Pathway 01 · for remote workers
Digital Nomad.
Morocco has no digital-nomad visa. It has something more ordinary: a residence card you can qualify for with steady remote income. That’s good news. Ordinary processes have precedents, paper trails, and predictable outcomes.
2–6 months
landing to card in hand, typically
≈ £1,200+ / mo
steady income most files show
1 year
the usual first card, renewable
Estimates from recent applicants. There is no published income minimum.
The legal basis
You’re not asking for aspecial visa. You’re askingto live here, with proof.
The carte de séjour law predates remote work by decades. What a préfecture wants to see is simple: that you live at a real address, that money arrives every month without you taking a Moroccan job, and that your record is clean. A remote worker with contracts and bank statements fits that frame naturally.
Because there’s no dedicated nomad category, practice varies by city. Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Tangier see these files constantly. Smaller préfectures may ask more questions. Where you sign your lease is, quietly, a strategic decision.
Ninety days visa-free applies to most Western passports. If you need a visa to enter, the sequence gains a step at the start. The checker accounts for it.
The file
Seven documents,gathered calmly.
Anything foreign gets translated into French or Arabic by a sworn translator. That’s where the time goes.
- 01
Passport, valid well past your intended stay
plus a copy of the identity pages, entry visa, admission number and date of entry
- 02
A registered lease, or the property deed if you own
the anchor document. It decides which préfecture handles you
- 03
Bank statements, three to six months
the notice asks for evidence of sufficient means without naming a figure. Regular arrivals carry more weight than the balance
- 04
Proof of remote income
contracts, invoices, or a letter from your employer abroad
- 05
Criminal-record certificate from your home country
the notice sets no expiry, but in practice a certificate more than about three months old gets questioned. On renewal this comes from the Moroccan authorities instead
- 06
Medical certificate
from any local doctor; a short consultation, not an examination
- 07
Six colour photographs, 3.5 by 4.5 cm
plain light grey background, face and ears uncovered, no tinted glasses. A high-street passport photo usually fails on both the background and the ears
- 08
Two préfecture forms, each in duplicate
the demande de titre de séjour and the fiche jaune. Four sheets in total, in French. Arriving with one copy of each is the commonest reason a file is handed back
- 09
A signed undertaking not to take up regulated work in Morocco
required by the visitor category. It does not restrict what you do for clients or an employer outside Morocco
The sequence
Four stretches of time.
Before you fly
4–8 weeks
Order the slow documents from home: the criminal-record certificate and any apostilles. They can't be conjured from Marrakech later, and they expire. Time the order so they're fresh when you land.
Weeks one to six
on the ground
Find the apartment and sign a real lease. Open the bank account if you can. Some banks will, some won't, and it helps the file. Get the translations done by a sworn translator.
Before day ninety
the deadline
File at the préfecture of your address. Expect a conversation in French, a check of every page, and possibly a request for one more document. You leave with a récépissé. You're now legal past your ninety days.
The wait
1–5 months
The card is processed. The récépissé renews if it takes long. Then a phone call or a visit, and you hold a carte de séjour, usually one year the first time and longer on renewal.
Money
The card is cheap.The file around it isn’t free.
Residence card fee
≈ 100 MAD / year of validity
Sworn translations, typical file
£80–200
Home-country paperwork
£40–120
Medical certificate
£25–50
Typical all-in
£150–400
Estimates, excluding rent. Family members add roughly half again each.
Worth knowing
Préfectures differ. The same file that sails through Marrakech may get an extra question in a small town. This is normal, not a bad sign.
The process runs in French. If yours is thin, budget for a translator or a patient friend. It changes the texture of every visit.
Taxes are a separate question. Residency and tax residency are related but not identical; past 183 days, talk to an accountant.
Nothing here is legal advice. Rules shift quietly; confirm the current document list with your préfecture before you file.