The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Salaheddine Mezouar, said he agreed with the ministerial departments concerned on several provisions to find sustainable solutions to difficulties and problems encountered by members of the Moroccan community residing abroad, particularly relating to civil status, registration of newborns, approval of documents and consular services.
Therefore, it was decided that the relevant government departments shall take the necessary steps to remove legal, organic and technical barriers for MRE, setting the end of August as the deadline to prepare all provisions related to these procedural reforms, he said.
These reforms concern the registration of documents, obtaining documents of civil status, the registration of children of MREs and travelling or commuting for obtaining these documents.
Thus, and according to the High Royal Instructions, it was decided to simplify the approval procedures for documents, according to the “Apostille” procedure laid down in international conventions (two stages instead of seven at present), making the necessary arrangements to enable MRE in the coming weeks, to approve their documents from local authorities in the different prefectures and provinces of the Kingdom, said Mr. Mezouar.
He added that the device of the e-consulate will be commissioned soon, while allowing users to pay for consular services by electronic means, specifying that a joint circular of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Interior, will be developed and carrying clear instructions for registration of names, with full respect for parental choice conformingly with the communiqué of the President of the High Commission of Civil Status.
The Minister noted that appropriate measures will be adopted to find practical solutions to the issues related to the civil status, and the harmonization of laws with the situation of MRE and the laws of the host countries through the simplification of procedures and digitization of records of civil status, which pose serious problems for MRE.
These reforms, the minister said, also include the extension of the validity period of the extract of the birth certificate of MRE that will be increased from three to six months to allow Moroccans abroad to use it as long as possible, adding that the Civil Procedure Code draft will provide that civil cases of MRE be processed by courts in a period not exceeding seven days.
Mezouar further noted that other measures will be adopted for better implementation of the High Royal Instructions.
