Is Tunisia safe for disabled travellers?

Same-sex sexual acts are criminalised under Article 230 of the 1913 Penal Code, punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment, and were actively enforced in 2024-2025.

There is no statutory gender-recognition procedure; courts have granted recognition only case-by-case and generally require gender-affirming surgery, with contradictory rulings and frequent refusals.

Significant legal gaps remain for women — the WBL index scores 64/100 (2023). Expect unequal rules in areas such as mobility, marriage or the workplace; check local specifics before you travel.

LGBTQ+ people face a hostile legal environment — Equaldex scores 13/100 (2026); expect few or no protections, and in some places active criminalisation. Research local law and discretion carefully.

Abortion has been available on request in the first trimester since the 1973 reform to the Code of Personal Status, with later terminations allowed on health grounds; it remains the most liberal regime in the region.

Cannabis remains illegal under Law No. 52 of 1992; a 2017 amendment gave judges sentencing discretion for early offences but did not decriminalise use or possession.

Pew Research Center places Tunisia in the ’High’ band on its Government Restrictions Index on religion; the state bars religion-based parties and proselytising and controls religious associations.

Tunisia has no dedicated blasphemy statute, but insulting religion is prosecuted under Penal Code Article 121ter and press-code provisions on public morals and order.

Rated Partly Free, 42/100, by Freedom House (2025).

Foreigners staying beyond 90 days, including students, must apply for a residence permit (carte de sejour) at the local police station shortly after arrival, typically within about two weeks.

A student visa or residence permit does not authorise employment; paid work requires a separate work permit granted only where no Tunisian can fill the role, so student work is effectively not permitted.