Morocco Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

 * 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, at Ancestry.com, index and images. ($)
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1892-1924 New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924 Search results for Morocco
 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.

British Overseas Subjects

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Morocco, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Morocco, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, Morocco, index and images, ($)

Finding the Town of Origin in Morocco
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Morocco, see Morocco Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Morocco Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Immigration into Morocco

 * In the 15th and 16th centuries, Morocco faced external threats to its sovereignty, with Portugal seizing some territory.
 * Morocco's strategic location near the mouth of the Mediterranean drew renewed European interest; in 1912, France and Spain divided the country into respective protectorates, reserving an international zone in Tangier.
 * Following intermittent riots and revolts against colonial rule, in 1956 Morocco regained its independence and reunified.
 * It is estimated that between 41% to 80% of residents have Berber ancestral origins.
 * A sizeable portion of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnawa (or Gnaoua), West African or mixed race descendants of slaves, and Moriscos, European Muslims expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 17th century.
 * According to the 2014 Morocco population census, there were around 84,000 immigrants in the country. Of these foreign-born residents, most were of French origin, followed by individuals mainly from various nations in West Africa and Algeria.
 * There are also a number of foreign residents of Spanish origin. Some of them are descendants of colonial settlers, who primarily work for European multinational companies, while others are married to Moroccans or are retirees.
 * Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million Europeans; who were mostly Christians. Also prior to independence, Morocco was home to 250,000 Spaniards.
 * Morocco's once prominent Jewish minority has decreased significantly since its peak of 265,000 in 1948, declining to around 2,500 today.

Emigration From Morocco

 * Morocco has a large diaspora, most of which is located in France, which has reportedly over one million Moroccans of up to the third generation.
 * There are also large Moroccan communities in Spain (about 700,000 Moroccans), the Netherlands (360,000), and Belgium (300,000).
 * Other large communities can be found in Italy, Canada, the United States, and Israel, where Moroccan Jews are thought to constitute the second biggest Jewish ethnic subgroup.
 * Moroccans are found throughout the world, mainly in Europe (i.e. the largest being in France, followed by Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg) developed by Moroccan immigration since the 1950s, especially Western Europe and the Arab World (a large Jewish colony in Israel).
 * Of the estimated 5.6 million Moroccans living abroad, 5.1 million live in Europe; the remainder are distributed throughout the Americas (including North America - mainly in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and Latin America), Australia, Africa (in particular West Africa), and the countries of the Arab World.
 * Some cities with a big Moroccan community are Paris, Lille, Roubaix, Marseille and Nice (every French city has a Moroccan community); Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga in Spain; Brussels, Antwerp and Liege in Belgium; Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands; and Luxembourg.
 * Half of the Moroccans living in Belgium (630,000), reside in its capital Brussels and a quarter in Antwerp.