383.1124/4

The Minister in Egypt (Fish) to the Secretary of State

No. 1837

Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s Instruction of January 17, 1939,39 to the American Consul at Alexandria, Egypt, (File no. 383.1124, Jesenof, Boris), concerning Paragraph 4 of the Declaration of the Royal Egyptian Government of May 8, 1937, at Montreux, annexed to the Montreux Convention of that date.40

A circular Note has now been received from the Egyptian Foreign Office, of which the original French version and an English translation are enclosed.

The Legation has at this time merely acknowledged the receipt with no comment other than that it is reporting the statement to its Government. I have the honor to inquire whether the Department desires me to reply more fully to the Foreign Office on this subject, and if so, in what terms.

Respectfully yours,

Bert Fish
[Enclosure—Translation]

The Egyptian Ministry for Foreign Affairs to the American Legation

No. 83.122/121 (47C)

Circular Note

The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its compliments to the Legation of the United States of America and has the honor to inform it that certain foreign nationals in Egypt to whom the terms of the Montreux Convention do not apply erroneously invoke the provisions of this Convention when they are called upon by the competent Royal Authorities to leave the country or when orders of expulsion are issued against them by the said authorities.

In order to put an end to this state of affairs and furthermore to forestall any possible misunderstanding in the interpretation of the above-mentioned Convention, as regards the expulsion of foreigners from Egypt, the Royal Ministry has the honor to make the following observations for all useful purposes:—

[Page 505]

The Montreux Convention does not apply:

(1)
To foreigners who entered Egypt after its effective date, nor to those who came less than five years before its effective date.
(2)
To foreigners who had resided in Egypt before the treaty was concluded, for periods which have been successively renewed, even if these periods exceed a total of five years.
(3)
To foreigners who had entered Egypt on a visa for a limited sojourn and had neglected to obtain an extension of stay, even in instances were they had remained, without authorization, for more than five years.

The Convention makes exceptions for foreigners in the following cases:

(a)
If the foreigner has been convicted in respect of a crime or misdemeanor punishable by more than three months’ imprisonment.
(b)
If the foreigner has been guilty of activities of a subversive nature or to the prejudice of public order or public tranquillity, morality or health.
(c)
If he is indigent and a burden upon the State.

Therefore, as the Convention is applicable only to foreigners subject to mixed jurisdiction, the right of the Ministry of the Interior to expel from Egypt, if it judges necessary, a foreigner belonging to one of the above-mentioned categories may not lie open to discussion.

The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs seizes this occasion to renew to the Legation the assurances of its high consideration.

  1. Not printed.
  2. See Department of State Treaty Series No. 939, p. 69, or 53 Stat. 1645.