Foreign Office says Britons of ‘South Asian descent’ are being turned away or DETAINED in Tunisia

Summer holidaymakers have been warned that Britons of ‘South Asian descent’ will be turned away from Tunisia’s airports or even detained during the state of emergency.

The Foreign Office said British nationals have been subject to additional screening or denied entry – including at the second-largest airport, Enfidha – for alleged security reasons, in a guide quietly updated on its website last week.

Officials added that the British embassy had raised the matter with Tunisian authorities, but warned that the embassy cannot override their decision-making. MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office, the British Embassy and the Tunisian Embassy in London for more information.

Tunisia has seen an increase in racially motivated attacks following President Kais Saied’s comments in February in which he accused ‘hordes’ of illegal migrants of committing violence and claimed a ‘criminal plot’ to change the country’s demographics.

With a population of 12 million, Tunisia is home to an estimated 21,000 migrants from other parts of Africa, representing just 0.2 percent of the population.

The Foreign Office travel advisory says: ‘Some British nationals of South Asian descent have been delayed, temporarily detained or refused entry to the country by Tunisian immigration authorities at airports. This can cause discomfort and discomfort. The British Embassy has raised this issue with the Tunisian authorities.

“Accession to Tunisia is decided by the Tunisian authorities and the British embassy cannot override a decision to refuse entry.”

They added: “Some British nationals of South Asian descent have been subject to additional screening or have been refused entry by immigration authorities at airports, including Enfidha, on alleged security grounds.”

It comes a week after hundreds of Tunisians gathered in the streets and blocked streets by burning car tires as they demanded the deportation of all illegal migrants, AFP said.

The guidance was quietly updated last week on the State Department’s website

Doctor Lazhar Neji said between 30 and 40 migrants, including women and children, were injured after the “inhumane” and “bloody” attack in Sfax, Tunisia, as horrific scenes unfolded on Tuesday, July 5.

The day before, residents had vowed to “avenge” the death of a 41-year-old Tunisian man at his funeral after he was stabbed to death during an altercation with three suspected Cameroonian migrants.

Tunisia has been under a state of emergency since a suicide bombing on a police bus in 2015. The state of emergency has been extended several times, most recently in 2022.

In the country, a new constitution was ratified by President Kais Saied in 2022 following the suspension of parliament in 2021 and its dissolution a year later. The new parliament reopened in March 2023 after elections in December 2022 and January 2023.