Dirham mortgage lending and the convertibility regime

Definition

What this is about

Moroccan banks may grant a dirham-denominated loan to a Moroccan living abroad or to a non-resident foreign national in order to buy or build a home in Morocco. The balance of the price must be contributed in foreign currency. The Foreign Exchange Office states that "these bank loans may now cover up to 80% of the value of the property to be acquired, instead of the 70% previously provided for", an increase introduced by the General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Transactions 2026, in force since 1 January 2026.

The beneficiary declares on honour that they own no other home in Morocco; Moroccans living abroad are exempt from this.

The loan-to-value ratio is only the visible face of the arrangement. The foreign currency contribution establishes that the acquisition was financed in foreign currency, and it is that financing which attaches the convertibility regime to the property: the ability to transfer the rents, and later the sale price.

No article number is cited: the numbering of the instruction in force is not published consistently by the Office itself, several of its pages still referring to the 2013 edition.

Scope

Who is concerned

• Moroccans living abroad buying or building a home in Morocco.
• Non-resident foreign nationals in the same situation, who must provide the declaration on honour.
• Owners contemplating a resale: it is the original financing that governs the fate of the sale price.
• Heirs established outside Morocco: an inheritance transmits the status of the asset, it does not create it.

Foreign exchange status follows tax residence. The resident foreign national — a foreign national who is tax resident in Morocco — forms a distinct category, subject to its own rules, which do not extend to non-residents.

Applicable rules

What the method of financing decides

The Foreign Exchange Office states that foreign investments financed in foreign currency benefit from a convertibility regime guaranteeing investors complete freedom to transfer the income generated, the proceeds of sale or liquidation, the repayment of principal on shareholder current account advances and related loans contracted in foreign currency, and the proceeds arising from succession. The acquisition of real property is among the recognised forms of foreign investment; the accepted forms of financing include foreign currency and convertible dirhams, contributed through the banking system.

Where the regime applies, the transfer covers "the nominal value of the investment as well as any capital gain". The question is never how much may leave, but whether or not the property carries the regime.

Two points are unsettled, and we do not settle them. Does a foreign currency contribution covering only part of the price confer convertibility on the whole property, or in proportion to the fraction so financed? And how is the portion financed by the dirham loan treated on resale? None of the official sources we have been able to consult provides an answer; our research has not resolved the point, and an affirmative answer here would be an invention.

One facility, regularly misattributed, exists for resident foreign nationals alone. The Foreign Exchange Office provides for "the possibility for resident foreign nationals to transfer investment income in the absence of evidence of financing in foreign currency, up to a limit of 2,000,000 dirhams per calendar year for investments of more than 10 years". It is available neither to Moroccans living abroad nor to non-resident foreign nationals.

The investment need not be declared to the Foreign Exchange Office, but the evidence of its payment must be retained: the absence of any initial formality explains why the proof so often disappears.

Deadlines and limitation periods

The timeline

1. Before the first payment

   Convertible status attaches to the funds when they enter Morocco through the banking system. That is the decisive moment.

2. At acquisition

   The evidence of the financing is assembled and must be retained: no declaration is due, but proof of payment must be capable of being produced.

3. During ownership

   Rental income is transferable where the regime applies and Moroccan tax has been paid.

4. On resale

   The proceeds of the sale are treated as a disinvestment, nominal value and capital gain included, subject in principle to settlement of the sale in dirhams in Morocco and to the tax on the gain.

None of the official sources we have been able to consult sets any bank execution deadline; we announce none. On the other hand, no discharge contribution is available in 2026: the last window ran from 1 January to 31 December 2024, on the basis of article 8 of Finance Act no. 55-23.

Documents and supporting evidence

The elements of the file

The file rests on the following elements:

• Evidence of the financing in foreign currency: bank certificates and contemporaneous advices establishing the entry of the funds into Morocco — the decisive documents, and the ones most often missing.
• The deed of acquisition and the title documents: the deed of sale and the documents relating to ownership.
• The loan documents: the loan agreement and the amortisation schedule, which delimit the dirham portion.
• The declaration on honour: for non-resident foreign nationals, the declaration that they own no other home in Morocco.
• Evidence of identity and of residence abroad: documents establishing foreign exchange status.
• Tax documents: proof of payment of the taxes relating to the property and to its income.

This list is indicative.

Points requiring attention

What can cause a file to fail