Ivory Coast now requires a visa for Morocco

In Ivory Coast, the government recently announced the introduction of an entry visa for Ivorian citizens wishing to travel to Morocco.

This decision, resulting from negotiations between the Ivorian and Moroccan authorities, will come into force on September 1, 2024 and will be tested for two years. To better understand the motivations and implications of this measure, it is essential to examine the context and the objectives set by the Ivorian State.

Faced with the increase in illegal migration across the Mediterranean, with persistent flows using Maghreb countries as gateways to Europe, the governments concerned have put in place rigorous strategies to counter this phenomenon. Thus, Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire conducted a joint operation to profile migrants to identify their true origin. The results are worrying: among the 14,800 people supposedly Ivorian, only a handful were authentically confirmed as being of Ivorian origin.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire stresses that these figures reveal the existence of clandestine networks capable of producing false Ivorian identification documents, including fraudulent passports and stamps. This situation constitutes a serious threat to the integrity of the country’s identification system as well as to its national security.

Therefore, while the reintroduction of the visa requirement may seem burdensome to some citizens, it is crucial to combat illegal practices. By strengthening controls, this initiative aims to clean up the process and improve the credibility of the Ivorian passport internationally.

Furthermore, the authorities have indicated that this measure is temporary. It is not a definitive return to visa restrictions, but a temporary suspension of the exemption regime to assess its effects before taking a future decision.