Amnesty International said Egyptian authorities have renewed in recent months a campaign of arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportations targeting refugees and asylum seekers.
In a statement published on Monday, February 16, the organization said the Egyptian campaign comes solely on the basis of refugees’ legal status related to irregular migration.
Amnesty added that the Egyptian measures constitute a blatant violation of the principle of non-refoulement and of the provisions of Egypt’s own asylum law.
The organization stressed that some of those deported, or arbitrarily detained pending deportation, were refugees or asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.
It pointed out that Egyptian police officers in plainclothes have arbitrarily arrested citizens from Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, and other sub-Saharan countries from the streets or their workplaces in various cities across the country, following identity checks.
According to Amnesty, individuals found not to have valid residency permits are taken in unmarked vehicles, even in cases where they were able to present UNHCR cards.
The organization called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release all refugees and asylum seekers arbitrarily detained solely for migration-related reasons.
It also urged the Egyptian government to halt deportations of anyone entitled to protection under international law.
Cases of arbitrary detention
Amnesty International documented that Egyptian security forces arbitrarily arrested 22 refugees and asylum seekers, including a child and two women, from their homes, in the streets, or at checkpoints between late December 2025 and February 5, 2026.
The arrests took place in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, and Alexandria, according to the organization. The detainees include refugees and asylum seekers from Sudan, Syria, and South Sudan, 15 of whom are registered with UNHCR.
Amnesty noted that Egyptian authorities deported a Syrian asylum seeker registered with UNHCR.
The remaining 21 individuals remain at risk of deportation. Authorities have already initiated deportation procedures, despite prosecution orders to release 19 of them, while the other three had appointments scheduled to renew their residency permits at the General Administration of Passports, Immigration and Nationality.
The organization highlighted the absence of official statistics on deportations of Syrians, amid warnings from Egyptian non-governmental organizations about a rise in unlawful deportations of Syrian nationals in mid-January 2026.
Egypt denies entry ban on Syrians
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior denied issuing a decision banning the entry of Syrian nationals who have obtained entry approvals to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
A security source at the ministry confirmed on February 8 that reports circulated on a news website and social media platforms, without naming it, about new restrictions on Syrian entry to Egypt were inaccurate.
In recent days, some social media pages published a circulated notice claiming that a decision had been issued to ban the entry of Syrian nationals holding entry approvals to Egypt.
The circulated notice, which also spread on travel agency pages, reportedly included Syrians arriving from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan “until further notice.”
According to the circulated notice, the decision did not apply to holders of Egyptian residency permits, and February 6, 2026 was said to be the last day permitted for entry.
The recurrence of such circulated decisions has reopened debate over the Syrian presence in Egypt, particularly regarding residency permits, which have become a daily concern for thousands of Syrians residing there.
In recent years, Syrians have faced difficulties obtaining or renewing residency permits.
Syrians in Egypt live under varying conditions, ranging from relative stability for those with valid residency or steady income sources, to ongoing anxiety among a wide segment due to accumulated fines or failure to renew residency permits.
Egypt Bars Syrians From Entering, Except Residency Permit Holders
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