American going to Morocco-stuck at US airport

[abdulkarim 1]

An American friend with an American passport purchased a round trip ticket to Morocco for six months; she plans to stay with her Moroccan relatives in Morocco the entire time but at the US departing airport was told she needs a "visa" to stay for that period and wasn't allowed to board the flight?!?!? I along with other family members of mine travel back and forth there and have never heard of this. Can anyone explain the relevant regulations that prohibited her from flying so I or my relatives won't make the same mistake?

[Merrytooth 5,748]

US citizens can stay up to ninety (90) days in Morocco without a visa.

[JnRMo 16]

You can travel up to 90 days to Morocco without a visa as a U.S. citizen - and it looks like tourist visas also only cover 90 days. So you would need a more long term visa to stay longer than that unless you also had Moroccan citizenship. I don't know the specifics of why they were declined the flight, but they likely would have been declined entry if they were allowed to take the flight.

[Eric-Pris 1,607]

The #1 rule of international travel: Learn the immigration laws of any country you plan to visit.

As for being denied boarding. Airlines get hit with fines if they let a passanger on the flight and they get denied at the POE due to some immigration issue, that's why they do a better job of checking now. They probably saved your friend time, stress, and jetlag because he would be on the next flight back to the US.

[abdulkarim 1]

The #1 rule of international travel: Learn the immigration laws of any country you plan to visit.

There is nothing in any literature we could find that addresses this issue of visa for a longer stay than 90 days. What we did find was that one had to go to the local police precinct and requested an extension, but what type of visa would a US passport holder get?!?! We can't find the name for such a creature.

[Eric-Pris 1,607]

I don't know about Morocco but Costa Rica also has a 90 day max for US tourists too. But if somebody wants to stay longer, all they need to do is enter CR, get their 90 days stamp in their passport, and then on day 89, leave CR for 3 days, and when they return, they get a new 90 days stamp. You can go to a neighboring country or take a weekend trip somewhere.

Again, I'm not sure if Morocco would allow this. Try to get on some internet forums that talk about Morocco. Try Yahoo Answers in the travel section.

There are resources available but you gotta do some legwork. Good luck.

[Golden Gate 530]

Which airline stopped her?

[ShirahBet 42]

Yep, the information on the consulate website indicates that you get an extension at your nearest place of residence in Morocco. So my best guess... and it's a GUESS, is that you would either get a return ticket for the 90 days and then extend your visa within 90 days and change your flight.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

A USC tourist can stay in Morocco for 90 days, and then apply at the local police station for a visa to extend the visit an additional 90 days. I don't remember what the visa is called, but the local police I spoke to when applying for mine knew what it was. At the end of the second 90 days, I tried to get another extension, but was told it wouldn't be granted. I went to Spain for 2 days and came back. I was almost refused entry on the flight from Spain, until I showed the check-in agent that I had a return flight back to the US before another 90 days.

If I remember right, my husband had to sponsor me for the visa. I definitely remember having to provide about 20 docs I don't normally travel with, like my birth certificate and wedding license, which we just happened to have because I applied for my visa shortly after my husband got his visa TO the US, and the US Consulate had returned our original docs to him.

Of course, this being Morocco, I'm sure other people have had different experiences. I've heard of some people not being able to get the first visa, and traveling to Ceuta for a day to refresh the 90 day window that way, and I've heard of other people who were able to get extensions without providing paperwork. Who knows. Hope this helps, though.

[The Moroccan 3]

the only mistake she made when she purchased the tickets is that she associated the round trip with the 6 months time of staying.
when you go round trip, they know how much time you're staying there for you can't stay over 90 days. (if so, they stop you from the start).
if you get one way trip then you can say less than 90 days and they have no evidence you're over staying...
people who use the "weekend trip to the neighbor country" trick are using one way ticket.

[kristen_maroc 126]

Yup. I lived in Morocco 2.5 years "illegally" by just doing one-way tickets and leaving every 90 days. For my job, I left (for a night-- or less) for Spain at least once every 3-4 weeks...but I still never had a problem getting in (other than once coming in from Ceuta). One-way tickets are the way to go... unfortunately they can be pricey!