Eritrea: Knowledge Base profile
Updated 1 September 2025
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Version 3.0
About: Eritrea
This document contains useful information about Eritrea which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.
Contacts
If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.
If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.
Publication
Below is information on when this version of the document was published:
- version 3.0
- published for Home Office staff on 27 August 2025
Changes from last version of this document
This document has been updated with formatting changes. Information about:
- names has been removed, due to insufficient information
- identity documents has been added to the documents page
Eritrea: legitimacy
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy in Eritrea.
Legitimacy
Eritrea does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means all births are considered legitimate whether the parents are married or not.
Eritrea: documents
This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Eritrea.
Birth certificates
All births in Eritrea must be registered within 90 days at a civil registration office. Late registrations are allowed and a penalty is applied.
Birth certificates are issued when a birth is registered.
Some Eritrea birth certificates do not record the father’s details separately as his name is recorded as part of the child’s name. The mother’s name is always recorded separately on the certificate.
Copies of their birth certificates can be obtained from the Office of Civil Status in Asmara or the equivalent office in the area where their birth was registered.
Identity documents
Eritrea issue national ID cards. For an Eritrea passport to be issued, the holder must have a National ID.