Eritrea
Summary
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders, as the borders are currently closed.
Eritrea’s land borders are closed. Some international flights have resumed.
COVID-19 entry restrictions for Eritrea
Before you travel, check the ‘Entry requirements’ section for Eritrea’s current entry restrictions and requirements. These may change with little warning. Monitor this advice for the latest updates and stay in contact with your travel provider.
Travelling from and returning to the UK
Check what you must do to travel abroad and return to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
If you plan to pass through another country to return to the UK, check the travel advice for the country you’re transiting.
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All foreign nationals, including diplomats, must apply in advance for a travel permit to leave the Asmara region. See Travel Permits and Consular Assistance.
Consular support is severely limited in parts of Eritrea. If you’re in Eritrea and you need urgent help (for example, you’ve been attacked, arrested or someone has died), call the British Embassy in Asmara on +291 17 125660 123.207 (8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Thursday or 8am to midday, Friday). Alternatively, you can call the British Embassy in Addis Ababa on +251 11 617 0100 who can also provide consular advice. If you’re in the UK and worried about a British national in Eritrea, call 020 7008 5000. See Consular Assistance
The Eritrean authorities consider all British nationals holding either Eritrean or PFDJ identity documents (including out of date documents) as Eritrean nationals. The British Embassy is unable to offer consular assistance to dual nationals in Eritrea. See Dual nationals.
Although there’s no recent history of terrorism in Eritrea, attacks can’t be ruled out. See Terrorism.
If you’re abroad and you need emergency help from the UK government, contact the nearest British embassy, consulate or high commission.
Update history
2024-09-12 17:07
Information on the risks to women travellers visiting Asmara (‘Safety and security’ page).
2024-01-12 00:18
Update to Safety and Security page
2023-12-19 12:56
This travel advice has been rewritten to make it easier to read and understand.
2023-06-22 12:12
Information about the global terrorism risks to British nationals abroad on all FCDO travel advice pages.
2023-06-06 15:03
Information on Eritrea’s land border with Sudan, local security measures and air travel, and update to Embassy contact telephone number (‘Safety and security’, ‘Entry requirements’ and ‘Coronavirus’ pages).
2022-11-28 09:31
Information on coronavirus entry requirements (‘Entry requirements’ page) and coronavirus exit requirements (‘Coronavirus’ page)
2022-09-16 13:43
Information on the national call up of militia (Summary page) and (Safety and security page)
2022-09-16 11:28
New information that the Eritrean Government has announced a national call up of its local militia, in response to the conflict in Tigray (‘Summary’ and ‘Safety and security’ pages).
2022-04-12 15:23
The FCDO advises against all travel to within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders (‘Summary’ page). Full review of the entire advice with amendments to the ‘Entry requirements’, ‘Coronavirus’, ‘Local laws and customs’, ‘Health’ and ‘Money’ sections.