New Regulations for Egyptians Entering Sudan through the ``Argin`` Crossing

Wadi Halfa - Moatinoon
On Tuesday, Sudanese authorities announced new regulations for Egyptians entering through the "Arqin" border crossing between the two countries.

The Director of the General Administration of Passports and Immigration instructed the Director General of the Egyptian "Argin" Port that passports must have at least 8 months of validity.

Additionally, it was mandated that Egyptians over the age of 50, women, and children under 12 must obtain an entry visa.

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in mid-April 2023, Sudanese citizens have faced severe difficulties in obtaining visas to enter Egypt, as Egypt now requires security approval for entry.2

The Egyptian authorities have also imposed a requirement for Sudanese of all ages to obtain entry visas, whereas previously Sudanese citizens over the age of 50, women, and children could obtain visas at the border crossings between the two countries. However, the situation changed after the war began in April last year.

Thousands of refugees fleeing the horrors of the war in Sudan have been forced to resort to smuggling routes across the desert to reach the city of "Aswan," leading to deaths and disappearances due to the harshness of the journey.

In 2004, Sudan and Egypt signed the "Four Freedoms" agreement, which grants the rights of movement, residence, work, and property ownership, but this agreement was never implemented on the ground.

Currently, relations between Cairo and Khartoum are calm, though they occasionally experience tensions over contentious issues, including the dispute over the Halaib, Shalatin, and Abu Ramad triangle border area and the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the "Rapid Support Forces" have been engaged in a war that has resulted in around 20,000 deaths and more than 10 million displaced persons and refugees, according to the United Nations.