On Saturday, the Ministry of Interior reminded foreign nationals living in Egypt to refer to the General Administration of Passports, Immigration and Nationality (GAPIN) before 30 June.
All foreign nationals must be registered with GAPIN and obtain an ID card to maintain access to government services, while foreign residents who are exempt from acquiring residency permits must obtain exemption cards before 1 July. “Should they fail to do so they will no longer have access to services provided by state authorities,” the ministry said in a statement.
Foreign residents who are exempted from acquiring residency permits include the spouses of Egyptian nationals.
A source told Cairo News channel on 28 June that “foreigners who fail to complete the registration process and obtain a residency permit or commit a crime will be deported in line with Egyptian law.”
In August 2023, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli issued a decree requiring foreigners residing in Egypt irregularly to legitimise their stay in line with new conditions and regulations which included payment of a $1,000 fee and naming an Egyptian sponsor. The original deadline was extended several times.
The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) estimates the number of foreign nationals in Egypt, including refugees and asylum seekers, at 9.1 million. The figure includes four million Sudanese, 1.5 million Syrians, one million Yemenis, and one million Libyans. The number increased following the beginning of the Sudanese civil war in April 2023 when more than 500,000 Sudanese fled to Egypt.
Naila Gabr, chairperson of the National Committee for Combating Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking, said in a press interview that registration of foreigners, particularly refugees and migrants, will provide reliable information about the number of people present in Egypt.
“The new registration measures should not be seen as an aggressive move against foreign nationals. It is the right of the Egyptian government to regulate the status of foreigners residing here in line with Egyptian laws and international conventions,” she said.
“Each case is examined thoroughly, and the authorities are working flat out to facilitate the registration process.”
Ayman Zohri, a member of the National Council for Human Rights, said the financial burden on Egypt of hosting 9.1 million foreigners is huge.
“Egypt has opened its borders several times to receive those fleeing armed conflicts in African countries like Sudan and Arab countries like Palestine, Syria and Yemen but this can’t continue indefinitely,” said Zohri. “The international community, particularly the European Union, needs to help alleviate the financial burdens Egypt is facing.”
On the sidelines of the Egypt-EU Investment Conference on Sunday, Madbouli called for “a clear cooperation mechanism” to support Egypt and share the burden of hosting nine million foreign nationals, the majority of them refugees and migrants. In response, the World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde acknowledged the costs to Egypt of providing refugees with healthcare, education and accommodation.
On World Refugee Day on 20 June, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement underlining the urgent need to share the burden of hosting refugees.
“Egypt has provided a safe haven for those who have sought refuge within its borders after being forced to flee their homeland,” said the statement. “There is a pressing need for the international community to mobilise resources to meet the needs of these refugees and help alleviate the pressures on host countries.”
Some media reports have claimed Egypt’s adoption of new measures to regulate the status of foreigners reflects security rather than humanitarian concerns.
MP Hassan Bassiouni, a member of parliament’s Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly that “it is no secret that the rise in the number of refugees and migrants coming to Egypt has coincided with an economic crisis.”
The presence of such a large number of refugees has forced the government to take action before they become an economic and security threat, he continued, adding that “many MPs report receiving messages from their constituents asking the House of Representatives to intervene and pass a new legislation on refugees.”
“A bill, approved by the cabinet last April, is already prepared, and will set up a permanent commission for refugee affairs” to be responsible for supervising the conditions and status of refugees.
London-based Amnesty International said in a recent report that the government’s new residency-related measures had led to thousands of Sudanese being deported. In response, a source told Cairo News on Friday that “Egyptian law enforcement agencies abide by the law when dealing with refugees and measures are implemented without discrimination.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 4 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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