Morocco visa: who needs one (yes, Uruguay), what documents they ask for and where to apply

⚠️ Sensitive information — always check the official source

Visa requirements, quotas, amounts and dates change often. Every fact in this guide was checked against the official source on 2026-09-23 and we re-check it periodically, but before starting any procedure confirm the details on the official links (embassy, consulate or ministry) shown on this page. viajacongus.com does not process visas and does not replace official information.

💵 How much it costs

Not published in an accessible way. The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs does charge «chancellery fees» (droits de chancellerie) and its ordinary visas page refers to a list of rates («See the rates in force / see detailed fee rates»), but that rates page sits behind anti-bot protection and we could not read it on 23/09/2026. The fee also varies by consulate and local currency, because each representation charges in the currency of the country where it is located. Ask for the exact amount at the consulate that covers you before going, and don't take figures from blogs or agencies. One thing that is official and worth knowing: chancellery fees are paid AT THE TIME THE VISA IS ISSUED, not when you submit the application, because they are listed among the «documents to present at the time of issuance of the visa».

⏳ How long it takes

Not published. Neither the ordinary visas page nor the visa types page of the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives a processing time. What is published is that some files require prior approval from Rabat before the consulate can issue the visa —for example students at private higher education institutions, who need the Ministry's prior agreement, or artistic performances, which require the go-ahead from the Directorate of Consular and Social Affairs—, and that adds weeks. Book your appointment well in advance and ask your consulate for the estimated time.

📅 How long it's valid

They are two different things and the Ministry keeps them clearly apart. The VALIDITY of the short-stay visa runs «from one day to three months, or even one year on an exceptional basis», and it can come with two or more entries. The DAYS OF STAY each entry allows you range «between one and ninety days». In other words: there is no automatic 90-day period. The rule, word for word, is this: «The competent authority that issues the visa determines the duration of stay and the validity of the visa according to the applicant's profile, the type and category of visa requested and the number of entries». They give you the days they decide, and it can be far fewer than you asked for. For comparison: visa-exempt travellers get up to 90 days, a period that does not come from the exemption list —which doesn't say so— but from Law no. 02-03 of 11 November 2003, whose article 9.2 exempts from the registration card anyone staying up to 90 days and whose article 21.2 allows the expulsion of anyone who stays beyond three months without that card. If you have a visa and want to stay more than three months, you have to apply for a registration card (carte d'immatriculation) from the competent services of the Moroccan DGSN.

👤 Who needs it?

Morocco does not publish a list of countries that need a visa: it publishes the list of those EXEMPT. If your country is not on that list, you need a visa. Of the 28 nationalities we track, 13 are exempt: Germany, Andorra (listed as «Spain + Andorra»), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, United States, Italy, Mexico and Peru. The other 15 need a consular visa: BOLIVIA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, ECUADOR, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, GUYANA, HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PARAGUAY, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, SURINAME, URUGUAY and VENEZUELA. The most surprising case is URUGUAY: it is not on the official list of exempt countries, even though Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are. Nor is any country in Central America or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. And an important clarification about the AEVM, the Electronic Travel Authorization for Morocco that Morocco activated in 2025: IT DOES NOT COVER ANY OF OUR 28 NATIONALITIES. On the official list of exempt countries only three countries are marked «(Besoin d'une AEVM)»: Mali, Congo (Brazzaville) and Guinea (Conakry). If you are one of the 15 that need a visa, don't waste time looking for the AEVM or an e-Visa: your procedure is consular.

🧭 The step by step

Look up your country on the official list of exempt countries

This is the first step and the one that decides everything. Morocco publishes a single list, the one of countries whose nationals do NOT need a visa. If your passport is on it, there's no procedure: you arrive with a valid passport. If it isn't, you need a consular visa. Watch out for the list's format: Andorra appears within «Spain + Andorra» and Monaco within «France + Monaco», so look carefully. And pay attention to the brackets: some countries have special periods noted next to them (Maldives and Hong Kong, 30 days; Malaysia and Hungary, an explicit 90 days) and three are marked «(Besoin d'une AEVM)».

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: URUGUAY IS NOT ON THE LIST. It's the most expensive mistake for this destination: many people assume that if Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru enter without a visa, Uruguay does too. No. Neither do Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Guyana, Suriname, Cuba, the Dominican Republic or any Central American country.

Confirm it on Accès Maroc, the official checker

The Ministry itself has an eligibility checker at www.acces-maroc.ma. You enter six details —nationality, passport type, country of residence, whether you hold another valid visa, purpose of travel and date of birth— and the system tells you which procedure applies to you: whether you are exempt, whether you can get an electronic authorization or whether «the applicant is subject to the visa formality, to be lodged at the consular post». For our 15 nationalities that need a visa, the answer will always be that last one.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: Don't get your hopes up about the AEVM or the e-Visa the site mentions: they are for a handful of African nationalities. On the official list only Mali, Congo (Brazzaville) and Guinea (Conakry) appear with «(Besoin d'une AEVM)». None of our 28 can use it.

Find the Moroccan consulate that covers you

The visa is requested at the Moroccan embassy or consulate with jurisdiction over your place of residence, not at whichever one is most convenient. The Ministry has a consulate finder on its portal. If there is no Moroccan representation in your country, the official rule is: «For countries where Morocco is not represented, applications must be addressed to the diplomatic mission accredited to that country or to the Honorary Consuls. In the absence of such representations, applications shall be addressed directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Directorate of Consular and Social Affairs, Rabat Morocco (visa@maec.gov.ma) to have a visa lodged at the airport».

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: That last route —writing to visa@maec.gov.ma so they leave the visa for you at the airport— is the path for Uruguayans, Paraguayans and Central Americans who have no Moroccan consulate nearby. Start it well in advance: it's correspondence with Rabat, not a web form.

Book an appointment before going

The Moroccan consular portal has an online appointment request system for consular services. Book the appointment before gathering the documents, because the appointment date will set the calendar for everything else (and for the tickets it is still not advisable to buy).

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: Don't buy tickets before the visa is in your passport. The consular authority decides the days of stay and may give you fewer than you asked for; and the procedure has no published processing time.

Download and fill in the official form

It is the «Application form for an entry visa to the Kingdom of Morocco», a PDF downloaded from the Ministry's own site. Instruction, word for word: «it must be completed carefully in printed Latin characters». It can be filled in in Arabic, but surname, first name, parentage and place of birth must be in Latin characters no matter what. Fill it in by hand in block capitals or complete it on the computer and then print it.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: Cursive, small handwriting or crossings-out are grounds for having the form handed back and losing your appointment. If you make a mistake, print another one.

Get two 4x3 cm photos, colour, white background

The official requirement is specific: «Two recent colour identity photos on a white background (4 x 3 cm) clearly showing the facial features». That's two, not one. And the size is 4 by 3 centimetres, which is neither the Argentine ID size nor the US passport photo size: ask for that exact size at the photo shop.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: Plain white background, face uncovered and no shadows. An old photo or one with a light-blue background is one of the silliest reasons for being sent back another day.

Check your passport and photocopy it

Morocco's validity rule is its own and more lenient than other countries', but it has to be read properly: «Valid passport: the validity of the passport or travel document must be LONGER than the duration of the stay». It doesn't ask for six months: it asks that it outlast your stay. Besides the original, bring a photocopy of the pages showing identity and validity. And make sure you have at least one free page, because the visa is a sticker that gets affixed.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: Even if Morocco asks for less, the airline may apply its own rule of 6 months' remaining validity and refuse to board you. If you have less than 6 months left on your passport, renew it first.

Get proof of address

It goes as «Identity card or residence card or any document proving the address». If you reside in a country other than that of your nationality, this document is key: it is what shows that the consulate has jurisdiction over you. A national ID, residence permit or a utility bill in your name will do, depending on what the consulate accepts.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: If you apply at a consulate that is not the one for your place of residence, they reject the file without looking at it.

Put together the financial proof: there are three routes and you choose one

For the tourist visa, the Ministry accepts three alternatives, and one is enough. (1) A bank statement (relevé bancaire), which is the most common route and the right one if you travel on your own. (2) If a relative or friend in Morocco is inviting you, a duly legalized attestation de prise en charge, which must expressly include the guarantee to cover medical expenses and any repatriation. (3) If you go with an agency, the request from an authorized travel agency or a recommendation from the Ministry of Tourism or the delegation of the Moroccan National Tourist Office.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: The invitation letter is NO use unlegalized, and it's missing half if it doesn't expressly state that the host covers medical expenses and repatriation. That's the document that comes back rejected most often.

Submit the file at the consulate

At the appointment you hand in, in this order: the form, the two 4x3 photos, the document proving your address, the valid passport and its photocopy, and the financial proof you chose. Ask for a receipt with the file number.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: If you travel for a reason other than tourism (work, business, studies, conferences, medical treatment, artistic or sporting activity), the list of documents is DIFFERENT and considerably longer: employment contract endorsed by the Moroccan Ministry of Employment, invitation from a professional chamber, enrolment certificate, mission order, etc. Check the section for your purpose before putting the folder together.

To collect the visa, bring the second set of documents

This surprises almost everyone: there are documents that are NOT requested at submission but «at the time of issuance of the visa». There are four: a round-trip ticket with a firm booking; travel insurance; a hotel booking or presentation of a «voucher»; and the chancellery fees. In other words, the fee is paid only then.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: «Firm booking» means confirmed, not a 24-hour temporary hold. And travel insurance is mandatory for issuance: it is not optional.

Check the sticker before leaving the consulate

When they hand your passport back, look at the label: name, passport number, valid-from date, valid-until date, number of entries and authorized days of stay. Remember that the days of stay range from 1 to 90 and are decided by the issuing authority, not by you.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: If they gave you fewer days than you needed, it gets sorted out there and not in Morocco: «In accordance with the regulations in force, changing the type of visa already obtained is not authorized once the holder has entered Moroccan territory. A new visa must be requested from the applicant's country of residence».

Arrive prepared for border control

The visa is not a free pass. From the Ministry, word for word: «holding a visa does not confer an irrevocable right of entry. The check carried out when verifying a passport or travel document may also relate to the person's means of subsistence and reasons for travelling to Morocco and to repatriation guarantees». Bring printed copies of your return ticket, accommodation booking and insurance, and keep your cash or card handy.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: You enter Morocco with a PASSPORT. A European national identity card is no use even for crossing by ferry from Spain, even though the trip takes an hour.

If you are going to stay more than three months, apply for the registration card

A stay of more than 90 days requires the carte d'immatriculation, which is requested from the competent services of the DGSN (Morocco's General Directorate of National Security) once inside the country. Law no. 02-03 exempts from that card only those staying up to 90 days, and its article 21.2 allows the expulsion of anyone who stays beyond three months without it.

Go to the official site for this step →

Watch out: The long-stay visa (more than three months, multiple entries, maximum validity of one year) is issued by Moroccan representations only after prior consultation with the Ministry in Rabat: it is not settled at the counter.

Go to the official site →

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad — Kingdom of Morocco (embassies and consulates)

📋 What you need at hand

Official application form for an entry visa to the Kingdom of Morocco, completed in printed Latin characters
TWO recent colour identity photos, on a white background, 4 x 3 cm, clearly showing the facial features
Document proving address: identity card, residence permit or equivalent
Valid passport, with validity LONGER than the duration of the stay and with at least one free page (the visa is a sticker that gets affixed)
Photocopy of the passport: the pages showing identity and validity
Financial proof, one of these three: bank statement; or legalized attestation de prise en charge (family visit) that expressly includes the guarantee of medical expenses and repatriation; or request from an authorized travel agency / recommendation from the Ministry of Tourism or the Moroccan National Tourist Office
TO COLLECT THE VISA (requested only at delivery): round-trip ticket with a firm booking
TO COLLECT THE VISA: travel insurance
TO COLLECT THE VISA: hotel booking or «voucher»
TO COLLECT THE VISA: the chancellery fees (the fee, paid at that moment)
If you go for work: employment contract duly endorsed by the Moroccan Ministry of Employment
If you go for business: recommendation from the supervising Ministry (public contracts) or from professional chambers (private contracts), or a written invitation from an industrial, commercial or service operator, or an invitation from the organizer of the fair or exhibition
If you go to a congress or conference: invitation from the organizing body, and a mission order if you are a civil servant
If you go to study: enrolment certificate from a Moroccan university or institute, and in the case of private institutions, the prior agreement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
If you go for medical treatment: medical certificate, certificate of coverage of hospitalization costs and any repatriation by an insurer or bank guarantee, and admission agreement from the hospital

⚠️ The mistakes that cost you

Assuming Uruguay enters without a visa because Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru do. Uruguay is NOT on the official list of exempt countries and needs a consular visa.
Looking for a Moroccan e-Visa or trying to get the AEVM. Morocco's electronic authorization does not cover any of our 28 nationalities: on the official list only Mali, Congo (Brazzaville) and Guinea (Conakry) appear with «(Besoin d'une AEVM)».
Paying a website that promises a «Morocco visa online». There is no online procedure for our nationalities: the visa is requested at a consular representation and the label is stuck in the passport.
Not finding Andorra on the exempt list and concluding it needs a visa: it appears within «Spain + Andorra».
Submitting ONE photo instead of two, or with a light-blue background, or in a size other than 4x3 cm.
Bringing the form in cursive handwriting or with crossings-out: it is required in printed Latin characters.
Applying at a consulate that is not the one for your place of residence: the file is not accepted.
Bringing an invitation letter that is not legalized, or legalized but without the express guarantee to cover medical expenses and any repatriation. It's the document that generates the most rejections.
Going to the consulate with the ticket and the insurance thinking they are submitted at the start, and not having them on delivery day: they are requested when collecting the visa, not when lodging the application.
Buying tickets before having the visa. The days of stay are decided by the issuing authority, range from 1 to 90 and may be fewer than you asked for; and the Ministry publishes no processing time.
Believing the visa guarantees you entry. The Ministry makes clear that it does not confer an irrevocable right of entry and that at the border they can ask you for means of subsistence, reasons for travel and repatriation guarantees.
Trying to change the visa type once inside Morocco. It can't be done: you have to apply for a new one from your country of residence.
Going with a European national identity card, even for a one-hour ferry from Algeciras or Tarifa. You enter Morocco with a passport.
Staying more than three months without applying for the carte d'immatriculation from the DGSN: Law no. 02-03 allows expulsion.
Taking as good a fee figure taken from a blog or an agency. Chancellery fees are set by the Ministry, vary by consulate and currency, and you have to ask about them at the representation where you apply.

🔎 Where this comes from

← See the full entry requirements