The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) is calling on the Justice Minister to issue an immediate decree explicitly recognising the right of refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt to grant power of attorney to lawyers and to access basic police, judicial and notary services while waiting to obtain or renew residency cards. 

EIPR warns against continuing to subject refugees and asylum seekers to decisions that have stripped the vast majority of them of most legal rights, including the ability to access basic public services or seek protection when facing violence or crime.

In late July, the Justice Minister issued Periodical Communique No. 92 of 2026, which stressed that “all employees at real estate registry offices and directorates, notary public offices, and their branches must strictly refrain from providing any real estate registration or notarization services to foreign nationals who do not hold residency or exemption cards.” The letter failed to exempt refugees and asylum seekers, who are in the greatest need of legal assistance and access to Justice Ministry services during mandatory waiting periods to receive or renew residency.

EIPR believes the minister's new circular reinforces a dangerous trend in place since mid-2024, leaving refugees in Egypt deprived of even the simplest legal services, including legal representation and access to the courts. 

In August 2023, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 3326 of 2023, granting undocumented foreigners a three-month grace period to regularise their status—a deadline extended multiple times. Although the decree was not intended to affect refugees and asylum seekers, whose status is governed by the 1951 Refugee Convention and the new asylum law passed in late 2024, the government began applying it universally in mid-2024. This paved the way for a series of decisions stripping refugees of fundamental rights and services long available to them in Egypt, including civil and health services. Most critical among these is the right to access notary services and appoint legal counsel, as highlighted in the latest periodical letter. 

The measure deepens the legal vulnerability of refugees in Egypt, which has steadily worsened since arbitrary stops and arrests campaigns began two years ago.

This heightened vulnerability extends beyond the struggle to complete residency permit procedures or secure representation in deportation cases. Refugees are also denied basic legal protections, such as seeking aid from state authorities when facing violence or abuse, which are dangers that disproportionately affect women, children and vulnerable groups. According to a memorandum sent to the Egyptian government by four UN Human Rights Council special rapporteurs, and published in January, aid organisations in Egypt documented 647 cases of gender-based violence within refugee communities in the first three months of 2025 alone. In April 2025 alone, 168 incidents of gender-based violence within refugee communities were reported across the country. The most frequent abuses against women were physical assault (41 cases) and rape (30 cases). The most frequent against girls were sexual assault (16 cases), physical assault and rape. The memorandum added that 41 cases of gender-based violence against children were recorded that month, including sexual and physical abuse. Because of new legal hurdles and policies withholding services from undocumented migrants, most victims cannot report these crimes to police or courts. In the best scenarios, they end up submitting complaints to relief and humanitarian organisations.

Furthermore, Egyptian courts have refused to accept lawsuits filed by refugees since mid-2024. This refusal has been documented in State Council cases regarding petitions to halt deportation orders, as well as in civil courts that rejected marriage and divorce cases. In December 2024, the Real Estate Registry Department of the Justice Ministry issued Technical Directive No. 28 of 2024, directing notary offices to refuse notarization of lease contracts involving foreign nationals unless valid residency is verified. The directive also contains no exceptions for refugees or individuals exempt from residency requirements.

These decrees,  technical directives and ministerial communiques effectively deprive the vast majority of refugees in Egypt of access to the justice system. Under Article 97 of the Egyptian Constitution, access to the courts is a fundamental right guaranteed to all, essential for refugees to defend themselves and establish the legal validity of their presence in the country. 

The severe impact of these measures is heightened by an expanded security campaign targeting refugees in general, and displaced Sudanese in particular, since 2024. Security forces have carried out random sweeps to detain migrants and refugees in public places, streets, homes, schools and workplaces under the banner of residency checks. Over the past two years, authorities have detained and deported thousands of people regardless of legal status, with rights groups documenting numerous cases involving individuals holding valid refugee cards and active residency permits.

In the first half of 2026 alone, Egyptian security forces arrested 8,000 refugees and asylum seekers, according to protection group estimates, though the actual figure is believed to be much higher. Many were held in overcrowded, inhumane conditions, resulting in the deaths of at least 27 refugees in detention by the beginning of September 2026. This marks an unprecedented decline in conditions for refugees, who had enjoyed relative stability in Egypt for decades. While tracking exact deportation numbers remains difficult, data from aid agencies indicates that monthly deportations of refugees and asylum seekers have exceeded 1,000 since early 2026. 

At the same time, growing fear, insecurity and the constant risk of arrest and deportation drove more than 750,000 Sudanese to return to Sudan by mid-2026, according to International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates, despite active conflict, a worsening humanitarian crisis and severe food insecurity reaching famine levels in parts of the country.

Alongside security operations, the government began restricting refugee access to basic public services, including legal services needed to access the courts and contest unlawful deportation. 

These administrative rules, which should not apply to refugees, were predictable in shutting out the majority of refugees from services they had accessed without hindrance for decades. According to rights organisations, at least 80% of refugees in Egypt live in forced irregularity because of prolonged waiting periods to obtain residency, which reached at least 19 months in 2025. Appointments to review residency applications for registered refugees have been delayed so significantly that some have been scheduled as far out as 2029. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that roughly 83% of registered individuals have entered Egypt through irregular channels due to procedural restrictions imposed on legal entry since the outbreak of war in Sudan.

As executive regulations for the new asylum law have taken effect since August 21, EIPR reiterates that Egyptian authorities must recognise documents issued by the newly established Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs, as well as UNHCR documents, as standalone proof of legal status. These documents should serve as the foundation for granting legal protection, official papers and basic public services throughout the waiting periods to receive or renew residency permits.

EIPR calls on Egyptian authorities to take the following steps:

• Allow all refugees in Egypt to issue powers of attorney and access basic police, judicial and notary services, regardless of expected residency waiting periods or legal status. The government should also issue ministerial decrees explicitly exempting refugees from decisions suspending services to foreigners.

• Amend the bylaws of Asylum Law No. 164 of 2024 to include an explicit provision recognising registration documents issued by the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs as proof of legal status. This would prevent delays by immigration authorities in processing or renewing residency applications from being used as a pretext for deportation or denying basic services.

• Amend the bylaws to affirm that cards issued by UNHCR remain valid and guarantee legal status and access to basic rights under Egyptian and international law until the national system is fully operational and the Permanent Committee begins issuing its own documentation.