Morocco’s government council on Thursday approved draft decree No. 2.26.551, amending the 2008 text that established the country’s biometric passport system, according to the source material used for this draft. One of the most notable changes is the planned addition of Amazigh among the languages used on the official travel document.
A symbolic and administrative shift
For Amazigh living in Morocco and the wider diaspora, the move carries symbolic weight because it expands Amazigh’s presence in official state documents. At the same time, it is also an administrative reform tied to the technical format and issuance rules of Morocco’s next biometric passport model.
What the draft decree reportedly changes
According to the reporting behind this article, the decree would add Amazigh to the language set used on the passport, end the use of the temporary passport format, and remove an exception that had allowed certain minor applicants to obtain a passport through an electronic national ID route. The text also reportedly leaves the practical delivery format and issuance modalities to a joint ministerial decision involving the interior and foreign affairs authorities.
Implementation still depends on follow-up rules
The same source indicates that the updated biometric passport is expected to be generalized in August 2026. That timing should still be treated as expected rather than fully implemented, because final rollout details, visual design choices, and the precise integration of Amazigh remain dependent on implementing decisions that were not yet detailed in the underlying report.
The Amazigh identity questions remain central to public life, the inclusion of Amazigh on a passport is more than a formatting change. It touches on the long-running issue of how official recognition is translated into everyday administrative visibility, including for Rif diaspora communities who interact regularly with passports, consulates, and cross-border travel systems.
1. Rif FM Arabic, Draft/report on Morocco’s biometric passport decree and Amazigh-language inclusion, published July 11, 2026.