On 26 July 2026 the German Foreign Office published an updated advisory for Eritrea, stressing renewed risks to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and stricter domestic travel-permit rules. Citing recent drone sightings near shipping lanes and regional instability linked to Yemen’s civil war, the bulletin urges German business travellers and shipping crews to maintain heightened vigilance and employ private maritime security where feasible. The advisory also reminds visitors that any journey more than 20 km outside Asmara requires a special permit. Companies planning site visits in Massawa’s port zone or in mining regions near Bisha must factor in lead times of up to four weeks to secure authorisations, with penalties for non-compliance ranging from fines to detention. Eritrea’s rigid cash-based economy complicates expatriate assignments: credit cards are rarely accepted and a 2 % diaspora tax is levied on foreign residents. The Foreign Office therefore recommends that German subsidiaries structure remuneration packages in euros outside the country and provide staff with secure cash-transfer channels. Logistics providers warn that Houthi-linked attacks on commercial vessels have already triggered surcharges on Red Sea transits. Firms routing cargo between Hamburg and Djibouti should build in additional sailing days or consider overland options via Port Sudan. With Germany’s Mittelstand engineering firms active in Eritrea’s nascent renewable-energy projects, mobility managers must weigh lucrative contracts against growing physical-security and compliance costs.
Source: Auswärtiges Amt
