Egyptian–Moroccan marriage: embassy approval and registration

What Morocco requires

Technical circular No. 1 of Egypt’s Real Estate Registry, dated 9 January 2018, requires prior marriage approval from the Moroccan embassy in Cairo before any Moroccan’s marriage, male or female, is registered in Egypt. On the Moroccan side, the application goes to the judge attached to the embassy, and the consul investigates and issues a certificate of no impediment; where that certificate cannot be had, a 2006 Moroccan Ministry of Justice circular lists substitutes and a consular inquiry. In a mixed marriage the Muslim spouse must be the husband, and a non-Muslim wife must be of a religion of the Book. In practice the embassy almost never issues the approval, so our Moroccan clients go through our alternative route, which does not depend on the embassy’s yes; the marriage ends up officially registered in Egypt, not urfi.

Papers a citizen of Morocco usually brings

• Moroccan passport and an Egyptian residence card: a tourist visa or visa on arrival is not enough, and we arrange the residence card with you
• Proof of your marital status
• The Moroccan embassy’s prior approval and certificate of no impediment, attested by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if the embassy issues them; our alternative route does not need them
• If you were married before: the divorce or death certificate, fully legalised for Egypt
• Medical certificates from a government hospital, for both of you
• Five recent photos and the Egyptian partner’s national ID
• Two Muslim witnesses: Morocco requires this for the marriage to be valid there

Making the marriage count in Morocco

Under Articles 14 and 15 of the Moroccan Family Code, a marriage concluded under local law is valid in Morocco if it has offer and acceptance, capacity, a guardian where needed, no impediment, no waiver of the dowry and two Muslim witnesses. A copy is deposited at the Moroccan consulate within three months and sent to the civil-status officer at each spouse’s place of birth, or in Rabat. A missing condition can be put right with an annex, and late deposit carries no penalty.

Problems we see often

• Waiting for the embassy. Its approval is formally required, but in practice it is almost never issued. If your embassy refuses or stalls the no-objection certificate, you can still marry: our Moroccan clients go through our alternative route, used for dozens of couples of every nationality, and the marriage ends up officially registered in Egypt, not urfi.
• An urfi (unregistered) contract is not a way round the embassy. It is not registered in Egypt, and the Moroccan community association warns it is not valid under the Maliki school followed in Morocco.
• An Egyptian husband taking a second, Moroccan wife faces the embassy’s conditions, and that is what pushes many couples into urfi marriages. Talk to us before you commit to anything.
• Morocco uses the apostille, but Egypt does not, so Moroccan documents need full legalisation to be used in Egypt.

Questions couples ask