Driving Permit for Eritrea

Eritrea has not ratified either UN road-traffic convention, and visiting drivers should treat it as essential rather than optional. UK government guidance specifies a 1949-format IDP carried alongside your original licence, and warns that you cannot obtain one after arrival in the country. Eritrea then adds a step most countries skip: you present both documents to the Ministry of Transportation and Communication, which issues you a local driving permit. Traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road.

The bigger constraint is movement itself. All foreign nationals — including NGO and UN staff — must apply in advance for a travel permit to go beyond Asmara's surrounding province, roughly 25 km outside the capital. Approval can take several days and is not guaranteed, and police checkpoints along the main roads verify papers. Official advisories also urge defensive driving: local drivers often disregard traffic laws, speeding is common, and drink-driving is reportedly widespread.

Road conditions demand real caution. The primary highways linking Asmara with Massawa, Keren and Assab are paved, but most of the network is not, and secondary and tertiary roads can become impassable in the rainy season. Signage and safety barriers are scarce, tight blind bends and steep drops are common on the mountain routes, and street lighting is limited and affected by power cuts. Fill your tank before leaving Asmara — fuel can be hard to find in remote areas — and stick to main roads and daylight hours whenever possible.