Permanent Residence Card (carte de residence, 10-year)

Overview

Once you have lived in Morocco continuously and lawfully for several years, you may be able to move up from the shorter carte de sejour to the carte de residence - the longer card, typically valid for ten years and renewable. It is granted by the DGSN through the Service des Etrangers to foreigners who show regular, uninterrupted residence (commonly around four years) together with stable means, and certain people reach it sooner, such as the foreign spouse of a Moroccan after a qualifying period of marriage, people born in Morocco, or long-settled older residents. Because it confers durable, long-term residence, this route is treated as leading to settlement. Good to know: it is still a residence card, not Moroccan nationality, which is a separate process.

Eligibility

Application pathway

1. 01

   Check the route fit

   Confirm you meet the qualifying period of continuous residence, or a special basis that qualifies you sooner, on the official channels.

2. 02

   Build the evidence pack

   Assemble proof of your residence history, any special-basis documents, your passport and proof of means.

3. 03

   Submit through the official channel

   Apply for the carte de residence at the Service des Etrangers of your prefecture, where the DGSN processes it.

4. 04

   After approval

   Hold the longer card, renew it before expiry, and consider whether the separate naturalisation route is right for you over time.

Also explored by

Compare Kingdom of Morocco with

• 🇨🇲 Republic of Cameroon
• 🇹🇬 Togolese Republic
• 🇧🇮 Republic of Burundi

Related routes

• Work Residence Card (carte de sejour, salarie)

  For foreign nationals taking up a job in Morocco: this is the employment-based residence card (carte de sejour) you hold once a Moroccan employer has secured an ANAPEC-authorised work contract for you, letting you live and work in the country lawfully.

• Self-funded Residence Card (retirees and people of independent means)

  For retirees and people who can support themselves without working in Morocco: this residence card (carte de sejour) lets you live in the country on the strength of your own income or savings, without needing a local employer.

• Family Residence Card (regroupement familial)

  For the spouse and children of someone already settled in Morocco: this family-reunion residence card (regroupement familial) lets close family members live in Morocco on the basis of their relationship to a resident or to a Moroccan national.