The main framework includes Proclamation No. 24/1992 on travel documents, entry and exit visas and residence permits, Regulation No. 4/1992, Proclamation No. 127/2002 on registration of foreigners, Legal Notice No. 80/2003 and Labour Proclamation No. 118/2001 on work permits. The Immigration Office and its Foreigners Section, including branches under the Internal Affairs authorities, handle immigration matters. The Central Office of Immigration, the Ministry of Labour and Human Welfare, the Secretary of Internal Affairs and Eritrean government representations abroad may also have defined responsibilities. Approved entry points include Asmara, Assab and Massawa airports, the seaports of Massawa, Assab and Thio, and designated land border points. A passport or other accepted travel document generally needs at least six months of validity. Travellers complete an arrival card and receive an entry stamp. Visa applications should generally be filed at least one week before travel, although shorter processing may be possible in urgent cases; the applicable service fee exists, but a reliable current amount was not established. Visa categories include business, student, special or medical, tourist, transit, exit-re-entry and exit visas. A business visa normally requires an invitation and a stated purpose from a government body or private company. It generally permits one entry within one month and up to three months of stay; a multiple-entry permission may exceptionally extend to six months. Changing employers requires authorization. A student visa requires proof of enrolment, sufficient funds, a sponsor or responsibility undertaking and the relevant education authorization. Paid or unpaid work during study requires approval from the Central Office of Immigration and the responsible authorities. A special or medical visa generally requires financial self-support, a sponsor or security bond and confirmation of treatment; it normally allows one entry within one month and up to three months of stay, with monthly extensions. A tourist visa normally permits one entry within one month and up to three months of stay, with a justified extension requested through the Immigration Office using Form 9. Tourist status does not authorize other activities. A transit visa requires onward travel documents and tickets; stay in Eritrea is generally limited to one week, while direct airport transit is limited to 24 hours without leaving the airport. A justified change from transit to tourist status may be possible. A foreign worker must hold a valid work permit and, after entry and work authorization, must register and obtain a residence permit. The employer normally submits the work-permit application. The law considers whether an Eritrean with the required qualification is unavailable and requires an appropriate training programme for Eritrean workers. The permit states the approved activity and duration, normally for up to two years. Renewal is possible, usually annually or within 30 working days before expiry. The responsible ministry may end, withdraw or renew a permit and may impose conditions. Diplomatic personnel, certain United Nations or African Union personnel and people covered by bilateral or multilateral government agreements may fall under exceptions. Statutory permit fees exist, but a reliable current amount was not established. A residence application generally uses Form 10 and requires labour or government authorization, a valid passport or travel document and the prescribed fee. A residence permit normally lasts one year and is renewed with Form 10(a). Changes in relevant information should be reported within one week using Form 11. A foreign national who leaves Eritrea permanently should surrender the permit. Children who entered Eritrea before turning 15 and foreign nationals born in Eritrea generally become subject to a residence-permit requirement from age 15 under the cited rules. No directly evidenced general family-reunification procedure appears in the reviewed entry and residence materials, so family-related residence should not be assumed without confirmation from the responsible authority. Eritrea has no evidenced standalone integration programme or general integration duty in the reviewed material. Language ability and permanent settlement appear instead as naturalization requirements. The reviewed sources also show no national asylum or refugee-status law, no established national refugee-status determination and appeal system, and no confirmed general protection procedure. Eritrea is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, has signed but not ratified the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention, and has not joined the 1954 or 1961 Statelessness Conventions. UNHCR or government arrangements may address individual cases, but the legal status may remain unclear and some people may receive residence permits or residency cards rather than a clearly established refugee status. The reviewed material does not establish a general permanent-residence title. The ordinary residence permit is generally valid for one year. Eritrean nationality may arise by birth through an Eritrean father or mother, or for a person born in Eritrea to unknown parents unless proved otherwise. The Department of Internal Affairs issues nationality certificates. Naturalization requires lawful entry, the required period of domicile, high integrity and no conviction, knowledge of an Eritrean language, ability to support oneself and one's family, renunciation of another nationality, permanent settlement, no anti-people acts, an oath and publication in the Gazette. The stated domicile periods are ten years before 1974 or twenty years with periodic absences. Special rules apply to adoption and marriage, including three years of married life and renunciation of another nationality for the marriage-based case. Nationality can be lost through acts such as voluntarily acquiring another nationality, renunciation, taking a foreign oath, unauthorized service for another state or treason. For naturalized citizens, fraud, deceit and a prison sentence exceeding five years may also be relevant. A nationality or deprivation decision can be challenged before the High Court within one month after written notification, and the High Court decision is final. The reviewed sources do not establish a general appeal against visa or residence decisions. An entry visa may be cancelled at a border point at the holder's expense, and an exit visa may be refused to a person subject to an exit restriction. A foreign national planning permanent departure generally needs an exit visa and evidence of no outstanding obligations to a bank, public administration, landlord, police, electricity provider, tax or customs authority and employer. Holders of entry, tourist or transit visas generally do not need an exit visa while their visa remains valid. The cited legal texts are partly unofficial English translations, and the forms, current fees, consolidated implementation and actual approval practice are not fully transparent. Immigration decisions should therefore be checked with the responsible Eritrean authority or an Eritrean legal professional before travel, employment, study, permanent departure or a nationality application.
Immigration law in Eritrea
Eritrea's immigration law regulates entry, visas, residence, work, exit and nationality for foreign nationals and people seeking Eritrean citizenship. Entry requires an accepted travel document and, where applicable, an entry visa through an approved air, sea or land crossing. Foreign workers and some other foreign residents need registration and residence permits, while employment requires separate authorization. Eritrea has no directly evidenced national asylum framework or general permanent-residence title, and current fees and appeal practice are not fully transparent.
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