Moroccans are the largest foreign community in Spain, and most newcomers arrive to join family already settled there, to work or to study. Almost every move requires a visa, but you benefit from a social security agreement, driving licence exchange and seven Spanish consulates general across the country. Here are the usual routes and how to prepare Moroccan documents.
Key facts
- Entry: Moroccan passport holders need a visa even for short Schengen stays. To live in Spain you need a national residence visa for a specific purpose: family, work, studies or another ground.
- Citizenship: the general requirement is 10 years of legal, continuous residence. When taking the oath you must declare that you renounce Moroccan nationality (art. 24 of the Civil Code); its effect in Morocco depends on Moroccan law. Besides the CCSE test, you need the DELE A2.
- Documents: Morocco has applied the Hague Convention since 2016, so an apostille is enough. Documents in Arabic or French need a sworn translation into Spanish.
- Driving: there is an exchange agreement. Once resident you can drive for six months on your Moroccan licence and exchange it without a test for cars and motorcycles, provided you obtained it before becoming resident in Spain.
- Social security: the Spain–Morocco agreement lets you combine contributions from both countries.
How people usually move
- Family reunification. This is the most common route. A relative legally resident in Spain can bring a spouse, children and, under conditions, parents once they have held residence for at least one year and have obtained or applied for renewal. The visa is filed at the consulate for your home address. Family reunification
- Arraigo. If you already live in Spain, after 2 years of continuous stay and with no criminal record you may qualify for social, socio-labour or socio-training arraigo (family arraigo, for example for the parent of a Spanish child, has no such minimum). The 2026 extraordinary regularisation closed on 30 June 2026. Arraigo
- Work. With a job offer from a Spanish employer, the employee work permit is processed first and then the visa. For farm seasons such as the Huelva berry harvest there is collective hiring at origin (GECCO): selection takes place in Morocco, multi-year permits of up to 4 years allow work for up to 9 months a year, and you must return home after each season. Employment permit
- Studies. A degree, master’s or vocational course with a study authorisation, which allows work up to 30 hours a week. Time as a student does not count towards citizenship. Study permit
- Family of a Spanish or EU citizen. Marriage or registered partnership with a Spanish or EU citizen, or dependent children and parents. Family member of a Spanish or EU citizen
Documents and apostille
- Criminal record: the fiche anthropométrique issued by the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), which can be requested online through its E-Police portal, or an extract of the casier judiciaire. It usually has to be recent (many consulates ask for less than 3 months), apostilled and with a sworn translation.
- Civil status records: full copy of the birth certificate and marriage certificate, recent, apostilled and translated. To bring children, also the family book or the children’s certificates.
- Apostille: in Morocco it is issued by the courts (first instance and appeal) for judicial and notarial documents, and by provincial and prefectural authorities of the Ministry of the Interior for administrative ones.
- Sworn translation: Arabic and French documents are not accepted without a sworn translation into Spanish by an authorised sworn translator. Check whether your consulate accepts translations done in Morocco.
- Driving licence: keep it valid; to exchange it at Spain’s DGT you must be legally resident in Spain.
What to keep in mind
- Spain has seven consulates general in Morocco: Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Tetouan, Nador, Larache and Agadir. You apply at the one covering your home address. Visa applications are filed by appointment through BLS International centres.
- Appointments are scarce, especially before the summer: book early and be wary of anyone selling appointments or promising visas.
- Common mistakes: expired criminal records, non-sworn translations and photocopies made before the apostille. The copy must include the apostille.
- In Spain: register at the town hall (padrón) and, if you came with a residence visa, apply for your TIE within the first month. If you may later rely on arraigo, keep proof of your presence from day one.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give up Moroccan nationality to become Spanish?
Spain asks you to declare renunciation at the oath, because Morocco is not among the countries exempted by art. 24 of the Civil Code and has no dual nationality treaty with Spain. What that declaration means in Morocco is a matter of Moroccan law. You need 10 years of legal, continuous residence, the CCSE and the DELE A2.
Can I drive in Spain on my Moroccan licence?
Yes, for the first six months of residence. After that you must exchange it at the DGT: for cars and motorcycles there is no test, provided you obtained the licence in Morocco before becoming a resident of Spain.
How do I get a seasonal farm job in Spain?
Through collective hiring at origin (GECCO). Spanish companies request workers for a season, selection is organised in Morocco with the Moroccan authorities and the visa is issued before travel. At the end of the season you must go back and prove your return, which allows you to be hired again in later years.
Official sources
- Embajada de España en Rabat: consulados generales en Marruecos
- BLS International: centro de solicitud de visados para España en Marruecos
- Consulado General en Casablanca: requisitos del visado de trabajo (antecedentes, apostilla, traducción)
- HCCH: autoridades competentes para la apostilla en Marruecos
- Comisión Europea: nueva orden GECCO de contratación en origen (2025)
- DGT: países con convenio de canje