Back to the naming boards…this time, in Belgium
Awhile back, I raised the subject of Moroccans in the Netherlands being required to name their children from a Morocco-approved list, a post which generated numerous replies. The post was sparked by the blog Islam in Europe, which today offers up another story, this time about Moroccans in Belgium:
Belgian children of Moroccan origin who also want Moroccan citizenship will not get it if their first name is (too) Flemish or French. The Moroccan consulate rejects names that do not appear on an Arabic list. The children can therefore not get a Moroccan passport or come on family visits.
Aside from some glaringly incorrect information (the blog states that children of Moroccan women are not Moroccan, which is no longer true as of last month), the post is yet another good review of the ridiculous diktats which plague European Moroccans.
May 25th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Why should these children not be able to come on family visits? They could still take their Belgian passport and go to Morocco for up to 3 month.
May 25th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
I think that Morocco has the authority (although they don’t always exercise it) to prevent Moroccans without Moroccan ID from entering, but I honestly have no idea. I’ll wait for the Moroccan experts on this subject to comment!
May 25th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I read the original article and I see that there’re indeed some people commenting that when you’re of Moroccan origin, you can’t get into Morocco with a Belgian passport.
Though I know quite a number of Moroccans who hold European passports and use these to travel to Morocco, because they feel that this gives them advantages.
May 25th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Right, but are their Moroccan ID cards checked in Morocco even when they use their EU passport?
May 29th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Barbara & taamarbuta: you can get in Morocco, as a Moroccan holding dual citizenship, with your foreign passport - I did that last Saturday, and have never had any problems. However, I am unvariably asked about my “carte nationale”, national ID card - but then I have a rather well-known family name in Morocco, and an arabic first name.
The case you evoke about children not being able to come to Morocco for family visits for lack of “carte nationale” is moot - there’s no obligation to hold a “carte nationale” when you’re under 18 years of age. It could however be a problem if these kids come back to Morocco when being adults - the customs could ask them for their Moroccan ID cards, and there could be problems if they could not provide one.
I am not sure however that you can legally be hindered to enter Moroccan territory as a Moroccan national, even if you lack a national identity card(but as a Moroccan citizen, you could possibly face a lot of administrative problems when in Morocco without a “carte nationale”). You would in fact depend on the good heartedness of the customs officer in charge. You should however note that millions of Moroccans, especially in the countryside, lack any form of identity card.
Let me add one thing: if you are of Moroccan origin, but change name, or have been given a non-arabic name, and have a non-Moroccan appearance, chances are that no one will bother you…