Studying in Morocco

What a year costs

Public universities. AMCI states that it awards "a significant number" of Moroccan government scholarships to international students, and that more than 12,000 foreign students benefited in 2019/2020, with 85% of its African students holding scholarships. The scholarship route is into public institutions that award state diplomas. AMCI's site does not publish tuition for self-funded foreign students at public universities, nor a current stipend amount. If you hear a figure from an agent, ask for the AMCI document it comes from.

Private universities publish their own fees. Al Akhawayn University (AUI), which teaches in English on an American model, lists for international students:

• Undergraduate: 3,360 dirhams per credit, with a normal load of 15-17 credits a semester. At 15 credits that is 50,400 dirhams a semester, or about 100,800 dirhams a year over two semesters.
• Graduate: 4,200 dirhams per credit, normal load 12 credits, so about 50,400 dirhams a semester.
• Confirmation deposit: 10,000 dirhams, of which 5,000 is non-refundable.
• On-campus housing in newer buildings from 17,811 dirhams for a single room; the fee page does not say whether that is per semester or per year, so ask.

AUI notes that fees are in dirhams and "subject to change each academic year". Its 2026-2027 fact sheet for exchange students lists health insurance at 550 dirhams a semester, a meal plan at 12,100 dirhams, and recommends USD 1,500 a semester in pocket money.

Living costs. No Moroccan government body or public university we checked publishes a student living-cost figure. Rabat and Casablanca are the most expensive cities; smaller university towns are cheaper. Build your budget from real rental listings in the city you will live in, not from an agent's estimate.

The visa

Whether you need a visa depends on your nationality. Many nationalities can enter Morocco without a visa; others need one before travel. Morocco's Foreign Ministry runs the consular portal (consulat.ma) and the Accès Maroc portal (acces-maroc.ma) for visas and electronic travel authorisations. Both refused or failed to return content when we checked, so confirm your own case with the Moroccan consulate that covers your country of residence.

What Moroccan institutions tell students is the pattern:

• Visa-required nationals apply for a student visa with a passport valid for at least three months beyond the stay, the admission letter, proof of tuition payment, proof of housing, travel insurance with at least €30,000 cover, and evidence of financial resources. Collège LaSalle Maroc quotes processing of about 10 days to two weeks.
• Some visa-exempt nationals, which Collège LaSalle names as Congo, Guinea and Mali, instead obtain an electronic travel authorisation (AEVM), with the admission letter, housing and financial documents, usually within a few days.

The money. No official Moroccan source we could reach states a minimum amount. You must show you can pay tuition and support yourself; bank statements, a sponsor's statements or a scholarship letter are the usual evidence. Because there is no published threshold, show comfortably more than your first year's tuition plus rent.

The visa fee is set and collected by each consulate. We could not verify a figure.

Once you arrive, you must regularise your stay by obtaining a residence card (carte de séjour, formally a carte d'immatriculation) from the police in the city where you live. AUI's fact sheet lists a "residency document service" fee of 160 dirhams, which is the university's handling charge, not the state fee. We could not load an official page setting out the documents, deadline or state fee; your university's international office will normally guide you through it. Do not let the period of your visa or visa-free stay run out before you have applied.

Working while you study

We found no official Moroccan source that gives international students a right to work during their studies, and no hours limit. Employment of foreigners in Morocco generally requires a work contract approved by the Ministry of Employment, which is designed for full-time hires rather than student jobs.

Assume you cannot fund your studies by working, and ask your university's international office in writing before taking any paid work.

After you graduate

There is no post-study work visa in Morocco. To stay and work you need an employer willing to take you on under the standard procedure for foreign employees, which includes approval of the employment contract. We could not load the official guidance on that procedure when we checked.

If you studied on an AMCI scholarship, check the terms of your scholarship and any commitment you made to your home government before planning to stay.

Language

French is the working language of most higher education in Morocco, especially in science, engineering, medicine and business. Arabic is used in law, humanities and social sciences at many public universities. English-medium degrees exist mainly at private institutions, AUI being the best known.

Check the language of instruction for your exact programme, not the university as a whole. If you are coming through AMCI into a public university, you will need working French from the first day. Everyday life, the residence card process and any work contract run in Arabic (Darija) and French.

When to apply

The academic year starts in September or October.

• AMCI scholarships: you apply through the competent authorities in your own country, usually your ministry of higher education, which forwards files to AMCI. Deadlines are set nationally, not by AMCI's public pages. Ask your ministry early in the year before you plan to start.
• Private universities such as AUI run their own admissions with their own deadlines; see the university's admissions pages.
• Visa: apply as soon as you have the admission letter and proof of tuition payment. The published processing time is short, but consulate appointments may not be.

What to watch out for

Official information is hard to verify. The Foreign Ministry's consular portal, AMCI's detailed pages and the Ministry of Higher Education's site either refused our requests or did not publish the figures we needed. That is a reason for care: get requirements from your consulate in writing, and be sceptical of anyone quoting precise amounts without a document.

Check how the degree is recognised at home. A Moroccan state diploma from a public institution is not the same as a private institution's own award. If you need your degree recognised by a regulator at home, especially in medicine, pharmacy, law or engineering, check that regulator's rules before you enrol. For medicine, the World Federation for Medical Education lists Morocco's accreditation route (through CIDMEF) as applying for recognition, not yet recognised, as of our check. That can matter for licensing in some countries, including eligibility rules linked to recognised accreditation for US ECFMG certification.

Register your residence promptly. Staying without a residence card after your entry period ends makes you irregular, which can affect exams, renewals and future visas.

Budget in dirhams, pay in dirhams. AUI and other private institutions charge in dirhams; currency movements between your home currency and the dirham change what a year costs.

Where these numbers come from

Rules change, sometimes at short notice. Every figure above carries the date we checked it. Check the official source before you rely on it. For Morocco in particular, the visa fee, any proof-of-funds threshold, the residence card fee and student work rules were not published in a form we could verify: get them from your consulate and university in writing.