Thousands of foreigners rush into the imposing building of the General Department of Passports, Immigration and Nationality in the El-Abbassiya district of Cairo. Every day, from 8 a.m., the bowels of Egyptian immigration, a veritable administrative labyrinth under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior, open: at the entrance, long rows of chairs are lined up under a courtyard in the section reserved for Sudanese.
Ahead of the Syrians, Yemenis and Libyans, they now form the largest community of exiles in Egypt. Since the outbreak of war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 460,000 people have found refuge in the neighboring country where 4 million people have already been settled for a long time. their compatriots.
In the center of El-Abbassiya, police officers and intelligence agents unceremoniously direct them towards the counters. “For weeks I have been coming back every two days to obtain my residence permit. Each time it gets stuck, you have to constantly provide additional papers. It’s a humiliation”said Hamza (all first names have been changed for security reasons), a 40-year-old banker, who left Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in August, after being beaten for five days in a jail held by militiamen of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR).
In the maze of the Egyptian administration, the delays in obtaining a residence permit are extremely long and, most of the time, the precious keys are issued for short periods. “They are valid for six months. But people often receive them after four months, leaving them only two months to live legally before filing again. It’s an obstacle course”deplores Sheima Taj El-Sir, a Sudanese lawyer.
“Measures that only increase illegality”
In the wake of the war in Sudan, adjoining with its 1,300 kilometers of common border, Egypt has tightened the conditions of entry into its territory. In June 2023, authorities ended the visa waiver previously enjoyed by women, children under 16 and men over 50, suspending de facto the bilateral agreements, Four Freedoms Agreement, signed in 2004 and supposed to facilitate the movement of people.
Then, in August, Cairo introduced tougher rules for obtaining a residence permit, requiring a dollar deposit at the bank and imposing a tax of 1,000 dollars (942 euros) on migrants who arrived illegally. ) to regularize. “Measures that only increase illegality”continues Sheima Taj El-Sir.
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