The atmosphere was electric at the Moulay Al-Hassan stadium in Rabat on Wednesday. While the Fennecs shone on the field by crushing Sudan (3-0), their Algerian supporters had to fight a completely different battle behind the scenes to reach the stands. Between diplomatic rupture, closed borders and new electronic visa requirements, the journey to the Kingdom has taken on the appearance of an odyssey.
The off-field events took precedence over the pitch before yesterday’s Liga Adelante clash. The visit of Las Palmas to Ceuta was seriously disrupted by Storm Emilia and administrative constraints in Morocco , forcing the team to split in two in an attempt to reach the Spanish enclave.
The Moroccan national team experienced a turbulent pre-match for their debut in the 2025 Arab Cup. The team bus arrived late at the stadium, due to a visa issue concerning two players. However, this incident did not prevent the Atlas Lions from beating the Comoros (3-1).
The University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne has finally succumbed to budgetary constraints by ending the exemption from tuition fees. This vote imposes a drastic increase on Moroccan and non-EU students, whose tuition fees will be multiplied by ten from the next academic year.
Morocco is not on the list of African countries benefiting from a visa exemption with Russia , a Russian official source has confirmed, denying the rumor, relayed in particular by Bladi.net, which announced the opposite.
The French government plans to increase the cost of several administrative procedures for foreigners. The draft budget bill for 2026, currently under debate in Parliament, includes these increases that will affect residence permits, naturalization and even driver’s licenses.
A report by the French Senate indicates that Algerians are the most penalized in the Maghreb in terms of obtaining a visa for France. Moroccans are doing better.
The Moroccan authorities have decided to impose a temporary electronic visa on nationals of eight African countries, including Algerians. A measure that is diversely appreciated on social networks. While some consider this decision as ordinary, others, like the Algerian journalist Hafid Derradji , consider it sudden and unjustified.
In the perspective of organizing the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2025), Morocco has decided to impose a temporary visa called the CAN e-visa (AEVM) on the participating countries, including countries usually exempted from entry visas such as Tunisia.
Many European and American countries are increasingly imposing restrictions on Moroccan travelers, due to the rise in cases of attempted illegal immigration from Morocco.
Europe is collaborating better with Morocco to improve the issuance of visas to Moroccans. As proof, the European Union issued more than 606,000 visas to them last year. Furthermore, France has done better than other European countries.
A parliamentary advisor has just questioned Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, about the lack of reciprocity in visa policy with several European countries, including France.