Egyptian authorities have called on all foreigners living in the country to move quickly to regularise their legal status, renew residency permits and obtain the new smart residency card, as Cairo seeks to tighten oversight of foreign residents.
In a statement broadcast by Egypt’s Channel One and Nile News, authorities urged foreign residents to visit the General Administration of Passports, Immigration and Nationality to complete residency procedures. They said the new smart cards form part of Egypt’s wider digital transformation programme and are intended to make it easier for foreigners to deal with government institutions.
The authorities also called on foreigners who are exempt from residency fees to register their information and obtain an exemption card, describing it as the official document required to access government services in an organised and recognised manner.
Egyptian officials said residency cards and exemption cards would become the main proof of legal status for foreigners in the country, warning that state institutions would not deal in future with any foreign national who does not hold a valid residency card or an approved exemption card.
The announcement comes as Egypt hosts thousands of Sudanese who fled the war between General al-Burhan’s SAF and the Rapid Support Forces. Rights groups and Sudanese organisations have previously raised concerns over arrests, harassment and deportations of Sudanese refugees and migrants in Egypt, saying such measures have forced many to return to Sudan despite the ongoing conflict.
