What are Egypt Short-term Visa types and the ways to get them?

Egypt manages to amaze visitors with its rich history, culture, and beautiful landscapes. Egypt had been the birthplace of many ancient dynasties. It is indeed one of the oldest human settlements. Egypt also can be considered as an oasis in the desert of northeastern Africa. The settlements have always been prospered or find an end depending on the inundation of the Nile river. Therefore, the Nile, even today, is the heart and soul of Egypt as people’s welfare is heavily dependent on the river. The country is one of the most visited countries. It attracts millions of tourists every year. One of the major reasons to visit the country has been its history. Especially, giant architectural wonders like pyramids, sphinxes were the main tourist attractions. However, today, attention is shifting. Tourists lose interest in these historical architectural wonders, but resorts are getting more and more attention. Every day, you can find a new activity to enjoy in Egypt. A cruise on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan is another tourist activity that sees much attention. What is special about this cruise? Well, along the river, you will see gems of Egypt. The cruise will stop to dock at thousand years old monuments so that everyone can see these amazing structures. It is a great way to explore and learn the country’s history. Supposedly you are not into history. No problem, there are plenty of other activities. Perhaps, camping in the Sahara desert can interest you. Away from the hustle and bustle of crowded cities, here you can see the Milky way and an infinite amount of stars at night with naked eyes. Egypt is not only composed of desert and Nile river, and it is a Mediterranean country that has a coastline stretching for 2900 kilometres. Due to the favourable climate, beaches here receive year-round sunlight. With pristine sand and pure water, beaches in Egypt can easily rival the bests of their kinds. You want to further enjoy the sea, and then scuba diving might interest you. The Red sea has some of the best dive spots like Shark Reef, Daedalus Reef, Little Brother, Thistlegorm, Dunraven, and Blue Hole, and many more. If you are lucky enough, you might encounter Dolphins. Many other things can be a reason to visit Egypt. In most cases, it takes a visa for Egypt to visit the country. Do you need a visa for Egypt? If you do not know how to answer, do not worry, as you will find an answer after looking at Egypt visa policy.

Egypt Visa Policy

The Visa policy of Egypt defines who needs a visa for Egypt. According to that, you are either from Egypt visa free countries or visa-required countries. To put it the simplest way, aside from citizens of Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kuwait, Macao, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, everyone needs to apply for Egypt visa to enter the country. There can be different reasons to visit Egypt. According to these reasons, Egypt visa types are formed.

Egypt Visa Types

There are two major categories which are short-term visas and long-term visas. These categories, in their turn, are divided into subcategories. What we are interested in for this article are short-term visas. Therefore we will mainly focus on their features like Egypt visa fees. Before that, let’s learn what short-term visa types are there for Egypt. They are tourist visas, business visas, cultural/scientific/sports event visas, visiting family/friends visa, study (short) visa, and work (short) visa. They are granted to the applicant with the reason that suits a particular visa type. For example, if you are planning to visit Egypt for tourist purposes, then you will need a tourist visa. Although they have specific distinct features, most of the requirements for them remain similar. What are they? You will find a detailed answer in the next paragraph.

Visa Requirements for Short-term Visa Types

We can describe these visa requirements as a list given below: • Egypt visa application form duly completed, signed and dated by the applicant in English. If the applicant is a minor, then both parents should sign the form. • You should present your passport, which should remain valid for the next 6 months starting from the date that you depart from Egypt. Your passport should bear your signature and one or two blank pages depending on your situation. It should be issued in the last 10 years. • Two recently taken (preferably in the last 6 months) photos are prerequisites. Face view from the front should take up 70-80% of the photo. The size of the photo should be 3x4, and the background of the photo should be white.  • National ID card with a minimum validity of 2 months which will start from the date you depart from Egypt. • If you apply for a visa from a country that you are not a citizen of, then your residence permit or your visa, which allows you to apply from that country, is needed. • Copies of your passport’s main page along with previous visas and final destination (if you got any). • A travel itinerary, which will include reservations of flights and accommodation such as hotel, private house, is needed. If it is a hotel, then you need to give information on addresses, street, city, zip code, contact information, etc. • A letter provided by the local employer or sponsor is needed. In this letter, there should be the contact information of the employer/sponsor. • You should be able to prove that you are capable of financing your travel by presenting financial means. They can be a bank statement which should show the last 3 months’ financial activity, or credit card, cash, Traveler’s cheques, payslips, proof of employment, etc. These are the commonly required documents for short-term visa types. However, there will be some additional documents required depending on the type of visa. For example, to start Egypt visa application for a business visa, you will need present documents reflecting the nature of your travel.

Egypt Visa Cost

This is another important point when considering a visit to Egypt. There are two main variables that can affect the Egypt visa cost. They are entry types and countries of application. Depending on these two factors, you can be charged differently. However, the nominal amount of Egypt visa fees for a single entry is 25 USD, while it is 60 USD for multiple entries.  Aside from costs, you might be wondering about Egypt visa processing time. Yet again, it varies from country to country, but the average Egypt visa processing time for short-term visas can be 1 up to 20 days.

How to get Egypt Visa

To apply for Egypt visa, you can have different options based on your country of application. In general, there are three ways to get a visa for Egypt. They are namely e-visa, visa on arrival, and visa through embassies and consulates of Egypt. However, nationals of a limited number of countries can apply for a visa to Egypt. How to get Egypt visa through the Egyptian embassy? It is similar to others. You find, and contact an embassy, then make an appointment. When it is time, you go present your documents and fill out Egypt visa application form. As for e-visa, to start your Egypt visa application, you will need to complete the application form, present the required documents, and pay the fee online. Once your visa is successful upon processing which is carried out within three days, you will get your visa by email. The process is straightforward, but it has a major disadvantage. Only nationals of European Union countries, Albania, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City, can benefit this service. The same problem is evident for visas on arrival. You can get your visa upon arrival at international entry points. The visa fee is the same as a visa through an embassy. You should check your visa checklist before travelling to Egypt. Otherwise, you can forget one document and therefore could not get a visa on arrival. To sum up, Egypt as a tourist destination is a marvellous country full of activities. It stands to a reason why people put Egypt at the top of their bucket lists. Do you need a visa for Egypt? If your answer is yes, then you can get the visa easily by contacting Pickvisa. You can complete the application with only a few clicks.