Can a Foreigner Buy Agricultural Land in Morocco? The VNA Route

Under the law of 23 April 1975 governing the purchase of agricultural land in rural areas, foreign individuals, and entities whose capital is held even partly by foreign shareholders, are not allowed to acquire agricultural land for agricultural purposes. As of 2026 that rule still stands: the international law firm Gide, writing the Morocco chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guide to real estate, confirms the same 1975 law remains the starting point for any foreign buyer looking at rural land.

The restriction is about the buyer's nationality, not about citizenship on paper alone. It targets foreign individuals and foreign-held entities specifically, so Moroccan nationals are outside it entirely, including anyone who also holds a second passport. Everyone else needs one of the two routes below before a notary will proceed.

If what you actually want is a non-agricultural project on agricultural land, a house, a riad conversion, a small commercial development, Moroccan administration can issue a specific temporary and final certificate of non-agricultural purpose, which then allows the acquisition and the project to go ahead. This is the document most people mean when they talk about the VNA, the attestation de vocation non agricole.

Two things about it matter more than the name. First, it is issued in two stages, a temporary certificate followed by a final one, not a single approval, so the timeline has two waiting periods rather than one. Second, the certificate process runs through the regional commission set up under Decree No 2-04-683 of 6 January 2005, so it is a regional administrative decision tied to the specific parcel, not a blanket status you can apply to a different plot later or transfer if you change your mind about which land to buy. Start the request before you are committed to a completion date, because the certificate has to exist, in its final form, before the notary can register the transfer in your name.

If the plan is an actual agricultural investment, not a house on former farmland, Morocco opened a second route in 2021. Law No 62-19, which came into force on 14 July 2021, now lets joint stock companies and limited partnerships by shares buy agricultural land outside the urban perimeter regardless of how much of the company's capital is foreign-owned, reversing what had been a flat prohibition on any company with non-Moroccan shareholders.

The reform comes with conditions, not a free pass. The purchase needs prior approval from the regional investment commission, and the company signs a specific sale and purchase agreement committing it to an actual agricultural project on the land, not merely to holding it. This route suits a foreign-backed farming or agribusiness venture structured properly from the start. It is not a quicker way to end up with a holiday home, since the land has to stay in agricultural use under the terms of that agreement.

The 1975 law leaves one option open that buyers often overlook: a foreigner barred from acquiring agricultural land outright may still lease it, for up to 99 years. A long lease will not suit someone who wants the land titled in their own name, but it is worth asking about if the appeal of a particular property is the use of the land for a defined period rather than permanent ownership, and the VNA process looks slower than your timeline allows.

The practical risk is not the law itself, it is discovering the land's actual status after you have already agreed a price. Checking the land's current vocation belongs in the same due diligence pass as checking the title itself, because a titre foncier or a melkia document will not tell you on its own whether a plot is classified agricultural; that is a separate administrative designation layered on top of the title.

Raise it with the notary early rather than waiting for them to flag it. The notary has to confirm the land's status as part of the sale, and will not proceed to signature on a plot that needs a VNA that has not been granted. If a seller or agent tells you the certificate is "just a formality" or "already sorted," ask to see the final certificate itself, in the name of the current owner, rather than taking the description at face value. A temporary certificate is not the same thing as a final one, and only the final certificate clears the way for the notary to register your purchase.