Eritrea Travel Guide

Eritrea requires nearly every foreign visitor to arrange a visa before arrival, it is generally not available at the airport. The process runs through an online form, B62.3, plus supporting documents like bank statements and an itinerary, submitted to a consulate, with processing described as taking anywhere from 2 to 25 days depending on the circumstances. The government visa fee itself, 70 US dollars, is paid in cash specifically at Asmara airport, not online in advance, an unusual split between the application process and the actual payment. Every visa issued is valid for three months from its date of issue, so your actual arrival needs to fall within that window, not just your eventual travel dates.

Once inside the country, the restrictions continue: every foreign national needs a separate travel permit to go anywhere outside Asmara, and that permit has to be presented on request, a level of internal movement control uncommon among the other countries in this guide. Visitors also need to keep every foreign currency exchange receipt and present them on departure, guides warn that failing to properly account for currency exchanged in Eritrea can result in both a fine and imprisonment, a genuinely serious consequence for what elsewhere would be a minor paperwork lapse.