Travelling to Egypt on a visa on arrival is generally a bad idea. If you want to travel to Egypt, you require a visa to do so. In the past, many travellers would choose to apply for a visa on arrival. That means that on arrival at the airport, the traveller would be able to acquire their visa right there on the spot. However, this would lead to long queues at the airport. Applications could take up to an hour after arriving in Egypt. That’s why the Egyptian government advises people against making use of the visa on arrival. Applying for an Egypt visa can be easily done online nowadays.

Egypt visa: on arrival or not?

Travel organisations continue to advise people to make use of a visa on arrival. But the downside of a visa on arrival is that it doesn’t offer any assurance. This is because you still have to apply for it after landing. Not only does it take a long time to get it (easily up to an hour), but there is no guarantee that the visa will actually be granted. You might end up travelling to Egypt only to be sent straight back.

Furthermore, people often cheat with the visa on arrival. All in all, the visa on arrival led to a lot of uncertainty and discomfort. That’s why the Egyptian government recommends travellers to get their Egypt visa online before departure.

Getting an Egypt visa

There are also companies that can arrange a physical Egypt visa (so not the e-visa that can be applied for on this website), with which the passport of the traveller needs to be handed over. This procedure takes longer, in part because an urgent application isn’t possible. Furthermore, the documents are easy to use for scamming. That’s why it’s unsafe to hand over the passport for an Egypt visa.

The safest way to apply for an Egypt visa is by doing it online. This can be easily done through a digital application form. Applying for an Egypt visa only takes a few minutes and costs £54.95 per person for a single entry visa.

Requirements Egypt visa

However, there are a number of requirements you have to meet before applying for the visa. For starters, the passport must be valid for at least eight more months after arrival in Egypt. Emergency passports, ID cards or temporary residence documents are not enough. Furthermore, you are often required to bring a letter of invitation along. Also make a short travel schedule containing all the booked flights and hotels. Print the visa and the travel schedule and take it along in the hand luggage.

If you are travelling as a group, you need to submit a group application. The Egypt visa is valid for ninety days, and you can use it to stay in Egypt for up to thirty consecutive days.

Multiple entry or single entry Egypt visa

When applying for the Egypt visa, you have the option between a single entry visa or a multiple entry visa. With a multiple entry visa, you can travel to Egypt an unlimited number of times within the validity period of ninety days. Each stay can last a maximum of thirty days, even if the travel plans are changed. The dates of arrival and departure also count.

Applying for an Egypt visa

Applying for an Egypt visa can be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Keep the passport and hotel information at hand. If you’ve been to Egypt before, you need to provide those dates of arrival and departure as well. A single entry visa costs £54.95 per person. The multiple entry visa costs £89.90 per person.

Paying can be done with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and PayPal. The visa can even be applied for before the flight ticket has been booked. You do need to have arranged an overnight stay, however. Applications that are submitted more than 30 days before departure are put on hold up to 30 days before the filled in date of arrival. This is to assure that the visa does not expire before the journey starts.

Urgent Egypt visa application

Before departure to Egypt, it’s mandatory to apply for an an Egypt visa. If you forget this, there is also an option for an urgent application. Generally, the Egypt visa is then granted within two to five workdays. With a normal application, this is seven workdays.

Please note: this news article about the visa for Egypt is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for Egypt.