Morocco confirms the veto on Spanish visas of limited validity to enter Ceuta and Melilla

MADRID, 29 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Moroccan authorities have confirmed this Friday the veto on visas with a limited duration issued by the Spanish consulates for those cross-border workers who want to enter Ceuta and Melilla.

According to sources from the newspaper 'Al Ahdath al Maghribia' cited by the news portal Le360, the Moroccan border authorities have received instructions not to accept 24-hour visas issued by the Spanish consulates in Tetouan and Nador.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already "studying" the refusal of the Moroccan authorities, as confirmed by the Government Delegation in Ceuta Cristina Pérez to Europa Press at the beginning of March.

Cross-border workers could enter Ceuta and process their documentation with the National Police thanks to a visa with territorial validity limited to the city and a single entry, to be made within a month.

After the reopening of the land borders of Ceuta and Melilla almost two years ago, all Moroccans who wish to access them must have a Schengen visa and residents in the regions of Tetouan and Nador, as until 2020.

The number of foreigners documented with that figure in Ceuta is now around a thousand, approximately 70 percent domestic workers. Before the pandemic, there were more than 2,200 Moroccan women in the city registered as Social Security contributors in that regime and the total volume of people who accessed the city to work regularly or irregularly was estimated at around 8,000.