Trapped Abroad: Egyptians Fleeing Sisi's Rule at Home Face Pursuit Overseas

Many Egyptian expatriates have encountered difficulties in obtaining official documents from embassies and consulates, due to reasons that range from punitive measures to profit-driven motives.

A recent example of this struggle surfaced in a widely circulated video featuring an Egyptian resident of Marseille, France, who shared his ordeal in securing a passport.

In the video, published on December 20, 2024, he revealed that the cost of obtaining a passport from the Egyptian consulate in Marseille was as high as €700 (approximately 53 Egyptian pounds per euro), amounting to over 37,000 pounds in local currency.

However, inflated consular fees are not the only challenge facing Egyptians abroad. A more pressing issue lies in the new, overly complex security procedures introduced by some Egyptian consulates. These measures delay the issuance of official documents until thorough political background checks are conducted.

The Egyptian diaspora is estimated to include around 14 million people, as reported by the former Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs, Soha Gendi, in March 2024.

Security Approval

In this context, obtaining security clearance from Egyptian authorities has become the primary requirement for renewing official documents. Without this approval, applications are often rejected.

Egyptians living abroad, whether in France, Turkiye, Qatar, Germany, or Canada, have shared their struggles with these unofficially enforced rules, which have been in place for years. Many view them as tools to suppress opponents and human rights activists abroad. Several opponents have reported that Egyptian embassies conduct periodic security reviews, seemingly aimed at tightening surveillance and placing them under scrutiny outside the country.

On December 23, 2024, Egyptian opponent Mohamed Abbas, politician and former member of the executive office of the Egyptian Revolution Youth Coalition, posted about his own ordeal. 

“As an Egyptian citizen abroad, I applied to renew my soon-to-expire passport at the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul.”

“The consulate asked me to fill out a new form unrelated to the passport renewal process, stating it was for a security review before processing my request. I completed the form, and the staff said they would contact me in two days. I couldn’t help but laugh and said, ‘Inshallah,’” he added.

“After nearly two months of waiting, I received a call from a consulate employee informing me that a travel document in my name had arrived, allowing me to travel to Egypt to renew my passport there if I want to.”

“The consulate’s response is essentially a disguised refusal to renew my passport because they know I cannot return to Egypt due to my unjust placement on the country’s terrorism watchlist. Denying my passport renewal is a violation of my right to official documents, freedom of travel, and movement. It’s yet another example of the Egyptian regime’s cross-border repression,” Abbas concluded.

Birth Registration Challenges

A troubling aspect of the crisis is the refusal of some Egyptian embassies to register the newborns of political opponents or issue birth certificates for their children.

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, Egyptian expatriate Omar Abdel Aziz shared his experience of trying to register his newborn daughter and obtain a birth certificate to secure her identification documents, including a passport, for travel purposes.

He explained that he visited the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul, where he was asked to fill out a form with his personal details and those of his daughter.

“They also required the hospital-issued birth certificate, which I had translated, authenticated, and notarized at the consulate—a process that cost around $150 (approximately 7,600 EGP),” he said.

Despite providing all the required documents, the consulate delayed its response. When Abdel Aziz followed up, he was told that his application was denied and that he could only obtain the required paperwork by traveling to Egypt.

Frustrated, he questioned the rationale behind the consulate’s refusal to issue a birth certificate for an infant just a few months old. “What is the role of embassies and consulates if not this? Does such a situation happen anywhere else in the world?” he asked.

Under the Egyptian Constitution, denying a child access to identification documents constitutes a violation of their rights. Article 80 of the Constitution explicitly states that “every child has the right to a name and identification documents, free mandatory vaccinations, healthcare, family or alternative care, basic nutrition, safe shelter, religious upbringing, and emotional and cognitive development.”

Systematic Denial

On March 13, 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on the systematic denial of official documents to Egyptian opponents living abroad, describing it as a violation of their fundamental rights. The international rights organization stated that, in recent years, Egyptian authorities “systematically refused to provide or renew the identity documents of dozens of opponents, journalists, and human rights activists living abroad.”

The organization further explained that “the refusal is apparently intended to pressure them to return to near-certain persecution in Egypt.” 

“The inability to obtain birth certificates or renew essential documents such as passports and ID cards has hampered access to basic rights for opponents abroad and their dependent family members,” HRW added.

These arbitrary measures have also impeded their ability to travel, live, and work legally, and in some cases, they have threatened their access to basic healthcare, education, or reunification with family members.

HRW also emphasized that the Egyptian government is unjustly denying its citizens abroad the right to valid passports and other official documents, thus violating both the constitution and international human rights law.

Exiled Politicians

In recent years, numerous high-profile politicians, including presidential candidate Ayman Nour, have faced similar difficulties in renewing their passports after fleeing Egypt due to the country’s deteriorating conditions regarding rights and freedoms. Despite a court ruling in his favor, Nour was still denied passport renewal. Similarly, former Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei faced several weeks of delay in receiving his new passport, following his media campaign against the government and a series of critical tweets.

The same situation affected political science professor Dr. Saif Eddin Abdel Fattah, who had his passport renewal request rejected by the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul. This prompted him to issue a statement calling on the international community to pressure the Egyptian government on the matter.

On February 4, 2021, the executive committee of the Ghad el-Thawra party, led by Ayman Nour, attempted to take legal action at the United Nations Human Rights Council and several international organizations, with support from human rights groups. Their goal was to compel the Egyptian government to comply with international agreements and Egyptian law regarding the renewal of passports for Egyptians abroad.

According to al-Ahram, Egypt's official newspaper, as of October 25, 2016, Egypt had 162 diplomatic missions, including embassies and consulates, staffed by around 531 diplomats and administrative assistants, located in various capitals worldwide. These missions are expected to play a crucial role in supporting expatriates, regardless of their political views, and providing essential services. However, many Egyptians continue to struggle with these processes and find themselves denied basic rights, such as obtaining official documents.