Marhaba 2026: Millions of Moroccan expatriates welcomed
Operation Marhaba 2026 ended 15 September with 4,137,594 MRE welcomed (+1.8%). Flows handled without congestion, peaks of 80,000 arrivals and 87,000 departures. Reinforced measures: firm tickets, regulation zones, 1,134 social assistants, 236 medical staff, 26 welcome sites. 66,993 received humanitarian aid (admin, transport, medical). Notable incidents: coach accident (25 injured), 1,000 stranded at Algeciras, 25 vehicles blocked at Genoa, two port deaths.
Marhaba 2026 : more than 4 million MRE welcomed
The Marhaba 2026 operation concluded on 15 September with the reception of 4,137,594 Moroccans residing abroad, representing a 1.8% increase compared with 2025. According to the Foundation’s report, arrival and departure flows were managed without notable congestion, with peaks reaching nearly 80,000 daily arrivals and over 87,000 departures on the busiest days.
To support these flows, particularly during the departure phase, an enhanced scheme was put in place. It includes the introduction of fixed tickets, the creation of regulation zones, and the handling of coach passengers transiting through the ports of Tanger Med and Algeciras, together with awareness campaigns. The Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity mobilised significant human resources through its reception scheme, comprising a Central Coordination Office, 1,134 social workers, and 236 doctors, paramedical staff and temporary workers.
This scheme relied on 26 reception spaces in Morocco and abroad. Nationally, they cover the ports of Tanger Ville, Tanger Med, Nador and Al Hoceima, the entry points of Bab Sebta and Bab Melilia, and the airports of Casablanca, Oujda, Tanger Ibn Battouta, Nador El Aroui, Marrakech, Agadir, Fès, Rabat‑Salé, Laâyoune and Dakhla. Abroad, six Marhaba spaces covered activity at the European ports of Genoa in Italy, Sète and Marseille in France, Motril, Almería and Algeciras in Spain.
In terms of humanitarian assistance, 66,993 members of the Moroccan community benefited from direct support from the Foundation. Of these, 14,089 concerned administrative, customs and legal procedures and 787 related to transport assistance. The report also records 8,495 people who received medical assistance, emergency first aid or hospitalisation.
Among the interventions recorded, in July the Foundation took charge of 25 victims of a coach accident carrying 45 MREs from Italy, which occurred on the Tanger‑Kénitra motorway. Five seriously injured passengers, transferred to the CHP El Idrissi, were monitored for ten days, while a means of transport was provided for the other passengers to continue their journey. In August, the Foundation intervened to organise the transport of nearly 1,000 passengers in distress at the port of Algeciras, enabling them to continue their journey by coach. During the same month, boarding assistance was given to 25 MRE vehicles bound for Genoa, which were stuck at the quay due to a problem with the management of the ship’s parking holds. In September, the Foundation’s teams accompanied families dispatched following the death of two of their members, after their vehicle fell into the waters of the port of Algeciras, providing in particular support with administrative formalities and procedures for the repatriation of the bodies.
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