Relais — information for migrants in Morocco

1. Operators: Maroc Telecom (IAM), Orange, inwi. Buy in an official shop with your physical passport (a copy is usually refused) or a residence permit — the law requires it, and a SIM in your own name cannot be cut off by someone else.
2. Without an ID you cannot register a SIM in your own name. A SIM registered to someone else can be blocked at any time and can be held against you — ask an organisation for advice rather than relying on it.
3. Recharge in any shop showing 'recharge' — ask for a 'forfait internet' (data bundle). Cafés often share WiFi if you buy a tea.
4. The UNHCR line accepts WhatsApp calls — with data or WiFi you reach it without credit. Save the important numbers in the phone AND on paper.

Keep the phone charged (a power bank if you can) and open this site once while online — it then works offline.

1. Agencies: Wafacash, Cash Plus, Western Union, MoneyGram (in banks and shops). The sender gives you a reference number — keep it private; only you and the agency need it.
2. Bring your passport. Agencies accept a valid ID to pay out — Wafacash lists the Moroccan ID card, passport and residence card; foreign passports are usually accepted for international transfers, but ask first, rules differ by agency. An organisation can tell you which agency works for people in your situation.
3. Opening a bank account depends on the bank and the type of account — ask, and bring your passport. Don't keep all your cash in one place or on you; leave some with a trusted person. UNHCR cash assistance exists but is targeted at vulnerable registered refugees — it is not a general service.
4. Fraud: no legitimate service asks you to pay to “release” a transfer, to register with UNHCR (which is free), or for a “guaranteed” job, visa or document. If someone asks for money before helping, do not pay and do not continue.

Sending money abroad from Morocco is restricted by exchange rules — family-support transfers have an annual ceiling (about 10,000 dirhams) and require documents. Ask an organisation or the agency before trying, and compare fees.

1. Intercity buses (CTM, Supratours): you must carry an ID — Moroccans and foreigners alike — and tickets are checked at boarding. Trains (ONCF) check tickets and sometimes IDs. Keep any identity or residence document you have accessible.
2. Identity checks are frequent on intercity roads, at bus stations and in stations. Always carry your documents — and if you are registered with UNHCR, your certificate. Keep the rights card ready.
3. Travel by day, in a group if possible, and tell someone your itinerary and expected arrival time.
4. In the city: petit taxis have a meter — ask for it ('le compteur'). Agree the price before a grand taxi ride.

Arriving in a city you don't know? The organisations listed for that city (see the directory) can help with the next step.

1. Find rooms through people you trust, community groups or organisations — never pay for a room you haven't seen.
2. Agree the rent, what is included (water, electricity) and the notice period in a message. If you pay a deposit, ask for a written note.
3. Ask for a receipt (quittance) each month with your name and the address: it is proof of residence for asylum, school and residence procedures.
4. Locked out, threatened, or documents kept by the landlord? Contact GADEM, Droit et Justice or CCSM — keeping your documents is illegal.

Nowhere to sleep tonight? Ask Caritas, the Diocesan Delegation (DDM), FOO or 100% Mamans (women) about emergency shelter — places are limited, call first.

1. Caritas centres, the Diocesan Delegation (Tanger, Nador, Al Hoceima), Église Saint-Louis (Oujda): check days and hours in the directory — capacity is limited.
2. Low-cost food: bread (khobz), lentils, harira soup, eggs, sandwich stalls. Vegetables are cheapest at the souk in the late afternoon, when prices drop.
3. In cities, tap water is treated; if you are unsure of the building's pipes or the area, a 5-litre bottle is inexpensive. In the countryside and desert, do not rely on it.
4. During Ramadan, free iftar meals (at sunset) are offered at mosques and in the streets — everyone is welcome to eat. Out of respect, many people avoid eating or drinking in the street during daylight.

Clothes and blankets for winter: ask the same centres in October–November, before the cold sets in.

1. Ramadan (about 11 days earlier each year; in 2027 roughly 8 February to 9 March): offices close early, cafés shut by day; nights are lively and free iftar meals exist.
2. Friday: many offices and shops close for the midday prayer, roughly early afternoon. Visit offices in the morning, Monday to Thursday, and check their hours.
3. School year: September to June. Enrolment is easiest before September (see Know your rights → School).
4. Weather: winter (Dec–Feb) is cold and wet in the north, and nights can be very cold; summer heat is dangerous outdoors — drink water and avoid the midday sun.

Public holidays and Eid: everything closes for 1–3 days — organisations too. Call before travelling to an office.

1. Keep the most important numbers — emergency lines, an organisation, one trusted person — written on paper or memorised as well, not only in the phone.
2. Be careful with other people's personal information on your phone: photos, messages or contacts that identify people who helped you can expose them if the phone is stolen or lost. Share such details only when necessary.
3. Set a screen lock, so a lost or taken phone does not open straight into your messages.
4. Keep one number for someone you trust who will always answer, and make sure they know your plan.
5. Know how to send your GPS position by SMS as well as by WhatsApp, so that help can find you in an emergency even when mobile data does not work.
6. Back up copies of your documents (photos of your passport, UNHCR certificate, prescriptions) somewhere safe — with a trusted person or in an account only you can open — so losing the phone does not mean losing them.

Numbers on paper, a screen lock, and one trusted person who knows your plan — those three protect you more than any app.

1. Find the centre de santé of your quartier (ask a neighbour or an organisation). Go in the morning; bring any ID.
2. Free there: basic consultations and the national programmes — vaccinations, pregnancy follow-up, TB and HIV testing.
3. Pregnancy, children's health, pharmacies, HIV/TB and mental health each have their own tile in this section — open the one you need.
4. With a residence card, ask an organisation about health insurance (AMO) — it may be possible.

Refused? Note the name and service, and call Caritas, MS2 or AMPF the same day — they can accompany you next time.

1. As early as possible (before 3 months): go to your neighbourhood centre de santé to open a pregnancy follow-up file — you'll get dates for the next visits. Bring any ID you have.
2. At the visits: weight, blood pressure, blood tests, tetanus vaccination (recommended for pregnant women in Morocco), advice on iron-rich food. Keep every paper you're given — it is your file for the delivery.
3. Delivery: at the public hospital's maternity. Emergency care and childbirth cannot be refused (see Know your rights). If you are asked to pay and can't, ask Caritas or MS2 for help before the birth, not after.
4. After the birth: the hospital gives a birth notice (avis de naissance) — declare the birth at the civil registry within 30 days (see Know your rights → Pregnant or under 18). The postnatal visit and the baby's vaccinations are at the same centre de santé.

Caritas, MS2, AMPF or 100% Mamans (Tanger) can accompany you the first time; being accompanied often makes the reception easier.

1. Night duty usually runs from about 20:00 to 08:00; day duty covers Sundays and holidays. The rota is set by the local pharmacists' syndicate or the health delegation.
2. To find today's: search 'pharmacie de garde' + your city — sites such as gardepharma.ma or pharmacieenpermanence.ma list them daily — or read the list posted on any pharmacy's door.
3. Some are 'volet fermé': you knock or call and the pharmacist serves you through a hatch. Bring the prescription (ordonnance) if you have one.
4. The price printed on the box (PPV) is the only legal price. Generic versions (génériques) are less expensive; ask for them.

Cannot pay? Caritas and MS2 have pharmacy help for the people they follow — ask before an emergency, not during one.

1. BCG is given at birth; the other vaccines follow the schedule over the first two years. Bring the child's health booklet (carnet de santé) — no booklet? Ask for one at the centre.
2. Missed doses can be caught up; go regardless.
3. Hospital urgences at once for: fever with a stiff neck or a rash that doesn't fade, breathing difficulty, repeated vomiting or diarrhoea with no urine, a child who cannot be woken, a burn or a deep wound.
4. Shared housing: scabies (intense itching, worse at night) and lice spread fast — the centre de santé treats them; wash bedding in hot water.

Organisations with programmes for children: Bayti (Casablanca), Fondation Orient-Occident, Caritas, ANIR (Agadir).

1. Free psychological or psychosocial support for migrants: Fondation Orient-Occident, MS2 and Caritas — ask for it when you contact them (see directory).
2. In a crisis — thoughts of ending your life: don't stay alone. Go to someone, or to the hospital urgences; call an organisation the same day.
3. Small things that work: a regular sleep time, daylight and walking, eating even without appetite, staying in contact with people, limiting alcohol.
4. Children show stress differently — nightmares, aggression, bedwetting. Routine and calm help; the same organisations support families.

Helping someone else: listen, don't judge, and go with them to an organisation.

1. ALCS testing centres (CIDAG) exist in Oujda, Nador, Tanger, Tétouan, Rabat, Casablanca, Fès, Meknès, Marrakech, Agadir, Laâyoune, Béni Mellal and other cities — no name asked. Current numbers and addresses: alcs.ma, or ask an organisation.
2. A positive test is not the end: with treatment you stay healthy and do not transmit the virus. ALCS counsellors take you to the care centre; for registered refugees, UNHCR's medical partners also cover treatment.
3. Cough for more than two weeks, night sweats, weight loss: get tested for TB at the centre de santé. Treatment lasts months — finishing it is what cures you.
4. Diabetes, high blood pressure, epilepsy: the centre de santé follows chronic illness; for medicines you can't afford, ask Caritas or MS2.

ALCS also runs sexual-health clinics, with support for victims of gender-based violence.

1. Go to the urgences of the public hospital. Or contact ALCS (WhatsApp/SMS +212 614 184 184): they send you to the HIV care centre, where PEP is free. You do not have to explain everything. Say: « J'ai été agressé(e), j'ai besoin d'un traitement d'urgence ».
2. At the hospital, ask for the unité intégrée for victims of violence. There are 113 of them in Morocco. Ask for: PEP against HIV, emergency contraception, treatment for other infections, and the medical certificate. The certificate is free. It is proof if you ever make a complaint, even much later. The unit may be open only in the daytime: at night, go to the urgences.
3. Confidential support: the women's protection line +212 767 05 20 43. Also 100% Mamans (Tanger), AVFM (Agadir), MZC (Tanger), and ALCS clinics. They give medical, psychological and legal help.
4. Making a complaint is your choice. Nobody can force you. You can do it later, with an organisation beside you. Nobody may ask for sex in exchange for help: that is exploitation. Report it to UNHCR or an organisation.

This is for everyone: women, men and children. Time matters most. Get care the same day.

1. The path: UNHCR registration → refugee status → BRA (Rabat) confirms it → apply for the carte de séjour at the bureau des étrangers of the police (préfecture) in your city.
2. Usually asked: passport or UNHCR/BRA papers, photos, proof of address (lease or attestation), birth certificate. Ask GADEM for the current list before you go.
3. Renew before it expires — start two months ahead. Keep every receipt (récépissé): it proves you are in the procedure.
4. Never hand original papers to an employer or landlord — give photocopies.
5. Under law 02-03, irregular entry or exit is punishable by 1 to 6 months, and staying without the required residence card by up to one year, plus a fine. This is one more reason to seek a legal path with an organisation rather than alone.

No status yet? Keep every proof of your presence in Morocco (rent receipts, school papers, medical papers): they count if a regularisation opens. GADEM can tell you what is possible now.

1. UNHCR paper lost or expired? Your registration still exists. Renew it before it expires. Call UNHCR's registration line first to ask how and when, in Rabat or during its visits to other cities.
2. Passport lost or stolen? You can declare the loss at a police station. Asking for asylum? Ask UNHCR's legal partner or GADEM before you contact your embassy. Contact with your country can affect your case.
3. Keep photos of every document on your phone and a paper copy with a trusted person. Never hand originals to an employer or landlord.
4. Problems about documents, residence or civil status? UNHCR's legal partner (Cabinet Lemseguem, +212 537 80 54 35) defends registered refugees and asylum seekers for free.

Rejected by UNHCR? You have 30 days to appeal in writing. The Clinique Juridique Hijra helps you write the appeal.

1. Write down everything you know: full name, date of birth, nationality, a photo, where and when they left, with whom, the boat or route, the phone numbers used.
2. At sea: call Alarm Phone (+33 4 86 51 71 61) — they log the case and alert rescue. Caminando Fronteras supports families of the missing and the dead: WhatsApp +212 694 869 982, info@caminandofronteras.org; their guide for families exists in French, Arabic, Wolof and Bambara.
3. The Red Cross / Red Crescent 'Restoring Family Links' service searches across borders for free: families can post on tracetheface.org or contact the Red Cross or Red Crescent in their own country.
4. Oriental region (Oujda): AMDH documents deaths and disappearances; AMSV (Oujda) works on identification.
5. IOM's Missing Migrants Project records deaths and disappearances on migration routes worldwide and publishes resources for families (missingmigrants.iom.int, missingmigrants@iom.int). It is not a search service, but IOM offices — including IOM Rabat, in the directory — can direct families to tracing and support.

Keep the person's photo and identity details safe; identification depends on them. If the person may have been arrested, ask AMDH or UNHCR to check detention records before assuming the worst.

1. Report the death to an organisation the same day: AMSV (Oujda) identifies the deceased, deals with authorities and embassies, informs families and organises dignified burials; AMDH records deaths; CMSM and CCSM support communities in Rabat.
2. Give what you know: name, nationality, a photo, family contacts. Identification can take four to five weeks — organisations don't give up, but they need this information.
3. Repatriating a body costs thousands of euros (around €6,000) and is often impossible for families; a burial in Morocco under the person's own name and faith is what organisations can usually achieve.
4. A death certificate is issued after identification — it matters for the family later (inheritance, children's papers).

Grief and shock are heavy — the mental-health support in this section is also for this.

1. Before you start: agree pay, hours and the employer's name in a WhatsApp message. That message is your proof — keep it.
2. While working: keep evidence — photos of the place, names, dates, screenshots, colleagues who can confirm.
3. Not paid? Ask in writing first (a message). Then contact Droit et Justice, GADEM or CCSM: they write to the employer or go with you to the inspection du travail. A complaint is possible without papers — but go accompanied.
4. Legal work needs a residence card plus a contract approved by the Ministry of Labour (contrat de travail d'étranger). Recognised refugees have easier access — organisations explain the steps.

Papers kept by the employer, threats, or forced work? That is trafficking — see “Forced to work, or held”.

1. Work4Life (CEFA with Soleterre and Asticude): vocational training and economic integration for migrants in Tanger, Rabat–Salé, Oujda and Béni Mellal.
2. Fondation Orient-Occident (Rabat, Oujda, Casablanca, Tanger, Marrakech, Fès) and Caritas centres: French and Arabic classes, tutoring for children, vocational training.
3. In the south, the associations listed in the directory (Agadir, Laâyoune, Dakhla) offer social and administrative accompaniment and integration support.
4. Bring any diplomas or certificates you have (photos are fine) — recognition is rare, but they help organisations place you.

Ask each organisation what is running now — training is often tied to projects that start and stop.

1. Resettlement: UNHCR proposes some recognised refugees to other countries. You cannot apply yourself — UNHCR selects by vulnerability. A counselling line runs on Thursdays 09:00–13:00 (see directory). A refusal does not affect your refugee status in Morocco.
2. Residence in Morocco: recognised refugees can obtain a residence card (see Papers & residence) — it opens legal work and health insurance.
3. Voluntary return: IOM's AVRR programme organises a safe return and reintegration support in the country of origin for migrants and asylum seekers who choose it. It is voluntary, and you can ask about it without committing — IOM Rabat is in the directory.
4. Family in Europe: reunification is requested by the family member in Europe under that country's rules — a legal organisation there can advise. Study routes need admission and a visa — ask FOO or CEFA which scholarships they know.

Nobody should push you towards any of these — including this tool. Whatever you decide, the organisations remain available.