Morocco has sharply criticised Spain’s recent regularisation of undocumented workers, blaming it for a surge in attempted crossings at the Ceuta border. At the same time, Rabat is reshaping its own migration policy, granting visa exemptions to citizens from a growing list of African nations and positioning the country as both a destination and a transit point for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants.
Justice Minister Abdelatif Uahbi has publicly questioned Spain’s decision to accept and regularise migrants who entered irregularly, suggesting it triggered a so-called “pull effect” behind the estimated 80,000 people who arrived at the enclave at the end of July. Ceuta, with a population of roughly 84,000, is one of the EU’s few land borders with Africa, alongside Melilla. Spain’s government rejects the claim that its regularisation programme caused the crossings: the scheme applies to people who met residence requirements by the end of 2025 and excludes those who arrived during the July episode.
While Morocco continues to block many from reaching Europe, Uahbi did not mention that his own government has regularised over 50,000 migrants since 2014. Most are sub-Saharan Africans now working in sectors including canning and tourism, with others employed in agriculture. Moroccan authorities have disputed allegations that they deliberately enabled the mass crossing, saying they deployed police patrols and warned organisers and participants about the legal consequences. The episode has also drawn attention to the two countries’ readmission arrangements and their continuing dispute over responsibility for border enforcement.
Since 2014, Morocco has run two major regularisation campaigns, making it the first African country to do so on such a scale. In parallel, Rabat has lifted visa requirements for nationals from at least ten African countries, including Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as Mali since April. These countries are major sources of economic migrants and refugees. The Kirikou Association, which supports sub-Saharan children and receives state funding, describes Morocco’s new legal structure as a turning point in its approach to African migration.
Morocco’s visa shift is closely tied to its broader diplomatic strategy in Africa, particularly the Western Sahara dispute. Since rejoining the African Union in 2017 after decades of absence, Morocco has sought to strengthen alliances by easing entry for citizens of Algeria and Tunisia, along with those of Senegal, Gabon, Togo and other countries. The government has also launched the Atlantic Initiative, offering landlocked Sahel states including Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as Niger, access to the Atlantic through Moroccan infrastructure. The port of Dakhla is envisaged as a basic outlet. The plan has been described as offering potential road access to the coast, with rail links planned for the future. As reported by the official portal Le 360, Morocco is using political diplomacy and investment, alongside infrastructure projects, to cement its role as a gateway between Africa and international markets.
Sub-Saharan migrants now live alongside thousands of African students in Morocco, many of whom receive government scholarships as part of diplomatic outreach. Churches, abandoned after independence in 1956, have become social hubs for these communities. Yet life remains precarious for many irregular migrants on the outskirts of Casablanca, Tangier and Rabat, where they wait for a chance to reach Europe. Some risk dangerous crossings; others face police raids that push them further from the Spanish border. Information from an analysis by russpain.com, recent mass attempts to enter Ceuta were part of a coordinated effort, not spontaneous events, complicating matters for Spanish and Moroccan authorities.
Spain has responded with returns, emergency accommodation and asylum processing. The government said more than 12,700 people returned to Morocco between 10 August and 20 October 2026, and that most adults still in Ceuta were housed in facilities provided by the central government. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said up to 1,200 asylum applications had been received, with 700 resolved. He described the returns as voluntary and said, “There are no covert deportations under any circumstances.”
The handling of arrivals remains subject to individual asylum and return procedures. Human-rights organisations have stressed that ordinary procedures require identification and an individual case file, as well as legal assistance, an interpreter and the chance to apply for asylum. They have also pointed to court rulings that maritime arrivals and people intercepted at sea cannot automatically be handled through the same “hot returns” mechanism used for certain border crossings. The EU’s new migration pact is intended to allow border-zone processing and faster procedures in future emergencies, but it does not require applicants to remain in the border area where they first arrive.
Some migrants have found stable work in sectors where local labour is scarce. At King Pelagique, a major fish processing company near Dajla in Western Sahara, half of the 2,400 employees are sub-Saharan Africans. Most are women, all have formal contracts and earn the minimum wage. The company’s director, Reda Chami, points to the difficulty of recruiting local staff for such demanding jobs.
Morocco’s developing migration policy reflects domestic needs alongside regional ambitions. Its regularisation drives and visa relaxations form part of a broader effort to build influence in Africa while managing migration flows. The dispute with Spain over the Ceuta crossings, including disagreements about regularisation, asylum processing and returns, shows how national policies intersect with cross-border pressures. Spain and the EU are seeking to ease pressure on reception facilities while applying individual safeguards. Morocco’s dual role as gatekeeper and destination is likely to remain basic to regional migration dynamics.
