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General questions about the Egypt visa

  • Do I need a visa for my holiday to Egypt?

    Foreign travellers generally need a visa to be able to travel to Egypt. This also applies to British and Irish tourists who travel to Egypt by plane, (cruise) ship or land. Children also need their own visa.

    Egypt has an electronic visa system, which simplifies and speeds up the application process. As a result, you do not need to physically visit an embassy or consulate, but can simply fill in an online form on your phone, tablet or computer and receive the visa digitally.

    Directly apply for your Egypt visa

    With the e-visa for Egypt you can travel to Egypt for a holiday or to visit family or friends. The single-entry visa allows you to travel to Egypt once for a maximum period of 30 days. If you want to travel to Egypt more than once within a six-month period, you can also apply for a multiple-entry visa. The single and multiple entry visas can be applied for with the same online application form.

    Are you travelling to a resort in South Sinai and planning to stay in Egypt for 15 days or less? Travellers with the nationality of an EU country, the UK or the USA can travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, Taba, Dahab or Nuweiba without the need for a visa. If you wish to take advantage of this arrangement, you will not be allowed to stay in other places in South Sinai other than the aforementioned places and must leave the country within 15 days. Do you want to travel to another place in Egypt or stay in Egypt for more than 15 days? Then apply for an Egypt visa.

  • What type of visa do I need for my holidays to Egypt?

    There are several types of visas available for trips to Egypt. Are you travelling to Egypt for a holiday, or to visit family or friends? Then the e-visa is the best and easiest way to meet the visa requirements. You can choose between a single-entry visa, valid for 90 days, and a multiple-entry visa, which allows you to travel to Egypt as often as you like within 180 days. For both visa types, each stay in Egypt may not be longer than 30 days.

    Apply for your Egypt e-visa online

    Do you want to stay in Egypt for more than 30 days, or are you travelling to Egypt for a reason other than a holiday or to visit friends and/or family? Then you need a paper visa, which you can apply for at the Egyptian Embassy. It is also possible to apply for a visa after arriving at the airport in Egypt (visa on arrival / VOA). However, there is a queue which can last up to several hours. You will then have to fill in a paper form on site, hand over documents such as your passport and passport photos, and pay the fee in cash. To avoid this delay (and the risk of missing the transfer to your hotel), it is wise to apply for your visa online before you leave. With an e-visa, you can skip the often long waiting line in Egypt and enjoy your holiday right away.

    Will you travel to Egypt for a transfer only? UK, Swiss, or EU nationals do not need a visa for that. However, you are not allowed to leave the airport in Egypt.

  • How long is the Egypt visa valid?

    In the Egypt visa application form, you can choose between a single-entry or a multiple-entry visa. With a single-entry visa, you can travel to Egypt once. With a multiple-entry visa you can travel to Egypt an unlimited number of times.

    A single-entry visa is valid for 90 days. A multiple-entry visa is valid for 180 days. Each stay in Egypt must fall entirely within this period of validity, including the day of arrival and the day of departure. Each stay in Egypt may last up to 30 consecutive days.

    The validity period of the Egypt visa starts immediately after your application has been approved. You can apply as long before your departure as you like. To prevent your visa from expiring before you travel, your application will be processed 30 days before the stated arrival date.

    Do you still want to change your arrival or departure date after you applied for the visa? If the new dates of arrival and departure are both within the validity period of the visa, this is not a problem. There is no need to communicate the new travel dates to the Egyptian Immigration Services. This means that after applying for your visa you can still decide to travel to Egypt a few weeks before or after your planned departure date.

  • Which requirements must I comply with?

    Are you a United Kingdom, Swiss, or otherwise EU citizen? Then you can easily apply for the required visa for your holiday to Egypt online. Do you have the nationality of another country? Then check this page to see if you can also use the online application procedure.

    The so-called Egypt e-visa is suitable for a flight or cruise to Egypt. Arrival by land is also permitted, if the purpose of the journey is tourism. In addition, it is permitted to visit friends or relatives in Egypt.

    What are the requirements for my passport? You must have a normal passport to apply for your Egypt visa online. ID cards, emergency passports, diplomatic passports and residence permits are not valid to apply for an e-visa. Your passport must still have a minimum validity of 6 months on the day you arrive in Egypt. This must be the same passport you used when applying for the visa.

    Do I need to have my trip planned? In order to apply for the visa, you must know the contact details of one place to stay in Egypt. You should also have an itinerary when you arrive in Egypt. This schedule does not have to be very elaborate, but it should contain an overview of all your booked flights and hotels, including the dates. You can also bring loose prints of your booking confirmations. It is advisable to carry the itinerary in your hand luggage, as you may need to show it before you are allowed access to your checked-in baggage.

    Do I need an invitation letter? Are you travelling to Egypt to visit (also) family and/or friends and spend the night there? Then you have to be able to show a letter of invitation on arrival. There are no strict conditions for this letter, a short paragraph is enough. However, it is important that the full names and addresses of all travellers are included. It is also important that the full name and address of the person you are visiting are on this letter.

    Apply now for your Egypt visa

    In addition to the above mentioned Egypt visa requirements, please note the validity period and maximum duration of stay.

  • Can I travel to Egypt with a criminal record?

    The Immigration Department of Egypt does not collect information on possible crimes or offences committed by a traveller in the past. You can therefore apply for a Egypt visa, even if you have a criminal record. However, the application is more likely to be rejected if the Egyptian Immigration Services find that you have past criminal offences.

  • Do I have to go somewhere to apply for the Egypt visa?

    You can apply for your Egypt visa without leaving home. Just fill in the online application form and provide a scan or photo of your passport. No need to visit an embassy or consulate.

  • Do I still need to take the coronavirus into account?

    The coronavirus measures have been changed a lot over time. That is why it is highly recommended to check the page with recent measures against Covid-19 in Egypt well on time before departure, and right before departure.

    Check all Covid-19 measures in Egypt

Questions about the online application procedure

  • How can I apply for my Egypt visa?

    You can easily apply for your Egypt visa online. To do so, open the application form on your device of choice and fill in all the required fields. Fill in all the details carefully. For this, you need each travellerʼs passport. Filling in the application form usually takes only 5-10 minutes.

    Open the Egypt e-visa online application form

    Once you have completed the form, you can pay the costs of the visa. This can be done in a safe and easy way by using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or PayPal. You will receive an e-mail with the confirmation.

    After the payment has been made, you will need to provide a scan or photo of your passport. Once you have provided this, the visa specialists at e-Visa.ie will check whether all documents are in order. If these are approved, your application will be processed immediately. Your visa is usually delivered within 11 days If you have made an urgent visa application, you will receive your visa after 5 days on average.

  • Do I need to have booked a flight and accommodation before applying for the visa?

    You can apply for the visa before having booked a flight. However, you must provide the contact details of one place of accommodation in the application form. It is not necessary to have planned your entire trip before applying for a visa. One accommodation address is sufficient.

    Since the Egypt Tourist Visa is valid for 90 days (or 180 days in the case of a multiple-entry visa), and you are allowed to stay in Egypt for a maximum of 30 days, you can still change your travel plans after applying for the visa. You do not have to inform the immigration services. However, both the arrival and the departure date have to be within the validity period of the visa.

    Please note that when you arrive in Egypt, you must be able to show an itinerary. At that time, you must know all the places to stay and have already booked your return flight. The Egyptian immigration authorities will check this information after your arrival.

  • When can I apply for my visa?

    You can apply for your visa online as soon as you have arranged your first overnight stay in Egypt. The sooner you submit your application, the better. If you submit your application more than 30 days before departure, it will not be processed until 30 days before departure. This is because the 90-day validity period starts immediately when your application is approved.

  • Can I apply for someone elseʼs visa?

    Yes, this is possible. If you have the permission of the traveller in question, you can also fill in the application form for another person. After you have completed the application form, you have to read it to the particular traveller. The traveller must confirm verbally that the information is complete and correct. Is the application for a minor child? Then one of the parents must confirm that the details are complete and correct.

    You can also submit the application for several travellers at the same time. To do this, you can add travellers to the application form by clicking on the button ʼAdd a travellerʼ. The advantage of this is that you do not have to fill in all contact and travel details again.

  • Not all my first names fit in the form, what now?

    The maximum length of first names is a technical restriction in the Egyptian governmentʼs visa system. Unfortunately, it is impossible to apply for a visa for Egypt online if the full name does not fit in the form. Please contact the embassy to ask whether you need to apply for a physical visa there, or whether you can obtain a visa with certainty after arriving in Egypt.

  • Do I need to fill in my title of nobility (such as Baron or Lord)?

    If you have a title of nobility, it may appear differently in the machine-readable part (at the bottom of the passport) of the passport than next to the passport photo. For example: next to the passport photo, but not in the machine-readable section. If the title of nobility is not mentioned the same way in both places, it is not possible to apply for an Egypt visa online. Please contact the embassy to ask whether you need to apply for a physical visa there, or whether you can obtain a visa with certainty after arriving in Egypt.

  • Do I need a letter of invitation?

    Are you visiting family or friends in Egypt and staying overnight with them? If so, you must be able to show a letter of invitation when you arrive in Egypt. This invitation letter must be written in English or Arabic and contain the following information:
    • Full name and address of all travellers
    • Full name and address of the person(s) you are visiting
    • A few sentences of text indicating that you have been invited to the person(s) you are visiting

    Are you only going to stay in hotels or resorts and not with acquaintances? Then you do not need to provide an invitation letter.

  • I do not know where and when I was in Egypt the last time, what now?

    You must declare on the application form whether you have been to Egypt before. If this is the case, you must indicate where and when you have been in the country. Do you not remember exactly when you were in Egypt? You may still have a stamp from your previous trip to Egypt in your passport. The stamps also show the dates. Have you received a new passport since then? If so, you can make an estimate of your dates of arrival and departure at that time. The important thing is that the year and month are correct.

    You cannot remember your former place of residence in Egypt? Then you can also fill in an address close to your former place of residence. You can look up an address by clicking on the button ʼLook up addressʼ. If all this does not work, you can also fill in ʼunknownʼ.

  • What information and documents must I provide?

    To fill in the application form, you need the passport data of each traveller for whom you want to apply for a visa. It is best to have the passports of all travellers ready. Furthermore, you need to indicate the planned date of arrival and departure. These can still be estimates of your actual travel dates. Make sure that the actual dates do not differ from your estimate by more than 30 days. You also need to provide the contact details of one place to stay in Egypt. You do not need to know all the places to stay yet to fill in the application form.

    After you have completed the form, you have to pay the costs of the visa . This can be done via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or PayPal. All these payment methods are safe and easy to use. Please have all the necessary items for your chosen payment method ready.

    Once you have made the payment, all you have to do is provide a scan or photo of your passport. Make sure that all details on your passport are clearly visible and that no part of your passport is covered, for example by a finger. You do not have all your passports at hand? You can also submit the documents at a later date. Please note that your application can only be processed once all passports have been submitted in good order and received by e-Visa.ie.

  • Is it an O or a 0 on my passport?

    Filling in an O where there should be a 0 will invalidate your visa. That is why you need to be sure to not accidentally enter the wrong digit. A British passport number consists solely of 9 digits. The letter O is therefore never used. For Irish passports, the number always starts with the letter P or L, followed by another letter. These 2 letters are followed by 7 digits. This should clarify whether it is an O or a 0.

    Are you submitting your visa application via e-Visa.ie? We will always check whether you have swapped the letter O and the number 0. If this error is discovered, it will be corrected for you immediately. This way you can still travel without a problem.

    Did you submit a visa application via another website? In most cases, this error will not be corrected and your visa may not be valid. It is not possible to change a passport number; you will have to apply for an entirely new visa.

  • How much does an Egypt e-visa cost and how can I pay for it?

    The visa for Egypt costs € 54,95 per traveller. This price includes all consular fees for the examination of your application by the immigration service of Egypt, the service costs charged by e-Visa.ie for the processing of your application and the VAT. For urgent applications, a supplementary fee of € 17,50 per visa will be charged. There is no discount for group applications.

    If you wish, you can also opt for voluntary CO2 compensation and/or optional registration at the embassy. The costs of these non-mandatory items depend on the country you are travelling from and your nationality. You can select these extras on the application form, which will also specify the exact costs. For more information about how CO2 compensation actually works, we explain the possibility to compensate CO2 via e-Visa.ie.

  • What is the processing time of the Egypt visa?

    Applications for an e-visa for Egypt are approved after an average of 11 days. If you travel to Egypt on a short term, you can also opt for an urgent application. Emergency applications are approved after 5 days on average. These average delivery times are estimated from the moment that all required passport scans have been received in good order.

    Please note that the stated delivery times are average and not maximum delivery times. Applications are often approved more quickly. However, it is also possible that applications are delayed. For example, if it is very busy at the immigration office in Egypt, or if there is a malfunction in the computer system of e-Visa.ie, or the system of the Egyptian immigration office. Delivery times can therefore never be guaranteed. To ensure that you receive your visa on time, it is recommended that you submit your application as far in advance of your departure as possible, preferably several weeks.

    If you opt for an urgent application, a surcharge € 17,50 is applied. The difference between an urgent application and a normal visa application for Egypt is that e-Visa.ie processes urgent applications faster. This means that an English-speaking visa specialist will check your application for errors within 24 hours, usually within one hour. If an error is discovered, you will be contacted immediately so that the application can be corrected and can still be processed quickly. If everything is in order, your application can be processed quickly by the Egyptian Immigration Service.
    Apply for your Egypt visa

After applying for your visa

  • How will I receive my visa and do I need to print it?

    As soon as your visa application is being processed, you will be informed by e-mail. In the e-mail you will find a link to your personal status page. On this page, you can check the status of your application. As soon as your visa is granted, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail and text message. From that moment on, you can download and print all visas within your application in PDF format from your personal status page. This PDF document is the official Egypt visa issued by the Egyptian Immigration Service. It allows you to travel to Egypt within the indicated period of validity.

    You are advised to check again whether all details in your visa have been correctly submitted after your application has been approved. In particular, check that the passport details of all travellers are 100% correct on the visa. Pay attention to the passport number, issue and expiry date, names, gender, date of birth and country of birth. If there is an error in this information, the visa is not valid and you will not be allowed to enter Egypt. You cannot change the information after the immigration department has processed your application. In that case you have to submit a completely new application.

    Are all the details in your visa correct? Then you can print the visa. A printed version of the e-visa will be required when you arrive in Egypt.

  • I have not yet received my visa, what now?

    Once the payment has been completed, you will receive an e-mail confirming that your application has been processed. This e-mail also contains a link to your personal status page. On that page you can check the status of your visa application at any time.

    Did you not receive your visa within the average delivery time mentioned on this website? On your status page you can check whether it is advisable to contact us about this. The delivery times mentioned on this website are always averages and never guarantees. It is not possible to indicate a maximum delivery time because, for example, a random check may delay the delivery of your visa. If your application is being processed for a longer period than average, this does not mean that your application has a greater chance of being rejected.

    Please note that applications within a group application are always assessed individually. This means that there may be a few days between the approval of different applications within a group application.

    Have you not received any e-mail? Always check the unwanted folder in your e-mail programme first. This is usually called spam box or unwanted folder. Have you not found an e-mail with the subject ʼVisa application Egypt receivedʼ? You can always check the status of your application on this page.

  • Can I still modify my application?

    Will you not be leaving for another 30 days? Then your application is still on hold, and you can adjust the data without any problems. You can do this simply by replying to the e-mail you received stating that your application had been received.

    Are you leaving within 30 days? After you have submitted your documents, your application will be processed almost immediately. Once your application has been processed, it is no longer possible to change any of the details in the application. In many cases, you do not have to change incorrect data and can travel to Egypt with your visa without any problems. Below is a list of errors which may or may not cause problems.
    In these cases, your visa remains valid and you will not have to apply again:
    • The date(s) of arrival/departure are incorrect (these dates must fall within the validity period of your visa)
    • Your accommodation address has changed/is incorrect

    In these cases, your visa will be invalid and you need to apply for a new one:
    • Your name is spelled incorrectly (see also the question “My name is spelled incorrectly on my visa, what now?”
    • Your passport number in incorrect
    • The issue and/or expiry dates are incorrect
    • Your stated gender is different from the gender on your passport
    • The date of birth is stated wrong
    • The country of birth is incorrect
    Submit a new Egypt visa application here

  • My name is spelled incorrectly on my visa, what now?

    Do you have an accent or punctuation mark in your name? Like an ü, ä, ö, ç, é, è, ê, ñ of ß? Then this is probably the result of an automatic correction. Special characters in the name, such as umlauts and diaeresis, are not accepted by the immigration serviceʼs system. The name is therefore converted as it appears in the machine-readable part of the passport. These are the two lines containing many “<<<�” characters, at the very bottom of the plastic or laminated page in your passport. The top of these two lines contains your name (right after the country code). Is your name spelled here as it is on your visa? Then everything is in order and you can travel to Egypt without any problems.

    Does the spelling mistake have nothing to do with a punctuation mark? Then you have probably misspelled your name and the visa is invalid. Is there a name of someone else on your visa, or is part of your name missing? This may be due to the automatic completion function of your browser. It was your responsibility to check on the control page, just before paying, that all information was entered correctly. The only way to correct this is to apply for a whole new visa for Egypt.

  • My application was rejected, what now?

    It is extremely rare for a visa application for Egypt to be rejected. Should this happen to you, it is very difficult to find out the exact reason. The Immigration Service of Egypt never indicates why a visa application is rejected. In most cases, it will be due to one of the following reasons

    • You incorrectly filled out your application form, whether on deliberately or accidentally
    • You did not fill out the form completely
    • You did not provide the required documents

    What you can do when your application has been rejected
    First check that you have filled in the application form correctly. You can find most of the information in the confirmation e-mail that you received when your application was received. Check carefully whether your passport details were given correctly. If you have made a mistake, you can submit a new application with the correct detailsn. In most cases, a second application with the correct data will be approved. You cannot find a mistake? In that case, do not submit a new application, as it will probably be rejected.

    Do you wish to travel to Egypt despite the rejected visa application?
    If your e-visa application for Egypt has been rejected for some unknown reason, you can still apply for a paper visa for Egypt. To do this, you need to fill in a form provided by the embassy of Egypt and then collect the visa from the Embassy. If your e-visa application has been rejected, in most cases you can still obtain the visa after arrival at the airport in Egypt. However, the visa on arrival has a higher chance of being rejected if an e-visa was already rejected.

    If your visa application is rejected by e-Visa.ie, you will receive a full refund. This applies to all applications, except for applications of travellers for whom a visa application for Egypt was previously rejected. e-Visa.ie cannot be held responsible for any damage caused by a late approved or rejected visa application. For more information, please read the general terms and conditions.

  • Can I extend my Egypt visa?

    It is possible to extend the visa in Egypt. To do this, you need to go to an office of the immigration service in Egypt. These offices are located in most larger cities of the country. Experiences of travellers show that this process is complicated and unclear. It often takes several days before your extension is approved, and you will probably have to spend several hours a day at the office. Therefore, visa extensions are generally not recommended.

    In most cases, it will be easier to leave the country within the validity period of your visa and apply for a new e-visa from abroad.

    Apply for your Egypt e-visa here

  • I do not need my visa after all, can I cancel my application?

    You can still cancel your application until it has been processed by the immigration authorities in Egypt. This often happens soon after the required passport scans are delivered. If you will not be travelling within more than 30 days, your application is still on hold. In that case, your application can still be cancelled without any problems.

    Most customers want to receive their visa as soon as possible, so there is no reflection or withdrawal period. This is also stated in the general terms and conditions which you have agreed to by ticking the box while completing your application.

Other frequently asked questions

  • Iʼm travelling with children, what do I need to pay attention to?

    Children also need a visa and a passport to travel to Egypt. The information on this page therefore applies to travellers of all ages.

    Is your child travelling without one or more of the parents/guardians?
    A child travelling without one or more parents/guardians must always have permission from both parents/all persons with parental authority to travel abroad. This is a measure taken to prevent child abduction. A written authorisation must be signed by both parents/all guardians. It is also advisable to bring copies of the ID card or passport of all persons having parental authority. More information can be found at gov.uk.

  • Do I need to get vaccinated before travelling to Egypt?

    It is always a good idea to consult your doctor about recommended vaccinations for travel to Egypt. This website does not provide medical advice and this information is not provided by a doctor.

  • Is an approved visa a guarantee for entering the country?

    No. The visa for Egypt is not a guarantee that you will actually be allowed to travel into the country. In extremely rare cases, the Immigration Authorities of Egypt may decide to revoke your travel authorisation even after your arrival. This will only happen if you have provided incorrect information in your application, if you are travelling to Egypt with the wrong documents, or if the immigration service decides that you pose a potential risk to the country. In most cases, however, your arrival will proceed smoothly.

  • I travel with medicines, what are the rules?

    There are rules for travelling with medicine. For transporting medicines, you often require a letter of proof, authorized by your doctor. For more exact information about your specific medicines, you can check with the embassy of Egypt. To find out whether you are transporting a controlled drug, check with your doctor.

  • Is registration at the embassy mandatory?

    Travellers can register their travel details with the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office). This is an option, and therefore not obligated. For more information on registering your trip with the FCO, check gov.uk.

    Why is registration with the embassy recommended?
    By registering your trip with the embassy, you give the UK government the opportunity to contact you during your trip. This is mainly to provide information in exceptional crisis situations. During the Corona crisis, for example, travellers were informed of changing travel advice and repatriation flights.

    How can I register my trip with the embassy?
    Registering your trip can be done through the FCO via the government website. It can also be done simultaneously with your visa application. In the application form, you can choose for the option of registering your trip with the embassy. Choosing this option can save you a lot of time because most information can directly be taken from the visa application form.

  • How can I compensate my tripʼs CO2-emissions?

    After you have filled in the application form, you will be given the option to have the CO2 emissions of your trip compensated. This is a voluntary contribution that is entirely invested in VCS-certified projects. VCS is one of the best known and most reliable certifiers of climate projects. All projects linked to this certificate are strictly monitored to ensure that they have a positive climate impact. The projects are carried out in various parts of the world, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and supporting social developments. These include reforestation campaigns in Zimbabwe, the development of renewable energy sources in Uganda or the installation of more energy-efficient cook tops in India. For more information on how e-Visa.ie contributes to CO2 compensation, please read this article.

    The amount of the CO2 compensation contribution depends on your travel destination. The contribution is calculated on the basis of the CO2 emissions of your entire journey. By choosing the CO2 compensation option, you can therefore easily ensure that your flight is completely CO2 neutral. All further information on the possiblity of compensating your CO2 via e-Visa.ie, can be found in this article.

  • How are my personal details saved and used?

    A large amount of personal data is processed on this website. This includes sensitive and special personal data, such as passport numbers, citizen service numbers and passport photographs. You can expect them to be handled with care.

    e-Visa.ie guarantees that your data is protected in accordance with the applicable privacy regulations. For this, both technical and organisational precautions have been taken. Your data will only be processed via secure connections and stored in encrypted form. Your data will also be deleted immediately if it is no longer needed. e-Visa.ie has designed and tested its privacy policy in cooperation with Taylor Wessing, an internationally renowned law firm.

    Your personal data will only be processed for the execution of your order; applying for a visa for Egypt. Your data will not be sold or used for other commercial purposes. Nevertheless, the processing of personal data always involves risks. Even if all precautions are followed. In order to obtain an Egypt visa, your personal data may need to be shared with various government authorities. They assess whether you possibly pose a security risk and whether your application will be approved. e-Visa.ie has no influence on these governmental bodies and what they do with your personal data. You can read more about this in the privacy policy.

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e-Visa.ie is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the Egypt visa. e-Visa.ie acts as an intermediary and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (25 USD per visa, via visa2egypt.gov.eg). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.ie, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 25 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as € 31,94 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous Egypt visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.