Thousands of Sudanese refugees leave Egypt amid restrictions

Thousands of Sudanese refugees have crowded the offices of the UN refugee agency in Egypt to update their records or enquire about their cases after fears increased following the issuance of the executive regulations for Egypt’s new asylum law last May.

Youssef Saleh, 23, had only a few moments to leave his home in Khartoum. He left his father dead inside the city as it was consumed by the Sudanese war, and had no time to bury him. Strangers later laid his father to rest after he fled with his mother and two sisters to save what remained of his family.

Nearly two years later, the young Sudanese man still relives that moment whenever he returns to his modest home in the Hadayek Al-Ahram district of Egypt’s Giza governorate.

But the fear that accompanies him no longer comes from the sound of shelling. Instead, it stems from the possibility of being stopped by security patrols.

Saleh told The New Arab that his journey to Egypt in the summer of 2024 was not in search of a new life but an attempt to save his future after the war had nearly destroyed it.

“I thought that if I managed to complete my university studies, I would return after the war ended to help rebuild Sudan. I never imagined that my biggest battle would be continuing my education. After arriving in Egypt, I rented a small apartment to shelter my family, then started looking for work to help cover the rising cost of living,” he said.

“But the following months brought a different reality. With the implementation of the new asylum law, refugees of all nationalities began facing difficulties completing paperwork and renewing documents,” he added.

Saleh continued, “The asylum card I hold, issued by the UN refugee agency, is valid until next October, but that does not ease my concerns. Every day, I see people stopping to have their documents checked. The authorities say they are targeting violators, but I know dozens of detainees who hold valid residency permits.”

“Some have been deported, while others were released with guarantees from the Sudanese embassy in Cairo. What I fear is not detention itself, but losing contact with my mother and my two sisters,” he added.

Saleh has had to put his dreams on hold because balancing his studies with supporting his family while working as a driver for a small taxi service inside a residential compound west of Cairo was too difficult.

His day begins before sunrise and ends after midnight.

During the long working hours, the radio and his mobile phone become his only window onto Sudan, where he follows developments in the war, ceasefire efforts, news of returnees and everything published about the situation of Sudanese people in Egypt.

He told The New Arab, “What is said in the media and on social media does not remain in the air. It reaches the streets. Suddenly, you find yourself expected to prove that you are not one of the causes of the existing problems.”

“I hold no anger toward Egyptians. Most of those I have met treated me with respect. But people are suffering from rising prices and difficult living conditions, and some blame refugees for every crisis,” he described.

“A refugee then feels like a stranger twice over, once because he lost his homeland, and again because every day he must prove his right to stay. I am not asking for permanent residency or assistance. I only want to finish my studies and return with my mother and my two sisters when it is safe. We did not choose exile. It was forced upon us,” he added.

The story of Youssef Saleh reflects one aspect of the major refugee crisis that Egypt has shouldered to a significant extent since the outbreak of the war in Sudan in April 2023.

According to the latest data from the UN refugee agency released in June 2026, Egypt hosts 1.1 million registered refugees and asylum seekers.

Sudanese account for about 849,000 of them, representing a 14-fold increase since the war began, while the total number of registered refugees has risen by 281 per cent compared with 2022.

The UN agency said that “Egypt has become the largest host country for people fleeing the war in Sudan, and it also runs the world’s largest refugee status determination operation”.

However, the figures represent only part of the crisis.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently said the country hosts more than 10.5 million foreigners, including migrants and refugees, placing heavy burdens on education, healthcare, housing and essential infrastructure.

He called on the international community to increase financial support for host countries.

During a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees last week, Sisi stressed that Egypt had never used the refugee issue as a political bargaining tool but required a fairer international sharing of responsibilities.

Egyptian rights groups said the wide gap between the two sets of figures reflects different counting methodologies.

Government figures include all foreign nationals residing in Egypt regardless of their legal status, while UN figures are limited to officially registered refugees and asylum seekers.

For Youssef Saleh, these numbers are not merely statistics.

“Every one of those numbers is a person who left behind a home, a university, a job, or a member of their family,” he noted.

During the first months after his arrival, Egypt seemed more like a temporary stop than an alternative homeland.

He kept telling himself he only needed to complete one academic year after another until the war ended, then return to Khartoum.

But the war dragged on.

“We thought the hardest thing we experienced was escaping the shelling. Later, we discovered that refugee life is full of daily tests,” he remarked. 

International rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, argue that stricter residency procedures should not result in the detention of thousands of asylum seekers for administrative violations.

They called for each case to be assessed individually, for respect for the principle of non-refoulement, and for sufficient time for refugees to regularise their legal status during the transitional period.

The organisations also stressed that improving refugees’ conditions cannot be separated from improving conditions for the citizens living alongside them.

Qurashi Bukhari, former director of the National Fund for Graduate Employment in Sudan, believes the refugee crisis should be managed not only as a humanitarian or security issue but also as an economic opportunity that can benefit all parties.

He told The New Arab, “The presence of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese in Egypt can be transformed from a temporary burden into a long-term development opportunity if managed properly.

“The economic integration project between Egypt and Sudan has remained trapped in government bureaucracy for decades despite both countries possessing all the elements needed for its success,” Bukhari added. “The time has come for the private sector to take the lead and transform the historic relationship between the two countries into genuine production and investment partnerships.”

He proposed establishing a joint Egyptian-Sudanese investment platform that brings together business leaders, investors, and professionals from both countries.

Bukhari also called for a more flexible work permit system that grants renewable temporary permits to migrant workers while allowing longer permits for specialists, thereby helping regulate the labour market rather than leaving it largely informal.

He said that legally regulating Sudanese labour would not only benefit refugees but also ease security concerns, increase tax revenues, and prepare the skilled workforce needed when Sudan’s reconstruction begins.

“We should not wait until the war ends before thinking about reconstruction. Some areas have regained a degree of stability, and work can begin there. Egypt has construction companies, engineering expertise and skilled workers, while Sudan needs all of these,” he stressed. “Sudan represents economic and strategic depth, and Egypt can become the natural gateway for reconstruction through a partnership led by the private sector and supported by both governments.”

Youssef Saleh said several of his friends have decided to return to Sudan despite the continuing war.

“They prefer facing the unknown in their own country to living in constant anxiety as refugees. None of them wanted to return now, but some feel they have no other choice,” he said. “The future of Sudanese people in Egypt cannot remain suspended. After two years of displacement, the crisis now affects the future of hundreds of thousands of people caught between a homeland torn apart by war and a host country facing growing economic and security pressures.”

“I understand Egypt’s right to regulate the presence of foreigners, and I know Egyptians are facing difficult circumstances. But we have lost almost everything. We came with whatever savings and expertise we had. We only need a fair opportunity,” Saleh remarked.

Egypt enacted its first comprehensive asylum law in December 2024, followed by its executive regulations in May 2026.

Full implementation of the new system is scheduled to begin next August through the establishment of the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs, which will eventually take over responsibility for asylum cases from the United Nations.

The Egyptian government said the aim is to establish a modern national system that identifies those entitled to international protection while combating irregular migration, taking into account national security considerations and Egypt’s international obligations.

For Saleh, however, the transition looks different, saying, “Every change in the procedures means new questions, long queues, waiting and additional expenses.”

The UN refugee agency in Egypt said it receives between 3,000 and 4,000 refugees and asylum seekers each day and handles more than 500 calls daily through its helplines.

The agency acknowledged that its ability to assist has declined because of funding shortages.

According to its latest figures, by May 2026 it had received only about one-quarter of the funding required for its operations in Egypt, forcing it to reduce the number of people receiving financial assistance.

Saleh said, “Many refugees do not rely on this assistance, and most do not receive it. Most Sudanese people I know live on their wages or money sent by relatives.”

Recent estimates by the International Organisation for Migration indicate that most migrants in Egypt are employed, either in stable jobs or in the informal sector.

Sudanese and Syrian investors have established thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, creating jobs for thousands.

Saleh said, “I know Sudanese families who came to Egypt with their savings and opened restaurants, shops, workshops and offices. They are not waiting for aid.”

But this does not erase another reality seen by many Egyptians.

In cities and neighbourhoods hosting thousands of newcomers, residents complain of rising rents, increased competition for jobs and social changes driven by rapid population growth.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.