Somaliland Rejects Somalia Govt’s E-Visa, Deepening Rift Over Airspace 

HARGEISA, Somalia — Somaliland has announced a ban on travelers entering its territory using the Somal government’s electronic visa system, declaring the document “illegal” and not recognized by authorities in Hargeisa.

During a visit to the Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority headquarters in Hargeisa, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Cirro” said the breakaway region’s airspace, land, and maritime boundaries fall entirely under Somaliland’s jurisdiction.

“No one holding Somalia’s E-Visa will be allowed to enter Somaliland or land at its airports,” Cirro said, according to state media.

He also announced that starting November 10, all aircraft flying into or over Somaliland’s airspace must obtain an overflight or landing permit issued by Somaliland’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, warning that unapproved flights would violate Somaliland’s sovereignty.

The decision marks the latest escalation in a long-running dispute between Somaliland and Somalia’s federal government over control of airspace management. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority, based in Mogadishu, currently oversees the country’s general airspace operations under international agreements, but Somaliland has repeatedly asserted that it should control its own portion.

Somaliland, a self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa, broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not been internationally recognized as an independent state. The move to reject Somalia’s E-Visa underscores renewed tensions between the two sides amid ongoing efforts by Mogadishu to centralize aviation and border control systems.

Garowe Online