Morocco Work Permit for a Chef: ANAPEC Certificate and TAECHIR

Morocco has no fixed quota on foreign staff, but a company hiring a foreigner directly must first get a certificate from ANAPEC confirming no suitable Moroccan candidate exists, then have the contract endorsed on the TAECHIR platform, a step JETRO describes as taking at most 10 days. A group posting a chef from a Japanese head office for two to three years can usually skip the ANAPEC test entirely under the secondment exemption; check which applies to you before you plan a hiring timeline. We could not reach ANAPEC or TAECHIR directly in September 2026 to verify current fees or advertising periods, so confirm both with the agencies before you file.

1. Decide this first: does an exemption apply?

JETRO lists categories of foreigner who do not need the foreign worker authorisation at all. This decides whether sections 4 and 5 apply to you, so check it before anything else:

2. The market, honestly

MAFF counted about 200 Japanese restaurants in Morocco in 2025, about 10 more than in 2023, second in Africa only to South Africa in MAFF's table. MOFA recorded 450 Japanese nationals in Morocco on 1 October 2025: 386 long-term stayers and 64 permanent residents.

Two hundred restaurants against fewer than five hundred Japanese residents means most of that count cannot be Japanese-run kitchens staffed from Japan; the arithmetic does not support it. Many are Moroccan-owned sushi or poke concepts staffed by Moroccan cooks, concentrated in Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech. That also matches what the ANAPEC test itself assumes: that a Moroccan candidate should be found first. For a single restaurant, the realistic choices are a Moroccan cook trained in Japanese technique, a head chef posted from Japan under the secondment exemption if you belong to a group, or a short consulting visit to set the menu. A full independent-hire ANAPEC application for one chef is the least common of the three in a market this size. See our guide to training local staff in Japanese cuisine.

3. A note on sources

We tried again in September 2026 to reach ANAPEC's and the TAECHIR platform's own sites and could not connect to either. The procedure below still comes from JETRO's page on Moroccan foreign employment rules, last updated 1 October 2025, which is the same limitation the previous version of this page had. Confirm current fees, advertising periods and any changes since 2017 with ANAPEC and the ministry before you file.

4. The ANAPEC certificate: proving no local candidate

JETRO explains that Moroccan law sets no fixed quota for local staff. Instead, since September 2006, a company wishing to hire a foreigner directly must obtain a certificate from the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC). The process, as JETRO describes it: the company applies to ANAPEC; the job is advertised on ANAPEC's site and in newspapers or on social media; ANAPEC shortlists candidates from responses and its own jobseeker database; if none is suitable, ANAPEC issues the certificate; if candidates are found, the company interviews them, and if it still finds none suitable, the ministry decides.

We could not verify how long the advertising and shortlisting stages take in practice; JETRO's page does not state it and ANAPEC was unreachable. Budget more time than the 10-day TAECHIR endorsement step alone suggests. For a sushi or kaiseki head chef, the job description is your main tool, since candidates are measured against it: be specific about years at a Japanese counter, fish handling and menu development. Our sushi chef job description is a usable template.

5. The endorsed employment contract (TAECHIR)

A foreign employee needs an employment contract endorsed by the ministry responsible for labour. Applications go through the online platform TAECHIR; since 1 June 2017 only applications through TAECHIR are accepted, and JETRO states endorsement takes at most 10 days. We could not confirm the filing fee, if any, from an official source; ask the ministry directly. For contract content, see our contract checklist.

6. Pay and the working week

We found no official Moroccan wage figure for a head chef or a senior cook in this cuisine, and no separate Morocco pay page exists on this site to point to. Set the offer using two references instead of a guess: the chef's current pay in Japan (MHLW 2025: cooks average ¥286,600 a month in regular pay) as the floor for what a head chef should not fall below after relocation, and comparable North African or Middle Eastern markets on sushi chef salary by country for what a Moroccan senior cook's role might command locally. JETRO states the legal working week is 44 hours; build the dinner service rota around that rather than around Japanese kitchen norms, and confirm current overtime rules with the ministry before you finalise the contract.

7. Residence permit: the 15 day deadline

A foreigner staying more than three months, or working in Morocco, must apply for a residence permit within 15 days of entry, at the local police station or gendarmerie. The permit is valid for one year; renew at least two months before it expires. After three years of residence, the holder may apply for a ten-year card. A residence permit is needed to open a bank account, so put day 15 in the chef's arrival plan, not the first free week:

8. Step by step

1. Check the exemption table in section 1. If a secondment or another exemption applies, confirm the scope with the ministry and skip to preparing the residence permit.
2. If not exempt, write a precise, skills-specific job description and apply to ANAPEC.
3. Interview any Moroccan candidates ANAPEC puts forward, and keep records regardless of outcome.
4. Interview the chef with a practical test. See remote skills tests.
5. With the ANAPEC certificate, submit the contract for endorsement on TAECHIR.
6. After arrival, apply for the residence permit within 15 days.
7. Diary the renewal two months before the permit expires.

General information, not legal or immigration advice. This article relies on JETRO's summary (updated 1 October 2025) because ANAPEC and TAECHIR could not be reached again in September 2026. Confirm the current procedure, fees and timelines with ANAPEC and the ministry responsible for labour before acting.