Frequently asked questions about the situation in Sudan

The Dutch embassy in Khartoum is closed and regular consular assistance in Sudan is therefore not possible. If you are in the Sudan region, you can get consular services in Egypt or Ethiopia, or in South Sudan if you need an emergency passport.

Dutch people in Sudan can contact the Netherlands Worldwide contact center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be reached on +31 247 247 247.

The embassy in Khartoum is closed to the public. Appointments can therefore not continue. It is still unclear how long the embassy will remain closed to the public. The activities of the embassy continue as far as possible from Dutch embassies in the region or from the Netherlands.

Dutch people in Sudan can contact the Netherlands Worldwide contact center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be reached on +31 247 247 247.

On Saturday evening, April 29, 2023, the eighth and last Dutch flight from Sudan to Jordan was carried out by the Ministry of Defense with the help of the Rapid Consular Support Team (SCOT) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The evacuation phase co-organised by the Netherlands is over. As far as is known, other international partners have also stopped carrying out evacuation flights from Sudan. Due to the forced closure of the embassy in Khartoum, consular assistance is limited to remote help and advice. The Netherlands will continue to monitor the security situation in Sudan for the time being.

Dutch people in Sudan can contact the Netherlands Worldwide contact center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be reached on +31 247 247 247.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to assist the Sudanese colleagues at the Dutch embassy in Khartoum as best they can during this difficult time. Part of the local staff has taken advantage of the opportunity to leave with their core families.

Please note that communication channels such as the internet and telephony may be down. We can only advise you to keep trying to contact your family.

Unfortunately, there are no alternative means of maintaining contact.

The following applies to persons who registered via BZ Information Service during the evacuation period and who were in contact up to and including Saturday 29 April about their evacuation:

Active contact is sought with these persons and they are kept informed of important developments. They can also request consular assistance.

This means that nuclear family members who do not have a valid residence permit can be referred to embassies in the region, where they can apply for a Schengen visa and possibly an emergency document. For example in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Cairo in Egypt.

The persons who have been contacted since Sunday 30 April (after the active evacuation phase), as well as those with whom contact has been lost despite repeated attempts, will receive a message asking them if they still need help.

They can rely on consular assistance. The regular procedures for applying for a Schengen visa or for a regular residence permit for those without a residence permit in the Netherlands apply to them. Once these have been completed, they can report to an embassy in the region, after a decision has been made on whether to issue a Schengen visa or MVV.

Even after several peace mediation attempts, violence in Sudan continues, especially around Khartoum and Darfur. Humanitarian access remains limited. There are very few facilities and suitable personnel to provide emergency assistance. The situation for the Sudanese is bad. It does not appear that the warring parties want to end the conflict.

Together with the EU, UN and other partners, the Netherlands is looking at what we can do for the Sudanese people in this situation. The Netherlands will continue to work for a permanent ceasefire, to protect civilians and to organize humanitarian aid.

The page ‘Applying for an emergency travel document in Sudan’ tells you how the regular procedure works. At the moment, you can only email the embassy. It is not yet known how long the embassy will remain closed to the public. If you are in the region, you can apply for a passport in South Sudan (emergency passports only), Egypt or Ethiopia.

The airport in Khartoum is closed. It is not possible to fly to Sudan. We do not know how long this situation will last and when you can return to Sudan.

The travel advisory for Sudan is red. Do not travel to Sudan. It is too dangerous to travel there. Whatever your situation: do not go there. Are you going to Sudan anyway? Then this is your own responsibility. The Dutch Embassy cannot or probably will not help you if you get into trouble.

A number of Sudanese passports have been left behind at the Dutch embassy. This concerns passports of Sudanese passport holders who have applied for a short-stay Schengen visa or an MVV. In the early morning of 15 April, the Dutch embassy was attacked by fighting. The resulting poor security situation has forced us to close the embassy with immediate effect.

The diplomatic staff has since been evacuated and transferred to the Netherlands. Unfortunately, we have not been able to collect these passports due to the poor security situation. We understand that this has put Sudanese passport holders in a difficult situation. Injured persons can turn to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by sending an email to: KHA@minbuza.nl. We are actively investigating what support is possible individually.