Somaliland passport

What is the Somaliland passport?

It is the travel document issued by the government in Hargeisa to citizens of Somaliland. The first passports were issued in 1996, and a biometric e-passport followed in 2014 (BBC Somali, 6 Sep 2014; Wikipedia, Somaliland passport).

The cover is black and carries the Somaliland emblem, with "Republic of Somaliland" and "Passport" in Somali, Arabic and English. The country code printed in it is RSL. That code is not on the international ISO list of country codes, which limits where machines can read it (same source).

The issuing body is Somaliland Immigration and Border Control, under the Ministry of Interior (Wikipedia, Somaliland Immigration and Border Control).

Who can get one?

Only Somaliland citizens. Article 2 of Somaliland's Citizenship Law of 2002 defines citizens as people who lived in the territory before 26 June 1960, the day British Somaliland became independent, and their descendants through the father (Landinfo, Norway, 30 Sep 2021). Landinfo notes that this makes citizenship geographic, not based on ethnicity. The same law allows dual citizenship (same source).

What types are there?

(Wikipedia)

• Ordinary passport: black cover, for citizens.
• Service passport: green cover, for members of parliament and government.
• Diplomatic passport: red cover, for diplomats and senior officials and their families.

How do you apply and what does it cost?

An online Somaliland services portal (elqnt.ai) lists these steps for a new passport or renewal (Somaliland services portal, passport application):

1. Fill in the application form.
2. Bring your Somaliland national ID, birth certificate, passport photos and, for a renewal, your old passport.
3. Give your biometrics.
4. Pay the fee: SLSh 500,000.
5. Processing takes about 21 days.

Where is it accepted?

Because few states recognise Somaliland, the passport works for entry to a limited number of countries.

• 2021, Landinfo (Norway): Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan. The United Kingdom accepted it for people who hold UK residence and can show a UK residence card (Landinfo, 30 Sep 2021, citing Somaliland Standard, Horn Diplomat and Somali Dispatch).
• 2026, Somaliland Chronicle: about a dozen countries, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, the UAE, Taiwan and, since December 2025, Israel (Somaliland Chronicle, 22 Aug 2026).
• UAE: the UAE's e-visa system has accepted Somaliland passports for years. In 2026 it restricted Somali passports while still serving Somaliland ones (The Media Line, 2026; Almanassa, Jan 2026).

Why do many Somalilanders also hold a Somali passport?

Landinfo reports that Somalilanders often get a Somali passport when they need wider travel. Somalia treats all ethnic Somalis as potential citizens (Landinfo, 2021).

• Where: Somali passport applications are taken in Hargeisa, Burao, Badhan, Buuhoodle and Balanbale, and earlier also Borama. Somaliland calls these offices "travel agencies", because it does not accept federal institutions on its territory (same source).
• How: the offices register applications and send them to the immigration headquarters in Mogadishu, which decides. The passport shows Mogadishu, not the town where you applied, as the place of issue (same source).
• Cost: a local source told Landinfo the fee in Somaliland is higher than elsewhere. Somaliland Chronicle reported in 2026 that applicants paid US$300 to US$400, against an official fee of US$180 (Somaliland Chronicle, 22 Aug 2026).
• Rejection of Somali papers at the border: in November 2025 Somaliland said it would not accept some Somalia-issued travel documents for entry (AllAfrica, 11 Nov 2025).

See Somali passport for the federal passport.

Related pages

• Somaliland, 1991 to 2026
• Somaliland institutions
• Somali national ID (NIRA)