Ever wanted to visit the Pyramids, see the Sphinx or cruise the Nile? Whether you love Egypt‘s ancient cities, its bucket-list monuments, its rich history and culture or its beautiful beaches that are perfect for deep-sea diving, you’ll need to know whether you require a visa to travel to this stunning desert land. We caught up with Egypt e-Visa to bring you this comprehensive guide on whether you need a visa to visit.
Who needs a visa?
Most nationalities require a visa to visit Egypt. There are just seven countries that are visa-exempt; these are Bahrain, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Lebanon (if arriving on a charter flight from certain airports), Macao, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, citizens from EU countries and the USA who travel to the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba, for a maximum of 15 days, can get a free entry permission stamp on arrival, without the need for a visa. If the trip is longer, or if the visitor plans to leave these resorts, they must obtain a visa.
If you are transiting through Egypt, you do not need any travel documents other than your passport, so long as the period of time is not longer than 48 hours.
What are the visa entry requirements
Firstly, you must have a valid passport with at least 6 months remaining on it to enter the country.
Secondly, if you are not exempt, you will also need a visa.
What kind of visa can I apply for?
If you are from any of the following countries, you can apply for an e-Visa.
Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Ukraine and The Vatican.
An e-Visa is a quick and efficient way of obtaining a visa. It saves you the hassle of queueing at the Egyptian border or going to an embassy to complete the application form.
If you’re not visa exempt and your country is not listed above, you will need to choose either the visa on arrival or the conventional visa from an embassy.
Travellers from the following countries can obtain a Visa on Arrival: all EU countries, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, South Korea, Macedonia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United States. Under certain conditions, citizens of China, Malaysia and Turkey may also be eligible.
Citizens from countries that are not eligible for an Egypt e-Visa or a Visa on Arrival need to apply for a visa for Egypt in person at an embassy or consulate. The process can take up to several weeks and can involve numerous different stages, including a formal interview. In addition to a passport which has at least six months remaining from the date of travel, applicants will need to provide two recent, colour passport photos. The application form can be obtained from the embassy or downloaded before you go there.
For more information and help with applying for a visa to visit Egypt, please visit our sponsor for details.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Egypt e-Visa.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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15 Comments
Don’t forget the Red Sea Riviera either. It’s got a long coral reef, in reasonable condition, so there’s great diving. The winters are warm compared to icy Europe. When I visited I thought the hotels were very good value. There’s far more to Egypt than camels, deserts and pyramids.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no ‘family visa’. Each member of the family would need their own visa (assuming they are not visa exempt).
Paul
My friend went here the other year and I’m pretty sure she didn’t need a visa as she’s a UK resident and stayed for just the standard 7 nights. I had wondered how things might change where entry requirements are concerned after Brexit in countries that aren’t members of the EU, as it was said before that some may change their requirements using Brexit as an excuse. Bit of a worrying situation for travellers. It’s good to know there are exemptions for visiting Egypt and even if you do need a visa it’s made as straightforward as possible with the e-Visa being offered to many countries. Nice to see technology being able to make things easier rather than more complicated! If you’re one of those countries but choose not to get an e-Visa, can you still do in the standard way through an embassy or upon arrival? I imagine most would do the e-Visa route as surely that’s the easiest and most convenient, but I just wonder about those not too tech savvy.
It all sounds very clear and quite straightforward to me.
I don’t think countries realise how much difference a workable visa system makes to tourism.
Last November I applied for a visa to one Middle Eastern country that had better remain nameless.
The website crashed and my application and fee were lost. I’m still waiting a year on for an e-mail reply from their customer service department. You won’t be surprised to learn that I cancelled my plans to visit that country.
Oh dear, Dave… sorry to hear of your experience! I must admit, I’ve not heard of that happening before. Have you chased them about the matter?
Life’s too short. Too many places to travel to. I got the impression that if they couldn’t be bothered to answer my first query they wouldn’t bother with the second.
Is it possible they didn’t receive your email because of the crash? I’d be contacting them again, personally!
Am I right in thinking that the Egypt e-visa is just $25? If so that’s good value. My parents have just done a cruise and they were shocked at how much they had to pay for visas, sometimes they were only stopping in a country for a day or two.
Yes, $25 for single entry, and $60 for multiple entry, plus application fees. This is up from $15 and $19 so there was a significant increase (back in 2017) but still very affordable.
We’re talking peanuts here. Egypt is giving great value. I read a piece recently that the Congo Republic charges Americans $200 for a visa and Algeria’s not too far behind with $160 and Brazil even charges a hefty $120.
I would have thought that it would have been better to keep the barriers to entry down, like Egypt has, and hope to gain revenue from the taxes on the tourists’ expenditure. It must be difficult to justify a $200 charge on a relatively simple piece of admin in the days of powerful software.
I know that before getting into Egypt, there are certain recommendations according to the U.S. State Department website. They say it’s probably a good idea to write a will or at least make sure your belongings are accounted for before you travel there. In other words, proceed with caution… Still, I’ve wanted to go there since I was a kid. Hopefully, there will be more political stability in the future.
Who needs a visa?
Most nationalities require a visa to visit Egypt. There are just seven countries that are visa-exempt; these are Bahrain, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Lebanon (if arriving on a charter flight from certain airports), Macao, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, citizens from EU countries and the USA who travel to the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba, for a maximum of 15 days, can get a free entry permission stamp on arrival, without the need for a visa. If the trip is longer, or if the visitor plans to leave these resorts, they must obtain a visa.
If you are transiting through Egypt, you do not need any travel documents other than your passport, so long as the period of time is not longer than 48 hours.
Who needs a visa?
Most nationalities require a visa to visit Egypt. There are just seven countries that are visa-exempt; these are Bahrain, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Lebanon (if arriving on a charter flight from certain airports), Macao, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Furthermore, citizens from EU countries and the USA who travel to the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba, for a maximum of 15 days, can get a free entry permission stamp on arrival, without the need for a visa. If the trip is longer, or if the visitor plans to leave these resorts, they must obtain a visa.
If you are transiting through Egypt, you do not need any travel documents other than your passport, so long as the period of time is not longer than 48 hours.
What are the visa entry requirements
Firstly, you must have a valid passport with at least 6 months remaining on it to enter the country.
Secondly, if you are not exempt, you will also need a visa.
What kind of visa can I apply for?
If you are from any of the following countries, you can apply for an e-Visa.
Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Ukraine and The Vatican.
An e-Visa is a quick and efficient way of obtaining a visa. It saves you the hassle of queueing at the Egyptian border or going to an embassy to complete the application form.
If you’re not visa exempt and your country is not listed above, you will need to choose either the visa on arrival or the conventional visa from an embassy.
Travellers from the following countries can obtain a Visa on Arrival: all EU countries, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, South Korea, Macedonia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United States. Under certain conditions, citizens of China, Malaysia and Turkey may also be eligible.
Citizens from countries that are not eligible for an Egypt e-Visa or a Visa on Arrival need to apply for a visa for Egypt in person at an embassy or consulate. The process can take up to several weeks and can involve numerous different stages, including a formal interview. In addition to a passport which has at least six months remaining from the date of travel, applicants will need to provide two recent, colour passport photos. The application form can be obtained from the embassy or downloaded before you go there.
For more information and help with applying for a visa to visit Egypt, please visit our sponsor for details.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Egypt e-Visa.
Don’t forget the Red Sea Riviera either. It’s got a long coral reef, in reasonable condition, so there’s great diving. The winters are warm compared to icy Europe. When I visited I thought the hotels were very good value. There’s far more to Egypt than camels, deserts and pyramids.
Very true, Jeff! We did mention the beaches and diving in our intro :-) As you say, there’s plenty to explore and lots of diversity throughout Egypt.
I’m planning to visit Egypt in 2020 so will need to look into this. Thank you for putting together a really user-friendly guide that’s easy to follow.
Glad it was helpful, Chris!
I’m visiting with my family next year. Can I apply for one visa for the whole family or does each and every member of the family need their own?
To the best of my knowledge, there is no ‘family visa’. Each member of the family would need their own visa (assuming they are not visa exempt).
Paul
My friend went here the other year and I’m pretty sure she didn’t need a visa as she’s a UK resident and stayed for just the standard 7 nights. I had wondered how things might change where entry requirements are concerned after Brexit in countries that aren’t members of the EU, as it was said before that some may change their requirements using Brexit as an excuse. Bit of a worrying situation for travellers. It’s good to know there are exemptions for visiting Egypt and even if you do need a visa it’s made as straightforward as possible with the e-Visa being offered to many countries. Nice to see technology being able to make things easier rather than more complicated! If you’re one of those countries but choose not to get an e-Visa, can you still do in the standard way through an embassy or upon arrival? I imagine most would do the e-Visa route as surely that’s the easiest and most convenient, but I just wonder about those not too tech savvy.
It all sounds very clear and quite straightforward to me.
I don’t think countries realise how much difference a workable visa system makes to tourism.
Last November I applied for a visa to one Middle Eastern country that had better remain nameless.
The website crashed and my application and fee were lost. I’m still waiting a year on for an e-mail reply from their customer service department. You won’t be surprised to learn that I cancelled my plans to visit that country.
Oh dear, Dave… sorry to hear of your experience! I must admit, I’ve not heard of that happening before. Have you chased them about the matter?
Life’s too short. Too many places to travel to. I got the impression that if they couldn’t be bothered to answer my first query they wouldn’t bother with the second.
Is it possible they didn’t receive your email because of the crash? I’d be contacting them again, personally!
Am I right in thinking that the Egypt e-visa is just $25? If so that’s good value. My parents have just done a cruise and they were shocked at how much they had to pay for visas, sometimes they were only stopping in a country for a day or two.
Yes, $25 for single entry, and $60 for multiple entry, plus application fees. This is up from $15 and $19 so there was a significant increase (back in 2017) but still very affordable.
We’re talking peanuts here. Egypt is giving great value. I read a piece recently that the Congo Republic charges Americans $200 for a visa and Algeria’s not too far behind with $160 and Brazil even charges a hefty $120.
I would have thought that it would have been better to keep the barriers to entry down, like Egypt has, and hope to gain revenue from the taxes on the tourists’ expenditure. It must be difficult to justify a $200 charge on a relatively simple piece of admin in the days of powerful software.
I know that before getting into Egypt, there are certain recommendations according to the U.S. State Department website. They say it’s probably a good idea to write a will or at least make sure your belongings are accounted for before you travel there. In other words, proceed with caution… Still, I’ve wanted to go there since I was a kid. Hopefully, there will be more political stability in the future.