Egypt is an economically vibrant and attractive country. The country is full of opportunities for entrepreneurs and jobseekers, especially in tourism, but other sectors are also developing at a fast pace. This article explains everything you need to know about the work visa and the business visa for Egypt.
Enter Egypt with a visa
Travellers from the UK and the rest of Europe need a visa to travel to Egypt. This applies to all types of trips, for any travel purpose. Whether you travel for a holiday, a business trip or to stay in Egypt long-term, you will always need a visa. Travellers can apply for a visa easily before their trip. A tourist or business visa can be applied for before departure, allowing for a stay of up to 30 or 90 days. The visa is available as a single-entry visa, allowing for one trip to Egypt, and a multiple-entry visa, which allows its holders to enter the country multiple times. You can apply for the tourist visa online on this website. This visa is also called the Egypt e-visa.
The visa for a business trip to Egypt
If your intention is to visit a company, convention or seminar in Egypt, or to conduct any other types of business activity, you are not allowed to use the e-visa. In these cases, you will need a special business visa, which can only be applied for at the Egyptian embassy or consulate. The business visa is intended for business travellers who are employed by an organisation situated outside of Egypt. The business visa is valid for 6 months, starting from the moment the visa is issued. The visa is available in two variants:
- The single-entry business visa, which allows its holder to travel to Egypt once for a stay of up to 30 days.
- The multiple-entry business visa, which allows its holder to travel to Egypt multiple times, and to stay in the country for up to 90 days in total.
To apply for a business visa, an applicant needs to submit the following documents to the Egyptian consulate: their passport, two recent passport photos, a filled-in application form and an invitation letter from the company they intend to visit in Egypt. The application can be submitted personally or by post. The business visa costs at least 100 GBP, which is more than the cost of the tourist visa.
A work visa for Egypt
The business visa does not suffice if you want to work for a company located in Egypt. In that case, you will need to apply for a work visa, for which you need to have received a job offer from an Egyptian company. Once you receive an offer, you can enter Egypt with a temporary visa in order to apply for a work permit from within the country. You can use any visa you want to enter Egypt.
Once you arrive in Egypt, you should contact your Egyptian employer. Together with your employer, you can submit an application for a work permit at the Ministry of Labour. You will need to submit various documents and the process can seem rather complicated. Also, your employer has to fulfil a number of strict requirements to be allowed to hire foreign employees. Therefore, before departing for Egypt, you are advised to check whether the organisation you would like to work for has sufficient experience with hiring foreign employees.
Visas for voluntary work, freelancers and entrepreneurs
Egypt does not have any specific visas for volunteers or freelancers who want to work in Egypt. These activities are situated in a legal grey area. Therefore, it is unclear which visa is required in which situation. In practice, many freelancers and volunteers use a standard tourist visa to stay and work in Egypt temporarily, but whether this is actually allowed depends on the length of the stay and the exact type of work to be carried out. If you consider this, you are advised to contact the embassy or consulate of Egypt and/or the organisation you intend to work for to find out which visa suites your needs. If a tourist visa suffices, you can apply for an e-visa online. It only takes a few minutes.
Entrepreneurs and investors who are ready to invest a substantial amount of money in Egypt, can apply for a special visa for investors. This visa is also called the golden visa and can eventually lead to permanent residency. You can find more information about this visa for entrepreneurs and investors in the article on the golden visa for Egypt.