Significant Rise in Moroccan Citizenship Acquisitions Across Europe
In 2024, a staggering 97,147 Moroccan citizens secured citizenship in a European Union country or Norway, with Spain leading the way by granting Spanish passports to 42,910 Moroccans. This substantial number positions Morocco as the second largest nationality acquiring citizenship in Europe, trailing only Syria, according to the Asylum and Migration Overview 2025 report published by the European Migration Network, as referenced by libertaddigital.com.
These nearly 100,000 Moroccan nationalizations across Europe in 2024, with almost half occurring in Spain, reflect the growing influence of Morocco on the European landscape in recent years. Moroccans constituted 9.2% of the total nationalizations, making them the second most represented nationality, just behind Syrians, who accounted for 10.7% with 113,831 nationalizations. In contrast, Albania secured third place with 48,118 acquisitions, representing only 4.5% of the total.
Trends and Changes in Nationalization Numbers
This notable Moroccan presence is not a recent development; Morocco has consistently ranked among the top three nationalities in 2022 and 2023, alongside Syria and Albania. However, it's worth noting that the number of Moroccans benefiting from citizenship has seen a slight decline over the past two years. In 2022, 112,769 Moroccans obtained European nationality, comprising 12.7% of the total. This number decreased to 106,568 in 2023 and then further to 97,147 in 2024, marking an 8.8% decrease year-over-year and nearly a 14% drop compared to 2022. Consequently, the proportion of Moroccans among new citizens also fell from 12.7% to 9.2% over the two-year period.
Interestingly, this decline in Moroccan nationalizations contrasts sharply with the overall increase in the number of third-country nationals acquiring citizenship in the European Union or Norway, which has seen significant growth. The total rose from 890,932 in 2022 to 956,373 in 2023, and then surged to 1,060,515 in 2024.
Spain has emerged as the leading country for Moroccan nationalizations due to its geographical proximity to Morocco. As previously reported, Spain set a record in 2024 by granting citizenship to 252,476 foreigners, with Morocco being the largest beneficiary at 42,910 nationals, followed by Colombia and Venezuela. This trend continued into 2025, with Morocco again leading the way, with 42,114 beneficiaries among a total of 300,000 foreigners who received Spanish citizenship, reflecting an 18.7% increase from 2024.
