Foreign ordinary passports: Eritrean advance visitor visa
Eritrea’s current Embassy guidance expressly says a visa is required for non-Eritreans. The electronic form and online fee do not result in a wholly electronic visa: applicants must mail the original passport to the Embassy and travel only after receipt of the visa. This is an advance traditional visa requirement, not an eVisa or visa on arrival.
- This policy applies to non-Eritrean holders of ordinary foreign passports. The Embassy’s National-ID exemption for Eritreans and its special official, diplomatic, family, employment, student and transit workflows are outside this ordinary foreign-visitor policy.
- Choose the visa type for the actual travel purpose. Tourist and business applications require the stated online form, photo, passport validity of at least six months, residency evidence where applicable, funds or purpose evidence, fees and the stated processing period; a family visit additionally requires an Eritrean resident reference.
- The online application and fee are only consular-processing steps. The Embassy requires the applicant to mail the original passport and to travel after receiving the visa, so no nationality-wide electronic issuance or airport route is established.
- The categorical non-Eritrean visa rule is published by Eritrea's Washington mission, while its document-submission workflow is specific to that consular jurisdiction. No current central nationality or bilateral-exception schedule was found; travelers must use the competent Eritrean mission's workflow.
- Visas are valid for three months from issue; after arrival they are typically valid for one month and may be extended or renewed through Immigration in Asmara. Entry remains subject to health, return travel, security, prior history, document and immigration controls. It grants no work, residence, internal travel permit, diplomatic, official or special-document entitlement.
198 passport nationalities covered
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoro Islands, Congo (Rep.), Congo (Dem. Rep.), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR China), Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (SAR China), North Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau Islands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, eSwatini, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Andorra, Palestinian Territory