Egypt is the most visited country in Africa and has the largest rate of GDP on the continent. Many countries try to develop business ties with Egyptian companies and invest in tourism. If you want to have a business trip to the country, you might need an Egypt business visa or business eVisa.
This article will explain who is eligible for a business visa, the requirements, and the application process.
Who needs an Egypt business visa?
If you need an Egypt business visa is up to your nationality and the duration of your stay. But there is one point you need to know that you might be able to apply for Egypt eVisa.
Egypt eVisa is a platform for eligible countries to visit the country and cuts the red tape. The application process is completely online, and you can receive the visa in a few days. When you complete the online application form, you receive an email that you should print it. It is the document to show at the port of entry to the Egyptian officials.
You have the authorization to complete your business missions in Egypt with an eVisa. But you may not get engaged in a paid job.
The qualified countries that can apply for eVisa are as follows:
| Albania | Bulgaria | Ecuador | Iceland |
| Argentina | Canada | Estonia | Ireland |
| Australia | Croatia | Finland | Italy |
| Austria | Chile | France | Japan |
| Bahrain | Colombia | Germany | Kuwait |
| Belgium | Cyprus | Greece | Latvia |
| Bolivia | The Czech Republic | Hong Kong | the UK |
| Brazil | Denmark | Hungary | The US |
If you are not among the nationals who are qualified for the eVisa, you need to apply for the Egypt business visa through the embassy or consulate in your home country.
Who is eligible for an Egypt business visa?
The eligibility principles are as follows:
Evidence of purpose of visit
The applicant needs to provide proof of the purpose of the visit. An invitation letter from the host or company could prove the visit.
Business ownership proof
Provide proof of your business or company owner in your home country.
Health requirements
The applicant needs to be healthy so he/she can travel to the country. Taking a medical test is necessary, and you must provide the certificate.
Clean record certificate
Egypt business visa applicant needs to provide a clean record certificate from the judiciary officials or the Police in his/her country.
Enough funds
It’s necessary to have enough funds to cover your expenses during the trip, and you must prove it through bank statements.
If the host company in Egypt will cover the trip expenses, they need to clarify it in an invitation letter.
Egypt business visa requirements
There could be different Egypt business visa requirements by your nationality and per applicant, but a common list of supporting documents is as follows:
Passport
It must be valid for at least three months over the date you will leave Egypt. Having one blank page is a must.
Application form
You can get the application form from the Egyptian embassy or consulate website in your home country. Be careful to get the right one and complete the short-stay one. You need to complete it with your personal information, then date and sign it.
Photo
Two colored photos of yourself taken recently in a clear background are necessary. The dimension of the photos must be 45 ×45. The applicant’s face must cover 60-70% of the frame. It can not be older than six months ago. Your face must be neutral, and it can not have any special facial features like a scowling or a weird smile. You may not wear glasses.
Cover letter
You write a letter and explain the purpose of your trip to the authorities. You can find samples on the internet or ask for help from a professional to write one.
Proof of accommodation
Make it clear where you will stay during your trip. A reserved hotel could prove that you have somewhere to stay and If your host provides accommodation, ask him/her to state it in the invitation letter.
Evidence of purpose of the trip
The invitation letter from the Egyptian company could prove what’s the purpose of your visit. If you are to visit an exhibition or take part in a meeting, provide any relevant document about it.
Proof of enough funds
How you will pay the cost of the trip must be made clarified. Bank statements can indicate that you have enough to cover your expenses. If your boss or CEO of the company covers the expenses, he/she needs to state it in a letter on the company’s letterhead.
If the inviting company covers the expenses, they need to state it in the invitation letter.
Note: The mentioned requirements are not complete, and the Egyptian officials could ask for further requirements.
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Egypt business visa application process
The application process for an Egypt business visa is as follows, but you might go through a different procedure by your nationality:
Step 1. See the embassy requirements and gather all of them
First, you need to find the Egyptian embassy or consulate website in your home country. See the list of supporting documents on their website and start collecting all of them. If you want to get familiar with them, see the section above. But the embassy could ask for further documents.
Step 2. Complete the application form
When you visit the embassy’s website, download the application form. Be careful to get the short-stay one. Complete it as instructed with your information. Bear in mind that the information you put in it must be compatible with your documents, such as names. The spelling of names, first, middle, and last names must be exactly as your passport. So be careful with every detail you put in it.
Step 3. Set a visa meeting with the embassy
Now you need to schedule a meeting with the embassy. The way you can get it depends on the embassy; it could be through a phone call or through their website. Remember the exact date and time of the meeting as you must get there on time and ab it early.
Step 4. Attend the visa meeting
Go to the visa meeting on the scheduled date and do not be late for it. In fact, you should better get there at least one hour early as it takes time to get into the embassy to pass the security procedures. It would be much, much better to wear formal clothes as a business person who will visit Egypt.
Do not forget to bring all the gathered supporting documents. The essential point to remember is that there might be no copy service in the embassy, so prepare a copy of the document, so the processing in the embassy gets faster.
When you meet the officer, submit all the requirements and pay the fee for visa processing. You should carry enough funds to pay the fee by the way the embassy receives it; cash or credit card.
Step 5. Processing the visa by the embassy
It takes some time until the embassy work on your application and issues the visa. If they reject your application, they will notify you through a letter and explain the reason. If they approve the visa, they will notify you to pick up the visa stuck on your passport.
Step 6. Entering Egypt
When you get to Egypt, you have no permission to engage in any type of paid job, but you can do voluntary work. You may only complete your tasks or visit the places you have mentioned in your cover letter. There are some places that tourists are not allowed to visit, so do not enter them.
Also, you can not stay over the legal period mentioned on your visa.
Egypt business visa processing time
It takes about 10-20 days until the officials work on an Egypt business visa and decide on your application. If everything is complete, everything can be done in a week. So try to submit a full list of supporting documents.
Egypt business visa fees
The Egypt business visa costs you 6900.00 Egyptian pounds. The embassy might change you further due to their services. Also, you need to find out how they will accept the payment.
Egypt business visa medical test
The Egyptian authorities want t to ensure that the applicant is healthy and has no contagious disease. So in some cases, you might have to pass an HIV/AIDS test or other contagious diseases. It might be unnecessary to do it for short-stay visas, but the embassy might ask you to take it. So ask them whether you need to take the test or not.
How long can you stay in Egypt?
The longest validity of an Egypt business visa is three months. But the officials may grant a visa valid for less time. When the visa expires, you need to leave the country, and if you overstay, you will be fined.
In some emergency cases, you might be able to stay, but there must be a verified reason so you can stay for a longer period which is rare.
Can you visit Egypt on a business visa?
Some people ask whether they can convert a business visa to a tourist visa. It’s not possible to do it, but you have permission to visit Egypt. You can visit every tourist attraction but not the forbidden places. The applicant can stay in the country as long as the visa is valid and needs to leave the country when the visa expires.
Let’s sum up…
If you want to develop your business ties in Egypt or take part in a meeting or exhibition, you might need an Egypt business visa. You could also apply for Egypt business eVisa. The article explained who is eligible for the eVisa and who needs a business visa, the requirements, and the application process.
If you need to know about other types of Egypt visas, take a look at the left sidebar. You can also learn about other countries’ visas by going through the top menu of the Visa Library. On the Visa Library website, you can learn about other Egypt visas like Investment visas as well as ways to immigrate to other countries.
If you have questions regarding the visas, write them down in the comment section, and we will respond right away.