Transferring Property sale cash in Dirhams

[PipBrighton]

I have a difficult problem. I have a half-share of an inherited property in Morocco which had to be sold in Dirhams (due to location, no foreign interest). Note that the property was inherited, so no currency was imported into Morocco to buy the property. All relevant local taxes have been paid and deed registration etc. has been done, the proceeds now sit in a local Moroccan Dirham bank account. Apart from visits to Morocco, the money is not much use to me there.

So the challenge is, given Moroccan currency export law, how to legally get the proceeds in the form of a hard currency abroad (Sterling/Euro)?

One example of how the value might be transferred would be the purchase
of another property in Morocco (using Dirhams) that might then be sold on the Euro/Sterling market. However this will be slow, elaborate and expensive (fees & taxes etc.) to carry out - also the amount may be insufficient for a property sale on the international market.

Any other ideas?

 

[PipBrighton]

I assume no-one has any (legal) suggestions.

So can someone tell me what is the annual allowable conversion from Dirhams to hard currency for a non-Moroccan resident?

 

[AshleyIngle]

Hello, I have had dealings with Morrocco, all have been transferring money into Morrocco - but still talk with your morroccan based lawyer/notary to double check you do a legal transfer.

As long as tax is paid - the lawyer will sort this for you, you can transfer MAD out of Morrocco via a Convertible Morroccan Dirham Bank account. You will most probably need approval from central bank to transfer MAD out of the country, but you may find it easier, but not cost effective to convert funds in Morrocco's local banks.

In General - Transfer of capital owned by Foreigners about to leave Morocco for good. The amount of the capital that may be transferred is DH 25,000 per year of stay in Morocco, without any ceiling. Foreign spouses of Moroccan nationals can benefit once a year from an allowance in currency valued at 5,000 Dirham.

 

[PipBrighton]

Hello, I have had dealings with Morrocco, all have been transferring money into Morrocco - but still talk with your morroccan based lawyer/notary to double check you do a legal transfer.

As long as tax is paid - the lawyer will sort this for you, you can transfer MAD out of Morrocco via a Convertible Morroccan Dirham Bank account. You will most probably need approval from central bank to transfer MAD out of the country, but you may find it easier, but not cost effective to convert funds in Morrocco's local banks.

In General - Transfer of capital owned by Foreigners about to leave Morocco for good. The amount of the capital that may be transferred is DH 25,000 per year of stay in Morocco, without any ceiling. Foreign spouses of Moroccan nationals can benefit once a year from an allowance in currency valued at 5,000 Dirham.

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately in my case there is no Morocco-resident foreigner or foreign spouse involved, so the DH 5000 or 25,000 per year allowances are not applicable. These allowances are also quite insufficient to transfer house sale proceeds of about DH 1M.

A Convertible Morroccan Dirham Bank account is necessary, but does not avoid the currency export restrictions. There is no reason to believe that the central bank would, exceptionally, approve this transfer - they require evidence of relevant incoming foreign currency (none in this case).

:smile:A possible route has emerged: making an arrangement with a UK resident who is currently purchasing a house in Morocco using local currency.