New residency requirements leave Syrians in Egypt in limbo

CAIRO — Abdulrahman seems older than his 22 years, with weary eyes and a long beard. Since being deported from Egypt in July, he has lived in hiding in Syria’s central Homs city. “When I do leave my home, I take side streets to avoid checkpoints,” he told Syria Direct by video call.

Abdulrahman, who asked to be identified only by his first name because he is wanted for compulsory military service, was detained in Cairo in early July, days after the Egyptian government began enforcing new residency requirements for foreign nationals. After one year in the country, he soon found himself on a plane back to Syria. 

When he landed in Damascus, Abdulrahman was handed over to the security forces and interrogated about why he returned, he said. The authorities gave him 15 days to enlist in the army, but he returned to his family home in Homs instead. There, with the deadline to enlist long since passed, he is essentially homebound.

On July 1, Cairo terminated a long-standing exemption that allowed Syrians to indefinitely renew six-month tourist visas. Since then, all foreign nationals in the country, including refugees, are required to apply for residency or face deportation.

To legally reside in Egypt, Syrians must be an asylum seeker or refugee registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a student or an investor. Asylum seekers must renew their registration with the UNHCR every 18 months to obtain a “yellow card” and apply for a residency permit, which costs 500 Egyptian pounds ($10). 

Before the change, only 10 percent of Syrians in Egypt were registered with the UNHCR. Many opted out given the lengthy process, a perception that asylum-seeker status did not grant many benefits and the fact that—at least before July—Syrians did not need it to stay in Egypt.  

With their lives upturned by the new regulations, thousands of Syrians with only tourist visas must now apply for new forms of residency. However, appointments with the General Administration of Passports, Immigration, and Nationality Affairs (GAPIN) can be up to two years away. Now in limbo, Syrian men particularly fear deportation, while some children without residency are kept out of school. 

Passerbyers stroll past the al-Hosary Mosque in 6th of October city, a satellite town near Cairo where tens of thousands of Syrians live and work, 06/07/2024 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)

Fears of deportation

Egypt hosts around 1.5 million Syrians—out of 9.1 million foreign nationals—most of whom arrived since Syria’s 2011 revolution and ensuing war. For years, they found Egypt to be an accessible refuge with greater community acceptance than other nearby countries and looser requirements to stay long term. 

That began to change in August 2023, when the Egyptian government announced new measures requiring foreign nationals to obtain a formal residency status. An original deadline to do so was subsequently extended, with enforcement beginning at the start of July.

“The Egyptian people love Syrians, but the government is something else,” said Abu Muhammad, 55, a street vendor from Damascus who sells makdous, olives and sweets in 6th of October—a satellite city outside Cairo that hosts a large Syrian population. He opted not to disclose his family name for safety reasons.

Read more: In Egypt’s ‘Little Syria,’ a golden age dims

While Abu Muhammad believes he is relatively protected from deportation because of his age and his Egyptian mother, he fears for his son who does not hold residency. His son was initially in the country on a student visa, but could not afford tuition as a foreigner and dropped out to work at a restaurant, he said. “I’m afraid for him. He is trying to travel to any other country,” Abu Muhammad added. 

The roadside stall where Abu Muhammad, 55, sells olives, pickles and sweets in 6th of October city, 06/07/2024 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)

“All of us are afraid. At first, you go to prison…then you are deported and have to pay for the plane ticket, which is expensive,” Mustafa Jaber, 26, explained. Originally from Damascus, Jaber arrived in Egypt in 2021 and now works at a Syrian kebab shop in 6th of October city. He fears that he could be required to do military service for up to 10 years if forced to return to Syria. Plus, “the situation is not stable,” he added. 

His coworker, Youssef Kharata, 34, chimed in: “I only served two years of my military service. They’ll take me at the airport [in Syria]. I won’t reach home.” Originally from Qalamoun, Kharata entered Egypt by smuggling via Sudan in 2020. 

Zakaria al-Tahhan, 30, who works at a Syrian restaurant sifting coal for grilling, is also worried. Life back in Syria is “unstable” and he is wanted for conscription, he said. “I can’t consider going back to Syria due to the living conditions and lack of electricity.”

Originally from Homs city, al-Tahhan wrestled for Syria’s national team before fleeing to Beirut in 2012. “I didn’t want to kill anyone. I went from rooftop to rooftop to evade the patrols for conscription,” he said. Due to worsening conditions in Lebanon, he and his family arrived in Egypt on tourist visas in 2022. 

Scrutiny on Syrians working in Egypt has increased in recent months, al-Tahhan said. “If they know your restaurant is Syrian, they’ll come check residency permits,” he added. Tourist visa holders—which includes most Syrians—are not allowed to work in Egypt. 

Zakaria al-Tahhan, 30, a former wrestler for the Syrian national team who now works sifting coal at a Syrian restaurant in Egypt, 06/07/2024 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)

At the sweets shop he manages in 6th of October city, Yasser Hindieh, 30, has also seen an increase in police patrols. As his shop is identifiably Syrian, they come to his store “asking for residencies,” he said. 

Fearful of these patrols, many of Hindieh’s employees have quit, negatively affecting his business. “It’s difficult to find new employees who know the trade,” he said. Baklava, one of the sweets that he sells, requires expertise.

Hindieh, who is originally from Damascus, is registered as a refugee with UNHCR, and is in the process of renewing his own residency. 

Read more: Living and working as a Syrian in Egypt: A constant balancing act

Kept out of school

While Syrian men reported increased scrutiny in Egypt, women and girls Syria Direct spoke to described a different situation. “They have stopped my brothers, they don’t stop girls,” Rahaf Othman, 21, who works at a clothing store in 6th of October, said. Originally from Homs city, she and her family have been in Egypt on tourist visas since 2013.

“I have no fears of deportation. We lived in fear when missiles were coming down on the house” in Syria, she added. However, she fears her younger brothers could be deported.

Alaa Abdulrahman, 28, who works at a perfume shop, agreed. “Girls don’t face the same issues, it’s more dangerous for men.”

While women feel they are at a lower risk of deportation, there are other consequences to not holding residency. Othman thinks of her 13-year-old sister, who has been out of school for a year. To attend school in Egypt, children must have valid residency or be in the process of obtaining it.

Abdulrahman’s 12-year old daughter has not attended an official school for three years because she does not have residency. She now attends a Syrian school for children with disabilities, but it is not recognized. “There is no diploma, no future, but this is what I can offer her,” she said.

Abdulrahman’s family registered with the UNHCR when they arrived in Egypt from Damascus in 2013. In light of the new regulations, they scheduled an appointment to apply for residency in July. However, their appointment with immigration authorities is not until 2026.

Yasser Hindieh, 30, originally from Damascus, runs a Syrian sweets shop in 6th October city, 06/07/2024 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)

Residency requirements

Applying for residency in Egypt requires a valid rental agreement. However, landlords are often reluctant to provide formal leases to avoid paying taxes. As a result, foreign tenants often resort to paying for forged contracts. 

In the case of Abdulrahman, who was deported from Egypt in July, he had a real rental agreement but not for his own apartment. When the new residency requirements were announced, he sought to legalize his status by transferring from a tourist visa to a student visa. “I wanted to make sure everything was legal so I consulted a lawyer,” he said. He had all of his papers in order, including his acceptance to a university. 

Abdulrahman and others Syria Direct spoke to said they applied for student visas in order to regularize their status, but were working or planned to work instead. Unlike refugee residency, which lasts six months, student visas last one year, and allow their holders to travel outside of the country without reapplying.

Abdulrahman’s landlord refused to provide a rental agreement, however, so his lawyer gave him one, signed by her father, for a different apartment several hours away. When asked to state his address at the General Security Directorate, Abdulrahman could not remember it. The authorities accused him of having a fake contract and subsequently detained him. He recalled that three other Syrians, two Yemenis and one Sudanese were detained for the same reason in the cell where he was held. 

After being interrogated, Abdulrahman was forced to pay 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($103) to cover the cost of his deportation flight to Syria. Before leaving, he was transferred to a prison where he paid an additional 1,200 Egyptian pounds ($25) in bribes to have a “clean cell without criminals” and smuggle in cigarettes and food from his brother. 

Youssef Kharata, 34, originally from Syria’s Qalamoun region, now works at a Syrian kebab restaurant in 6th October city, 06/07/2024 (Natacha Danon/Syria Direct)

Making ends meet

Adding to the fear of deportation, many Syrians in Egypt are barely making ends meet as the country faces an economic crisis. In March, the country’s central bank abandoned its artificially set exchange rate and free-floated the currency, causing its value to plummet.

Othman works 18 hours a day, six days a week “just to save a little money,” she said. Jaber cannot afford to send money home to support his family. “My mother and sister are in Syria, but I can’t even help myself with a monthly salary of $150-$200,” he said. 

Kharata works 18 hours per day, seven days a week, for a monthly salary of $180. “I come home and my wife hasn’t cooked, we can’t afford it,” he said. He recently got married, but children are out of the question. “It’s 20,000 Egyptian pounds [$412] to give birth, with the hospital and everything,” he said. “I regret getting married.” 

But despite difficult working conditions and fears of deportation, returning to Syria is out of the question, all agreed. On top of the threat of conscription, life there is unsafe and unsustainable.

“There is nothing for us there [in Syria], why would I return? Our situation is not good, but it is better here—at least we live in security,” Othman said. 

“There is no comparison between Syria and Egypt,” Hindieh echoed.