[3] Moroccan law provides that those who acquire nationality at birth include: Naturalization can be granted to persons who have resided in the territory for a sufficient period of time to confirm they speak Arabic or Tamazight and understand the customs and traditions of Morocco.

Migrants from Rome, in the second century BCE, formed alliances with the Berbers to gain control of the region they named Mauretania Tingitana.

[25][26] In 683, Musa ibn Nusayr of the Umayyad dynasty of Damascus, now in Syria, pushed into Ifriqiya, establishing political authority over and Islamic conversion of the Berbers.

[25] During the tenth century alliance of Berber tribes with kinship ties, established the Zenata kingdoms during the period of Umayyad rule and aligned themselves with the dynasty.

[29] When the Umayyad dynasty collapsed in the middle of the eleventh century, the political organization fragmented, giving strength to the idea of the need for a unitary Islamic state in the Maghreb focused on caliphial authority.

[27] In other words, the rulers of Morocco from this time forward could not rely on religious allegiance alone, but to gain political legitimacy must have descent from Muhammad, granting them the supreme right to rule.

[25] The Almohads were defeated in Andalusia in 1212 by Christian Spaniards and during fifty years of war struggled to retain control of Morocco.

[33][34] Under their rule, the sultan provided security and judicial administration in exchange for loyalty and alliances, granting concessions to expand their economic control.

[35] Internal conflicts within the Marinid dynasty weakened their authority allowing Spanish and Portuguese traders to capture coastal areas.

[37] Introduction of Europeans created cultural clashes, as allegiance to a sultan was not territorial, but rather to the legitimacy of the ruler as a descendant and representative of Muhammad.

[38] The inability of the Marinds to stop the European invasion, brought about the rise of the Wattasid dynasty in the second half of the fifteenth century.

[41] As the Wattasid dynasty began its decline, decentralization and anarchy allowed the tribes in the plains to become autonomous, the north to be dominated by Portugal and Spain, and the south to be consolidated by the Sufi Saadi Sultanate.

[42][43] In an attempt to unite the inhabitants of Morocco against the European threats, the Saadian sharifs created a political and religious movement which was successful in stopping the Christian penetration by 1510.

[46] Continued conflict with European powers and expansion of the Saadians, led the northern Wattasid dynasty to seek an alliance with the Ottoman Empire in 1545.

[47] Despite attempts from the Ottomans to gain recognition in Morocco, their religious, and thus political, authority was brought into question, because they lacked descent from Muhammad.

[52][53] He was succeeded in 1672 by Moulay Ismail, who aimed to expand the Moroccan borders, attempting to wrest territory from the Ottomans, Spanish, and English.

[55] Known for his diplomacy, he established friendly relations with Spain, England, and France, and developed a cooperative policy with the Ottomans to work together against the threats of European incursion.

[54][56] When the French invaded Algeria in 1830, Morocco was compelled to preserve the regional Muslim traditions and was invited to take the inhabitants of Tlemcen under protection.

Though Germany did not participate in territorial exchange, it sanctioned the Franco-Spanish protectorates by supporting their policing of the ports and collection of customs duties.

[75] Frustrated by the Sultan Abdelaziz's leadership, his brother, Abd al-Hafid staged a coup d'état and seized power.

[74][76] Al-Hafid was unable to restore the economy or stem the influence of foreigners, and during an insurgency in Fez in 1911, he was imprisoned by a group of his subjects and appealed to France for help.

The terms of the treaty put France in control of the country's finances, security, and foreign relations; and established shared legislative power, but left the sultan with only the authority to veto.

[84] France passed a law on 25 March 1915 that allowed subjects or protected persons who were natives of Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia and who had established domicile in a French territory to acquire full citizenship, including the naturalization of their wives and minor children, by having received the cross of the Legion of Honor, having obtained a university degree, having rendered service to the nation, having attained the rank of an officer or received a medal from the French army, who had married a Frenchwoman and established a one year residency; or who had resided for more than ten years in a colony other than their country of origin.

[91][84] Under regulations passed on 23 December 1944, the Spanish General Directorate of Morocco could grant full or limited emancipation to native inhabitants based on professional or academic certification.

[95] In 1946, Spain joined its territories in the protectorate and its colonies into a single administrative unit, Spanish West Africa, installing a Governor General at Ifni, who operated under the authority of the high commissioner in Morocco.

[99] Beginning in 1963, the United Nations attempted to resolve the issue of Spanish Sahara, focusing on decolonization and the territorial dispute over the area between Mauritania, Morocco, and Spain.

[8] While the 2007 amendment allowed foundlings of unknown parentage to acquire nationality, it made no provisions for children born in Morocco to stateless parents.