French law does not require a Moroccan who is naturalised as French to give up their nationality of origin, and it accepts multiple nationalities. On the Moroccan side, the Nationality Code does not provide for automatic loss: losing it requires a decree authorising renunciation. Information checked on 21 October 2026 on service-public.gouv.fr and in the text of the Moroccan Nationality Code.
Costs & fees
| French naturalisation application | EUR 255 (EUR 127.50 in French Guiana) | Paid by tax stamp, or at the consulate for an application filed abroad, according to page F2213. |
| Application to renounce Moroccan nationality | Not specified by the Code: check with the Moroccan consulate | The Nationality Code sets no amount. Consular fees could not be verified. |
| Moroccan nationality certificate | Consular fees: check with the Moroccan consulate | The fees page of the consulates' website was not accessible on 21 October 2026. |
Timeline
Know what French law provides
French law accepts multiple nationalities: a person may hold two nationalities or more. According to the Service Public page on the subject, French law does not require a foreigner who becomes French to give up their nationality of origin, nor a French citizen who acquires another nationality to give up French nationality. A French citizen who also holds another nationality has the same rights and obligations as other French citizens. Naturalisation in France therefore carries no obligation under French law to renounce Moroccan nationality. What happens to Moroccan nationality depends on Moroccan legislation, covered in steps 4 and 5.
Know the general conditions for naturalisation
Naturalisation by decree is open to people aged at least 18 (an application can be filed from age 17). The main conditions: living in France when the decree is signed, holding a valid residence permit at filing (except EU and EEA nationals and Swiss nationals), a sufficient command of French, a passed civic exam and an interview at the prefecture, stable and sufficient income, and no firm criminal sentence of 6 months or more. For someone living in France, the required length of residence is 5 years, with exceptions at 2 years or with no minimum. The page distinguishes the route for people living in France from the one for people living abroad.
⚠️ Warning: This guide does not detail the naturalisation procedure: the ten steps are set out on the official Service Public page.
State your nationalities in the application
According to the Service Public page, a person applying for naturalisation states the nationalities they hold and those they wish to keep or give up. That statement does not replace the Moroccan procedure: under article 19 of the Moroccan Nationality Code, losing Moroccan nationality requires a decree authorising the person to renounce it. The French naturalisation decree takes effect on the date it is signed. It can be withdrawn within 2 years of its publication in the Journal officiel if the conditions were not met, or within 2 years of the discovery of fraud.
Read what the Moroccan Nationality Code says
Article 19 of the Moroccan Nationality Code (dahir 1-58-250, as amended by law 62-06) lists the cases of loss. For an adult Moroccan who voluntarily acquired a foreign nationality abroad, loss applies to a person who is also authorised by decree to renounce Moroccan nationality. The text read therefore does not provide for loss on the sole ground of acquiring French nationality. Article 20 states that loss takes effect on the date the authorising decree is published. The text read for this guide is the consolidated version published by the Ministry of Justice on adala.justice.gov.ma, which includes law 62-06.
⚠️ Warning: Each personal situation (renunciation decree, pending file) should be checked with the Moroccan consulate.
Know how renunciation is requested
Under article 25 of the Code, applications and declarations to lose Moroccan nationality are addressed to the Minister of Justice, with supporting documents. A person living abroad may hand them to Morocco's diplomatic or consular agents. The Minister declares an application inadmissible if the legal conditions are not met, and may reject it if they are (article 26). When the application succeeds, the loss results from a decree published in the Bulletin officiel (articles 19, 20 and 29). The Code does not list the documents required or the practical arrangements: ask the consulate.
Understand the effects on minor children
On the French side, unmarried minor children who normally live with the applicant may become French if they are named in the naturalisation decree. On the Moroccan side, article 21 of the Code provides that loss of Moroccan nationality extends by operation of law to the person's unmarried minor children who actually live with them, in the cases covered by paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of article 19. That extension concerns a renunciation decree that has been obtained, not French naturalisation alone. For passing Moroccan nationality to children born abroad, a dedicated guide exists on this site: /en/guides/moroccan-nationality-children-born-abroad.
Prove Moroccan nationality and live with two nationalities
According to Service Public, a French citizen with multiple nationalities generally cannot rely on French nationality in the territory of a State whose nationality they also hold: that State often regards them as its sole national, and France cannot extend diplomatic protection to them. To prove Moroccan nationality, the Moroccan consulates' website states that a properly issued passport is not a nationality certificate within the meaning of article 33 of the Code. That certificate falls to the Procureur du Roi at the competent court of first instance in Morocco, and the application can be filed with the consulate.
In depth
French law and Moroccan law each answer in their own way, and the two answers are read separately. In France, multiple nationalities are accepted: Service Public states that neither the foreigner who becomes French nor the French citizen who acquires another nationality has to give up the one they hold. In Morocco, article 19 of the Nationality Code lists the cases of loss. For an adult Moroccan who voluntarily acquired a foreign nationality, loss requires a decree authorising renunciation; it takes effect when that decree is published (article 20).
Other cases of loss appear in the same article. A Moroccan, even a minor, who holds a foreign nationality of origin may also be authorised by decree to renounce. The fifth case concerns a Moroccan who carries out a mission or holds a post in the public service of a foreign State or in a foreign army and keeps it for more than six months after the Moroccan authorities have ordered them to resign, where that mission or post is contrary to the national interest; the decree of loss may then be issued only after that period and once the person has been able to submit observations. This case does not concern naturalisation as such. Finally, a child of a mixed marriage who is considered Moroccan through their mother may state, between 18 and 20, a wish to keep only the nationality of one parent, by declaration to the Minister of Justice.
For a person who has lost Moroccan nationality, article 15 provides that reintegration may be granted by decree to anyone who held it as their nationality of origin and who applies. Applications and declarations are addressed to the Minister of Justice, and may be handed to diplomatic or consular agents when the applicant lives abroad. The text read is the Ministry of Justice consolidated version (adala.justice.gov.ma), which includes law 62-06: a personal situation should be checked with the Moroccan consulate.
❌ Common mistakes to avoid
- ✕French naturalisation does not automatically cause loss of Moroccan nationality: under article 19 of the Code, loss requires a decree authorising renunciation.
- ✕French law does not require a foreigner who becomes French to give up their nationality of origin.
- ✕Stating in a naturalisation application that you wish to give up a nationality does not by itself cause loss of Moroccan nationality, which depends on a Moroccan decree.
- ✕A Moroccan passport is not a nationality certificate: only the competent Moroccan court issues that certificate.
- ✕A consulate's attestation recognising nationality does not replace the nationality certificate.
🔗 Official links and resources
Service Public: Can a person hold several nationalities in France?
Page F334 on multiple nationalities: acquisition, effects and possible loss.
Service Public: French naturalisation by decree
Page F2213: conditions, cost, time limits and appeals.
Moroccan Nationality Code (Ministry of Justice, adala.justice.gov.ma)
Text of dahir 1-58-250 as amended by law 62-06, including articles 19 to 21 and 25 on loss of nationality.
❓ Frequently asked questions
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