with him and asked my husband "what about the Judge? Aren't we going to see him?" He was like that was the Judge. I had asked him like 3 times are you sure that was the Judge?" I couldn't believe it was him. He looked like a regular businessman in a suit.

Casa didn't ask for a translator. Even the several doula we visited all spoke English.

In Morocco, anything goes there. They don't have a consistent way of doing things. They do whatever they like. It's always best to get more things than less. In casa, the court has a list of things you need to take. Get that list and get everything you need. Make sure you know where to get the certifications. We wasted a lot of time finding out where to go because there wasn't any guidance. Since your husband is Moroccan, he probably has an idea. We would ask police officers or military people where the places would be. Sometimes they helped, sometimes they didn't.

Oyyy, I'm reading all these stories and I am feeling overwhelmed 🤣🤣 I am getting married in Agadir and right now the process is through the court...just submitted the documents and I needed 4 copies of each document, lol. The Embassy documents, I had to translate as well and I wasn't aware of that..Anyhow, I am going back to court and I hope it won't take more than a week as I have 2 weeks to finish everything before going back to Canada

I really hope the police portion will be quick. Let them know at the interview you need it done soon because you have to go back.

I don't know why halal is so difficult in Morocco and haram is so easy. Subhana Allah.9

merka1975 wrote:

Oyyy, I'm reading all these stories and I am feeling overwhelmed 🤣🤣 I am getting married in Agadir and right now the process is through the court...just submitted the documents and I needed 4 copies of each document, lol. The Embassy documents, I had to translate as well and I wasn't aware of that..Anyhow, I am going back to court and I hope it won't take more than a week as I have 2 weeks to finish everything before going back to Canada

Have you had your police interview yet? (This seems to take the longest part)

E Abreu wrote:

I really hope the police portion will be quick. Let them know at the interview you need it done soon because you have to go back.

I don't know why halal is so difficult in Morocco and haram is so easy. Subhana Allah.9

To be honest I can understand why they do this in Morocco. There is a greater prevalence of poverty in the country compared to say the Gulf or Western countries. This opens an opportunity for men to come to Morocco to marry with intentions of marrying for the "short term" and moving on when bored. I think the procedures for mixed marriage are an attempt to curb this behaviour.