Côte d’Ivoire will introduce visa requirements to Morocco for all holders of ordinary Ivorian passports.
Through a statement provided by the Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the new measures are being taken in coordination with Moroccan authorities, VisaGuide.World reports.
The decision, according to the ministry, will be applied for a trial period of two years, starting from September 1, 2024.
The visa measure comes in response to the increased number of African migrants towards Mediterranean routes, with transit points being countries in North Africa and Morocco.
According to the ministry, the identification process shows that the majority of the irregular migrants are internationals falsely claiming Ivorian citizenship.
The Visa Measure Is Temporary & Will Not Affect Some Groups of People
As the Ivorian foreign affairs ministry explained, out of the 14,800 migrants reaching Lampedusa presented themselves as Ivorian citizens, however, only a few dozen were identified as actual nationals of Côte d’Ivoire.
Faced with the discovery of perfectly organized networks, with specimens of false passports and counterfeit stamps, the Ivorian government had to take measures, certainly painful for some of our compatriots, but having the advantage of drying up the sources of supply of the counterfeiters’ networks, by reinforcing ipso facto, the credibility of the Ivorian passport and national security.
At the same time, the Ministry emphasized that such a measure is not permanent, but a temporary suspension of visa exemption, stressing that the new changes do not apply to Ivorians holding diplomatic or service passports.
In addition, the new changes also exclude Ivorian citizens who obtain Schengen visas, as well as United Arab Emirates, United States, or Canadian visas.
The Ministry emphasized that the policy will be reevaluated after one year.
This is not a definitive reinstatement of the requirement for an entry visa to Morocco, but a temporary suspension of the benefit of the visa exemption for a maximum of two years, accompanied by an evaluation of the effects of the measure at the end of the first year.
The Ministry said the government is attempting to halt the operations of organized networks engaged in fraudulent activities such as the production of fake passports and counterfeit stamps, thereby tightening the security and enhancing the credibility of Ivorian passports.
Nationals of Morocco Account for a Significant Number of Irregular Migrants to Europe
Moroccans are among the top nationalities of irregular migrants to Europe, according to a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) provided last year.
The same revealed that Moroccans accounted for a total of 25 percent of irregular arrivals in Spain, ranking second after Senegal.
According to a report from IOM, in 2023, a total of 292,985 migrants and refugees reached Europe through the Mediterranean Sea and Western African Atlantic routes, accounting for a 55 per cent increase compared to 189,595 arrivals registered in 2022.