Egypt Visa

The land of Pharaoh, mummies, and Pyramids has so many attractions that people from all around the world would want to visit Egypt at least once in their lifetime. To visit this land of wonders, rich culture, and history, you might need an Egypt visa depending on the purpose of your visit.

This guide helps you to get familiar with different types of Egypt visas, requirements, and the application process.

Who needs an Egypt visa?

Whether you need an Egypt visa is up to a few factors:

• Your nationality
• The duration of your stay
• Purpose of your visit

Almost every foreign national who wants to visit Egypt needs a visa, but the country has provided different options to ease visiting the country, such eVisa, and visa on arrival.

Nationals of a few countries are qualified to apply for Egypt eVisa. The application process is online, and the verification is sent to the applicant by email. You print the email and can travel to the country with it.

The qualified countries for Egypt eVisa are as follows:

If your nationality is not on the above list, you need to apply for the appropriate visa at the Egyptian embassy or consulate. Also, you might be eligible for a visa on arrival.

If you want to study and work in Egypt, you need to apply for a student visa and work visa.

Egypt visa requirements

There are different required supporting documents for an Egypt visa by visa type. Also, the Egyptian authorities could ask for further documents for the visa type. But a common list of requirements is as follows;

Passport 

You need a valid passport issued by the officials in your home country to apply for an Egypt visa. It must hold validity for the entire duration of your stay and not be older than ten years. Having one or two blank pages to stick the visa to it is necessary.

Photo 

You often need two or more photos for an Egypt visa. It can not be older than six months, and the dimension must be 45 × 45. The background requires to be clear white, and nothing blocks your face covering 60-70% of your face.

Invitation letter 

You need an invitation letter from a company or host in the country if applying for a business visa.

Proof of accommodation 

Provide evidence or document that you have reserved a hotel or rented a place to stay. If you apply for a student visa and the university offers a dormitory, provide the evidence. A hotel reservation could also prove your accommodation.

Application form 

The applicant needs to complete the right application form for the visa he/she is applying for. You can get the form from the Egyptian embassy or consulate website in your home country or pay a visit to them and receive a paper application.

You must complete the application with the exact information from your documents and submit it to the officials along with other supporting documents.

Residence status  

In case the country you currently reside in is not your home country or the one you were born in it, provide residential status proof such as a residence permit.

Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate  

A few countries need a certificate that they have received a vaccine for Yellow fever. They are as follows:

Educational Certificates

You might have to provide education certificates such as for a student visa.

Work experience 

The work background and the places you have worked plus your skills.

Health insurance 

Insurance is required for an Egypt visa.

Medical test 

Ofen you might have to take a negative HIV test.

Paid fees 

Proof to have paid visa fees.

Cover letter

You explain the purpose of your visit to Egyptian authorities.

Consent letter from parents 

If the applicant is a minor

Note: the list is not complete, and you might have to provide further documents for each visa you apply for. 

Egypt visa application process

The one point to bear in mind is that you might be eligible to apply for eVisa. The application process is online and doesn’t have the hassle of the below one. So do research before you go through the below application process.

The application process for each Egypt visa is different, and the applicant might have to go through a different procedure by his/her nationality. However, a common process is as follows:

1. Gather the required supporting documents

There are requirements for each Egypt visa you apply for. They are different for each one, and you have to gather all of them. Choose the right visa and go through the detailed article from the left sidebar, and you can see the full list. Remember, it might take longer to gather all of the documents, so consider some wasted time in the process.

2. Complete the application form

The first piece of document to complete is the application form. You need to receive it from the Egyptian embassy or consulate website in your home country. Complete every piece, then print, date, and sign it. Some applicants make the mistake of putting wrong information. The written information must be identical to your documents.

3. Schedule a visa meeting and attend it

Set a meeting with the Egyptian embassy or consulate in your home country. Then go to the meeting on the exact date. You need to submit all the collected supporting documents to them. The interview plays a crucial role in the fate of your visa, so do your best and go prepared. Try not to forget anything and prepare a checklist of the documents not forget anything.

You would better get to the meeting an hour early as passing through the security could take time.

There is also a fee you need to pay for the visa processing so bring enough cash or your credit card. Ask the embassy about the visa fees and whether they charge you for any other services or not.

If you have to provide a copy of each certificate, prepare it in advance as the embassy is unlikely to offer such services.

4. Wait for visa processing

After finishing all the procedures with the embassy, you need to wait until the officials work on your case. They will decide whether to grant you a visa or not. The processing time for each visa is different and could take from one week to one month, so be patient.

You could also track the processing if the embassy permits it.

When the visa is ready, the officials inform you how to pick it up, or they will post it to your address.

5. Enter Egypt and complete the procedures

There might be necessary steps when you enter Egypt. For example, you need to show a few supporting documents at the port of entry to the officials.

If you have applied for a long-stay visa, you need to apply for a residence permit. The visa is to enter the country, and the permit is to stay legally in the country.

Egypt visa types

The different types of Egypt visas are as follows:

eVisa

Egypt’s government introduced eVisa to ease traveling to the country for tourists and international visitors. The nationals of eligible countries can apply online in a few minutes for the visa and pay the fee. They will receive an email which is the approval to visit the country. Egypt eVisa permits you to stay for 30 days in the country and visit tourist attractions. It’s a single entry visa, but multiple entries are also available.

If you want to know more about Egypt eVisa, go through the detailed article from the left sidebar.

Egypt transit visa

If you want to catch a connecting flight in one of the Egyptian airports, you might need a transit visa. Most countries will not require a transit visa if they need to stay in Egypt for up to 48 hours.

If you have to wait for longer than 48 hours for your connecting flight, the rules changes per country. Some countries can leave the airport and explore the city, but some can not, such as;

• Afghanistan
• Lebanon
• Palestine
• The Philippines

As explained, the rules for each country are different. So you would better visit the Egypt transit visa article from the left sidebar and know whether you need a transit visa or not.

Tourist visa

Egypt tourist visa permits foreign nationals to visit the country and enjoy tourist attractions. But some countries are eligible to apply for eVisa. Before you apply for the tourist visa, determine if you are eligible for the eVisa or not. If not, then you have to gather the required supporting documents and apply to the Egyptian embassy or consulate in your home country.

Also, a few countries need preapproval before visiting Egypt; you can see the list of them in the article Egypt tourist visa explained in the left sidebar.

Business visa

Egypt business visa permits international business people to visit the country and develop ties, sign business contacts, and MOUs, and take part in exhibitions and meetings. The applicant needs to provide proof of business relations with the host company in Egypt.

If your nationality permits you to apply for Egypt eVisa, you can apply for Egypt business eVisa. You apply through the eVisa website, but you declare the intention of your visit is business.

Student visa

If you want to study at one of the Egyptian universities, then you need a student visa, and your nationality does not matter. Everyone needs a visa to study in the country. To apply for a student visa, you must have an acceptance letter from an Egyptian university and have the requirements they need.

Having enough funds to cover expenses in Egypt is one of the important prerequisites to apply for a visa.

If you want to know more about the Egypt student visa, pick the article from the left sidebar and read the details.

Work visa

International skilled employees can move to Egypt and work there if they have a job offer from an Egyptian employer. The government prefers that the employers hire national workers, but if you manage to get the job offer, the rest will be almost easy. There are websites where you can find a job offers in Egypt. They are introduced in the Egypt work visa article on this website.

Remember that the job offer must lead to a contract, and part of the application is completed by the employer inside the country. The employer and employee must be in constant contact with each other and exchange information and documents and proceed with the application together.

The applicant needs to pass a medical test and prove he/she is completely healthy as well. Also, the Egyptian company can not have more than 10%, international employees. It means from every ten employees, nine of them must be Egyptian, and one can be a foreign employee.

There are different procedures with the work visa application that you can get familiar with by going through the Egypt work visa blog from the left sidebar.

Egypt citizenship by investment

Egypt permits citizenship to foreign nationals through investment. There are different ways you can invest in the country, and each requires different minimum funds.

• Real estate, $500,00
• Company, establishment, ,$400,000
• Donation, $250,000.
• Bank deposit, $750,000.

There are other eligibility principles and just having enough funds is not the only option. See the article from the left sidebar to know more about Egypt citizenship through investment.

Let’s sum up…

This guide introduced different types of Egyptian visas, requirements, and the application process. You can find the type of visa you need and find out more about it from the left sidebar.