If you wish to immigrate and live in Egypt for a long time, you have multiple options. For instance, you may apply for a golden visa for investors. By investing at least 50,000 USD in Egypt, you will be able to apply for this visa and stay in the country for one to five years.
Plenty of opportunities in Egypt
Egypt is a developing country, so it offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. The country is full of potential in terms of tourism, as the most impressive monuments and artefacts of human history are located in Egypt. Egypt also owes its appeal to its long coastlines along the Mediterranean and Red Sea, with sandy beaches and excellent weather in both summer and winter.
Immigrating to Egypt - what options are available?
In most cases, travelling to Egypt requires a visa. The tourist visa or visitor visa is the easiest to obtain. Moreover, last year, Egypt introduced a 5-year-valid visa. Finally, two variants of the e-visa for Egypt are available, valid for 90 or 180 days respectively. However, none of these visas is suitable for immigrating to Egypt or working in the country. For a holiday or short stay, you can easily apply for a tourist visa online.
Apply here for an e-visa for Egypt
Working in Egypt requires a work visa. It is quite difficult for foreigners to go work in Egypt, since companies must comply with very strict regulations to hire them. Moreover, the bureaucratic process to obtain a work and residence permit is complicated and frustrating. However, it might be easier if the traveller has received a job offer from an Egyptian company experienced at hiring foreign workers.
Egypt also offers a visa for people who have invested a certain amount of money in the country. The so-called golden visa is valid for 1 to 5 years, depending on the amount of money invested. To be eligible for this visa, one must invest at least 50,000 USD in the country.
The golden visa for Egypt
If you intend to stay in Egypt for an extended period of time, and are willing to invest a significant amount of money in the country, you may apply for the golden visa. This visa allows travellers to immigrate to Egypt and obtain a residence permit. Applicants may choose to invest in real estate or deposit money in an Egyptian bank account. The period of validity of the residence permit granted depends on the amount invested. For investments in real estate, the following minimum amounts apply:
- investments from 50,000 USD - residence permit for 1 year;
- investments from 100,000 USD - residence permit for 3 years;
- investments from 200,000 USD - residence permit for 5 years.
For deposits into an Egyptian bank account, the following minimum amounts apply:
- deposits starting from USD 50,000 - residence permit for 1 year;
- deposits starting from USD 100,000 - residence permit for 3 years.
Obtaining the Egyptian nationality by investing
In short, it is possible to obtain a golden visa (or residence permit) for Egypt by investing. However, obtaining a golden visa is not the same as obtaining Egyptian citizenship. For that purpose, one must follow the regular naturalisation procedure, which requires (among other things) living in Egypt for 10 years and being able to speak Arabic. Applicants for Egyptian citizenship must also prove that they know and understand the country's traditions and customs.
Besides the regular way to become an Egyptian citizen, one may obtain Egyptian citizenship faster through a large investment. To qualify for this alternative route to citizenship, one must donate a minimum of USD 250,000 to Egypt or invest a minimum of USD 300,000 in various projects, such as businesses or real estate. This investment must be held for at least five years.
If you are planning to go on a trip or short vacation, and don't intend to immigrate to Egypt and invest in the country, you may apply for a tourist visa online via this website.