In collaboration with the government of Sudan,
Eritrean officials in Sudan have set up a lucrative shop
in Sudan to provide passport and visa services to Eritreans
who crossed the border to Sudan illegally.
In
exchange for Euros and US dollars, the Eritrean embassy in
Khartoum issues Eritrean passports to escapees who
secure visas (mostly to the Arab Gulf states.) Ironically, the
Eritrean citizens would have been shot on sight if the Eritrean
government border patrol had spotted them days
earlier.
Once
a visa is secured for a foreign country, they need to get an exit visa
from Sudan's immigration office. Following its reconciliation with
Eritrean officials, the Sudanese government has instructed its
immigation office not to issue exit visas to Eritreans unless they
bring a no-objection letter from the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum.
Prior
to issuing the no-objection letter, the Eritrean embassy
requires the applicants to fill lengthy forms (their relatives,
addresses, etc) and transfers the information to the Eritrea embassies
in their destination country. This assures their loyalty once they
arrive in the foreign land. They are required to pay a mandatory 2% of
their income taxes. If they refuse to co-operate, their
relatives risk denial of any service from the government.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian embassies in the Arab Gulf countries are denying visas to
Eritrean passport carriers. This is unusual because any residence
permit holder in any of the gulf countries used to get visas without
any difficulty. The reason for this policy change is not known but
observers suspect it is because the Egyptian government wants to avoid
its territories being used as a transit to other countries. Israel and
Europe have been flooded with refugees incluing from Eritrea.