Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed the law on Tuesday as the country faces a severe economic crisis and the fallout from regional conflicts, including in Sudan and the Gaza Strip.
Egypt hosts hundreds of Sudanese refugees a day, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. In November, more than 845,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the country were registered in Egypt.
Official estimates suggest that there are currently more than nine million “guests”, the government’s term for refugees and migrants, in Egypt.
UNHCR managed refugee registration for decades under an agreement reached in 1954, but the new law delegates this responsibility to the Egyptian authorities.
The law provides for the establishment of a permanent refugee committee under the Prime Minister to oversee asylum applications and services.
Activists believe the law was passed in haste and secrecy without consulting civil society organizations or the UNHCR.
The government has said the law is in line with international agreements and aims to streamline data on refugees by harmonizing its databases with those of the UNHCR.
Critics are concerned about a section of the law that authorizes authorities to take “necessary measures” against refugees during times of war, counter-terrorism operations or national security crises.
Another article criminalizes the accommodation of refugees without informing the police. Such a violation is punishable by imprisonment.
The new law also requires refugees who have entered Egypt illegally to apply for asylum within 45 days of their arrival.