Interior ministry amends migration rules to allow passports for banned citizens

December 29, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s interior ministry said on Monday it has amended migration regulations to allow people on travel ban lists to obtain and renew travel documents, except for cases involving identity verification or citizenship revocation.

The move follows a December 17 order from Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who directed that Sudanese citizens should not be deprived of identity papers, even if they are facing legal proceedings.

Activists and political figures have complained since the outbreak of conflict on April 15, 2023, that some embassies refused to issue travel documents. The restrictions had targeted journalists and individuals from communities perceived as supporters of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Police spokesperson Fath al-Rahman Mohammed al-Tom said in a statement that the changes to the 2021 migration control regulations aim to “facilitate identity procedures and uphold the national sovereignty rights of every Sudanese.”

Interior Minister Babiker Samra Mustafa issued a decree amending Article 14, Paragraph 2 of the regulations. Under the new rule, a citizen’s inclusion on a travel ban list no longer prevents them from issuing or renewing a passport.

Al-Tom said this right is fully guaranteed unless the ban specifically concerns “identity proof, forfeiture of citizenship, or its withdrawal.”

The General Directorate of Passports and Migration has begun notifying offices across Sudan and diplomatic missions abroad to ensure immediate implementation, the spokesperson added.

The previous administration under former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had amended the rules in 2020 to prevent anyone on a ban list from obtaining a passport, treating the document strictly as a travel permit rather than a form of identification.