Eritrea
Summary
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders,borders.
Eritrea’s asland the borders arewith currentlyDjibouti and Ethiopia are closed.
Eritrea’s land bordersborder arewith closed.Sudan Someis internationaloperational flightsin haveresponse resumed.to the conflict in Sudan.
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.
If you plan to pass through another country to return to the UK, check the travel advice for the country you’re transiting.
It is more important than ever to get travel insurance and check it provides sufficient cover. See the FCDO’s guidance on foreign travel insurance.
On 14 September 2022, the Eritrean Government announced a national call up of militia in response to the conflict in northern Ethiopia. ExtraEthiopia. While the call up has now ended following the peace deal between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), extra security measures may still be in place around Asmara and the rest of Eritrea. You should beremain extra vigilant atto thisthe time.local security situation during your stay.
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 1 125202 123.838 . 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The Eritrean authorities consider all British nationals holding either Eritrean or PFDJ identity documents (including out of date documents) as Eritrean nationals.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.