Obtaining a passport in Eritrea: Is the diaspora tax payable?

An unexpected letter from The immigration office or the Federal Foreign Office will send you a letter. The request is clear: For the issuance or extension of your residence permit, or to apply for a visa to For family reunification or to establish your identity, you must obtain a valid national passport from the Eritrean embassy. For many highly qualified individuals... For skilled workers , international talent, and their employers, this is where a bureaucratic nightmare begins. Suddenly, they are faced with the question of whether to sign a so-called declaration of repentance or pay the controversial 2% diaspora tax to the Eritrean state in order to obtain documents. While German authorities increasingly claim that obtaining a passport is now straightforward and reasonable without special conditions, the legal and practical reality is quite different.

As a law firm specializing in visa and immigration law, we experience daily how dedicated Skilled workers and companies are often confused by unclear official regulations. We shed light on the current legal situation, expose the strategies of immigration authorities, and show you how to assert your right to a German travel document for foreigners.

Is obtaining a passport from the Eritrean embassy currently a reasonable option?

In principle, every foreign national is obligated under Section 48 Paragraph 1 of the Residence Act to cooperate in clarifying their identity and obtaining a passport. However, this principle is not without limitations. According to the established case law of the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG, judgment of October 11, 2022 – 1 C 9.21), obtaining a passport is unreasonable if it is linked to submitting a confession of remorse for a criminal offense or fulfilling unreasonable conditions.

In recent administrative practice, however, immigration authorities and the Federal Foreign Office have increasingly cited alleged concessions made by the Eritrean government. For example, the Eritrean embassy in Berlin formally notified German authorities that a signed declaration of regret was no longer required for the issuance of substitute travel documents. Internal surveys among visa applicants are also said to confirm that... Passports would be issued without the banned declaration.

Based on our extensive practical experience from hundreds of representation cases, this is a dangerous misjudgment by the authorities . Eritrean diplomatic missions often present applicants with confusing stacks of documents in Tigrinya for signature during personal appointments, without providing copies or translations. Often, those affected don't even know what they are signing. A general reference by the authorities to an allegedly changed embassy practice does not withstand legal scrutiny in most cases.

Is the Eritrean diaspora tax payable?

In addition to the declaration of repentance, the Eritrean state systematically demands a levy of 2% of their worldwide income from citizens living abroad – the so-called diaspora tax . German courts and foreign tax assessments clearly demonstrate that this levy is demanded without exception in order to obtain consular services such as the issuance of passports, birth certificates, or marriage certificates.

From a legal perspective, the question arises whether immigration authorities are allowed to force you to pay this tax in order to comply with your passport obligation. The answer is nuanced: While the financial burden of government fees is often considered reasonable by authorities, the Eritrean diaspora tax is an extraterritorial compulsory levy imposed by an unjust state. In legal proceedings, we regularly and successfully argue that coercion to pay this tax exceeds the legal limits of what is reasonable – especially when it directly finances regimes that violate international law or are repressive.

Anyone attempting to resolve the problem independently by simply waiting or using generic template letters risks visa refusal or denial of [the necessary information]. Residence permit or, in the worst case, the loss of one's job in Germany.

What alternative options are available if obtaining a passport proves unreasonable?

If appearing at the embassy of one's home country is unreasonable or legally impossible, German residence law provides a clear solution: the issuance of a travel document for foreigners in accordance with Section 5 of the Residence Ordinance (AufenthV) .

So that the If the immigration authorities issue this replacement passport, the applicant must provide complete and irrefutable proof of the unreasonableness of the situation and their own efforts to cooperate. We advise our clients against making hasty visits to the embassy and instead recommend a legally sound strategy:

• Careful documentation: Every contact, appointment scheduling, or failed request at the Eritrean embassy must be precisely recorded.

• Detailed self-description: If the embassy demands a signature on untranslated documents or payment of the diaspora tax during an appointment, we work with those affected to create a legally admissible written record of events. Administrative courts are increasingly recognizing such substantiated accounts as evidence.

• Use of substitute identification: If identity cannot be unequivocally established by a national passport, the authorities must examine on a case-by-case basis whether the Residence permits with the addition "Identity not clarified" can be extended as a substitute identity document in accordance with Section 48 Paragraph 2 of the Residence Act .

  
  

Should the If the immigration authorities ignore or improperly delay the application for a travel document, we will forward it immediately. Legal action is taken. An action for failure to act or an application for interim relief under Section 123 of the Administrative Court Procedure Act (VwGO) compels the administration to make a decision and secures the lawful residence of skilled workers and their Families .

Conclusion

Obtaining an Eritrean passport involves significant legal and personal risks for those affected. The claim by German authorities that declarations of repentance and diaspora taxes are a thing of the past does not reflect the actual administrative practice of the consulates. Do not rely on verbal assurances or standardized official letters. As a law firm specializing in visa law, we enforce your rights against the immigration authorities, protect you from unlawful demands, and ensure you legally obtain a German travel document for foreigners.