Egypt Visa Requirements and the Application Process Explained

Egypt Visa Requirements: Who Needs One and How to Get it

Most travellers to Egypt need a visa. Citizens of Bahrain, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Macao, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE enter visa-free for 90 days. Malaysia gets 30 days. Anyone arriving at Sharm el Sheikh, St Catherine or Taba airports who stays only within South Sinai governorate gets 14 days visa-free. Everyone else must get a visa before or at the border.

Two official paths exist: the e-visa portal and a visa on arrival at Cairo International Airport. A third option, the Sinai-only stamp, restricts your movement to the south coast and is not a full entry visa. The official sources are the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (mfa.gov.eg) and the e-visa portal (visa2egypt.gov.eg). Do not use any other site that offers visa processing. Most are scams charging inflated fees that fail to deliver.

The E-Visa: Apply Seven Days Before You Fly

How to Apply on the Official Portal

The e-visa removes border uncertainty. Go to visa2egypt.gov.eg. That is the only official site. The application takes about 15 minutes. You need a passport with at least six months validity from your arrival date, a digital passport photo, and a valid email address.

The system issues two types: a single-entry visa valid for 30 days, and a multiple-entry visa valid for 90 days. Check visa2egypt.gov.eg for the current fee. Approval arrives within three business days, but apply at least seven days before departure. Print the approval email. Border officers ask for the paper copy. Checking it on your phone is unreliable because cellular signal inside the terminal is poor for some providers.

Why Applications Get Rejected

Rejection happens most often when the passport photo does not meet specifications or the passport expiry falls inside the six-month window. If your application is rejected, you lose the fee and must use the visa-on-arrival route instead.

Visa on Arrival at Cairo International: Bring Exact USD Cash

Who Can Use It

Visitors from all EU member states, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Russia, Brazil, and roughly 60 other nationalities can buy a 30-day single-entry visa at Cairo International Airport.

Step by Step at the Airport

After exiting the aircraft, walk toward immigration but stop at the bank counters before the passport-control booths. The banks are small, clearly marked kiosks. Pay the visa fee in cash and receive a sticker. You cannot pay in Egyptian pounds. Some counters accept euros or pounds sterling at a worse exchange rate. USD bills must be in good condition. Torn or marked notes get refused. Insert the sticker into your passport yourself and proceed to immigration.

The fee is per person. Children also require a sticker. The transaction takes under five minutes when there is no queue. During peak arrival months from October to February, the queue at the bank counters can reach 20 minutes.

The Midnight Arrival Trap

Carry smaller denominations. A large note handed over will likely get change in Egyptian pounds at an unfavourable rate, or the clerk may refuse it outright. If the bank counter is closed or your flight arrives between midnight and 4am, immigration officers sometimes sell the visa sticker at their booth. Do not count on this. Landing without USD cash after midnight is the failure case: you cannot enter and may be held at the airport until a bank opens or a supervisor authorises an alternative payment. That can take two to three hours.

Passport, Proof of Funds and Onward Ticket Requirements

Beyond the visa, border officers may ask for three additional documents.

Your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of arrival. That is a hard rule. If it expires within five months of landing, the airline will deny you boarding before you ever reach Cairo.

An onward or return ticket is required. Immigration asks for it roughly 40 percent of the time, more often for solo travellers and for those arriving from countries with high overstay rates. If you cannot show a departure booking, the officer may grant a shorter stay or demand a cash bond.

Proof of accommodation for the first few nights is requested occasionally. A printed hotel confirmation or a booking.com voucher works. A yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk as defined by the WHO.

Beware Scam E-Visa Websites and Fake Portals

A Google search for "Egypt visa" returns dozens of sites that look like the official government portal. They are not. They charge far more than the government fee. Some send you a worthless document rejected at the airport. Others keep your passport data.

The only official e-visa site is visa2egypt.gov.eg. The only official source for entry rule updates is mfa.gov.eg. Do not use evisaegypt.com, egyptvisas.com, egyptianvisaonline.com or any .org or .info domain. If a site asks you to pay a "processing fee" or "service charge" above the government fee, close it. If a site claims it can get your visa in 24 hours for a premium, it is lying. The government processing time is three business days and cannot be expedited. If a site says it is not affiliated with the Egyptian government but is a "private service", that means it is a broker charging a markup. None of these services are necessary. Fill out the government form yourself.