Ireland's Sudanese community fleeced out of 'thousands' when visiting family displaced to Egypt
SUDANESE PEOPLE LIVING in Ireland are finding themselves exploited and losing 'thousands of euros' when trying to get visas to visit family members in Egypt who have been displaced by their home nation's civil war.
Two years on from the outbreak of the war, Sudanese people living in Ireland told The Journal that they are 'left in limbo' and face heartbreaking situations preventing them from seeing family with serious illness.
A group of more than 30 Sudanese people, several of whom have been residing in Ireland for decades, alleged they are also facing the obstacles because of delays with the Egyptian embassy in Dublin.
The group – speaking on condition of anonymity – claimed that friends in the Sudanese community elsewhere have found no such issue with embassies in the UK, the Nordic countries and western Europe.
The tightened measures have come in response to a huge volume of people fleeing Sudan's civil war across the country's border to Egypt – more than 1.2 million people have arrived in Egypt over the past two years according to the UN.
But this has left numerous Sudanese in Ireland at a loss as they try to visit their displaced family members who now live in Egypt.
'All our families entered Egypt legally,' one woman told The Journal, 'but when my father had cancer I couldn't get to visit without going through these agencies that come up with their own costs for a visa. All we really want is a clear process and an official pathway.'
Separately to the embassy in Dublin, Sudanese people looking to enter Egypt need security clearance papers.
However, they have found themselves 'at the mercy' of private operators because it's unregulated- with some saying the cost has increased 100-fold since the outbreak of war.
Prior to war
Egypt and Sudan maintained a much more open border prior to the latter country's civil war that started in mid-2023. In particular there was far less difficulty for Sudanese women of any age, children under 16, and men over 65, all who could enter Egypt without a visa.
Others could obtain entry visas at a cost of €25-30 in a 'straightforward' consular process, but this has ballooned over the past two years.
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This policy was reversed amid the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023.
All of the Sudanese people who spoke to The Journal expressed serious frustration at 'delay' at the Egyptian embassy in Dublin.
'After submitting our documents, little to no update or progress is communicated for up to two months, after which the application is considered 'expired' and then we are required to reapply,' one man said.
He added that this 'repeats until either the passport or stamp validity falls below six months, upon which the application is denied', requiring the applicant to renew their documents.
The group we spoke to also spoke of 'ridiculous' financial costs involved in obtaining security papers.
One Sudanese man who has been living in Ireland for several years said the system for security clearance operates on an 'unofficial' basis, best summed up as 'I know a guy who knows a guy', with citizens finding themselves having to pay exorbitant amounts to gain the documentation needed.
Another man recently travelling said he had to pay the equivalent of €2,800 for security clearance papers.
But because these clearances are not yet provided via official gateways, it leaves them open to abuse according to those who spoke to The Journal.
'They may take the form of a document, or sometimes, merely an oral confirmation that the traveler's name is 'on the list' of approved entrants,' one man said.
He added that the 'absence of a formal mechanism has opened the door for middlemen and unregulated brokers' to take hold of the process.
The group of Sudanese are urging the Egyptian embassy in Ireland to provide the Sudanese community in Ireland visas to visit Egypt in a more timely manner, and to 'provide transparent and clear communication to all applicants'.
They also want the embassy to 'formalise the clearance document from their side to eliminate reliance on unofficial intermediaries'.
The Egyptian embassy did respond when contacted for comment.
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