Egypt Visa Requirements

[Fouremco]

24 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I would assume if you are online , you would also have a cellphone 😉

So, you assume that every single student who took online classes during the pandemic owned a cell phone? You might want to look outside your family and consider the many less affluent Canadians who have free online access through work, libraries, friends, etc., who could never afford a cell phone.

[willing292]

On 3/23/2024 at 5:24 PM, bleacher04 said:

 

Sorry to hear that.  Was it a cruise, and if so, which line?

No, we were on a land tour.  

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, Fouremco said:

So, you assume that every single student who took online classes during the pandemic owned a cell phone? You might want to look outside your family and consider the many less affluent Canadians who have free online access through work, libraries, friends, etc., who could never afford a cell phone.

 

The business that I am in brought both shock and realization to this matter.

 

When the pandemic hit, my business now had to interact online and electronically with all our "clients" and what was painfully obvious was:

 

1) A significant number did not have "smart phones" but only had flip phones or dumb phones.

2) Again, a significant number did not have data on their phone and were pay as you go and incurred cost for texts.

3) They did not have Wifi or data at home and had to visit Starbucks or a Library to access the internet and check email.

 

It is surprising how many people do not have the conveniences that we may take for granted.

[electro]

On 6/17/2024 at 6:56 PM, CDNPolar said:

 

Are you flying to Egypt and boarding a Nile River Cruise, or are you on a ship that embarked somewhere other than Egypt and is stopping in Egypt?

 

My knowledge is that if you are flying to Egypt and then boarding a ship in Egypt you will need a Visa in advance.

 

If you are sailing to Egypt on a ship, your ship may handle the Visa for you but this is something that you must clear with your cruise line and the Canadian Government first. 

 

Don't chance this.

 

I am booked on a cruise in Oct, out of Athens, Greece that has a stop in Alexandria. It has been reported several times on this thread that military and retired military are being denied visas. Trying to figure out if the rest of my party (3 others) should get visas, or if it is something the cruiselines are taking care of. Will I be denied boarding if I don't have one. 

[CDNPolar]

29 minutes ago, electro said:

I am booked on a cruise in Oct, out of Athens, Greece that has a stop in Alexandria. It has been reported several times on this thread that military and retired military are being denied visas. Trying to figure out if the rest of my party (3 others) should get visas, or if it is something the cruiselines are taking care of. Will I be denied boarding if I don't have one. 

 

As suggested above, the Egyptian Embassy is in Ottawa.  This is the only location in Canada.  Perhaps you should visit in person because you are right, if you need a Visa and you don't have one you will be denied boarding the ship.

[electro]

37 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

As suggested above, the Egyptian Embassy is in Ottawa.  This is the only location in Canada.  Perhaps you should visit in person because you are right, if you need a Visa and you don't have one you will be denied boarding the ship.

I will when it gets closer to the cruise. In the mean time, I'm trying to get some real life experience from Canadians who have had a port stop in Egypt. If they are categorically denying military (I'm sure they wont tell me that) or if I don't need it, I'd rather not spend the money for nothing. If I do need it but can't get it, I'll have to make arrangement to stay in Greece while the rest of my family does the cruise.

[Fouremco]

3 hours ago, electro said:

It has been reported several times on this thread that military and retired military are being denied visas.

I'd suggest that you re-read the posts, as no one has stated that they or a partner were denied a visa because they were current or retired military. One poster's MP said that it wasn't uncommon for government employees or military to be denied visas, but there was no direct indication that this was the case for the poster.

 

Out of curiosity, I queried Perplexity with the following result:

 

Based on the search results provided, there is no specific information about whether Egypt has different visa requirements or restrictions for current or retired members of the Canadian armed forces seeking visitor visas.

 

The key points regarding Egyptian visa requirements for Canadian citizens are:

 

For Canadian Citizens

- As of October 1, 2023, Canadian passport holders can no longer obtain an e-visa or visa on arrival for Egypt. They must apply for a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate before traveling.

- Any e-visas issued to Canadians before October 1, 2023 remain valid until their expiry date.

- Canadians must obtain the visa by applying in person or by mail at the Egyptian   Embassy in Ottawa or the Consulate in Montreal. Processing times seem to be around 3 weeks based on recent Reddit reports.

- The visa fee for Canadians is currently $150 CAD.

- Canadians need to provide items like passport photos, application forms, travel itinerary/hotel bookings, and payment when applying for the visa.

 

However, none of the results mention any special visa rules or requirements for current or former Canadian military personnel specifically. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the standard tourist visa process would likely apply for them as well when visiting Egypt for personal travel. But to confirm, it would be prudent to directly contact the Egyptian embassy or consulate handling your visa application.

 

I find it interesting to see that this AI response mirrors the suggestion made by @CDNPolar and I to contact the embassy. Personally, I would do it sooner in the planning process than you seem to want, but that's just me.

 

 

zzz

[CDNPolar]

11 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Personally, I would do it sooner in the planning process than you seem to want, but that's just me.

 

 

zzz

 

Agree - don't wait.  Embassy processes can take an unexpected amount of time even if you can access it directly because you are in Ottawa.  At least they would give you the real answer instead of waiting or hoping for someone here to have the experience you are asking about.

 

Personally, and like @Fouremco I would go to the source.

 

Cruise Critic has great information and sometimes questionable information and I would never leave something like a Visa to chance from someone's experience on CC.  No offence to anyone here on CC.

[SeaandSky5]

15 hours ago, electro said:

I am booked on a cruise in Oct, out of Athens, Greece that has a stop in Alexandria. It has been reported several times on this thread that military and retired military are being denied visas. Trying to figure out if the rest of my party (3 others) should get visas, or if it is something the cruiselines are taking care of. Will I be denied boarding if I don't have one. 

I can confirm that my husband (retired police officer) was denied a tourist visa - no reason given, no appeal allowed for this decision. We applied in October in person at the Embassy and were told to return two weeks later to collect our passports and visas. Our cruise was mid November. We paid over $200 each for the visas. I received my visa. My husband was spoken to by an administrator, was handed his passport, told he would not be granted a visa, and shown the door. We were shocked. We asked questions around why this was happening and were told no details would be provided. 
Fortunately, we were arriving in Egypt by cruise ship so we were hopeful that the ship would handle transit visas for passengers. We applied for full visas because the rules had recently changed for Canadian citizens and we wanted to be sure we could enter the country in the event rules changed again and tourists arriving by cruise ship needed a visa. Our cruise line did not indicate we needed an Egyptian visa to board. The entire process was extremely stressful. In the end, all that effort, cost (including a 6 hour drive to Ottawa, return - twice) was not even necessary because our passports were collected onboard and transit visas were stamped to allow us to enter at the various Egyptian ports. 
It was a later poster who confirmed that they had also been denied- they were military and I have heard from another couple that they were also denied visas without explanation and they were also police officers. 
Honestly, it’s so difficult to get a straight answer from anyone. The Embassy or Consulate will not tell you that police or military will be denied and your cruise line will not give you any information other than directing you to the required documentation for the countries you’re visiting. I’m a planner so wanted to get all required visas in advance. Don’t get me started on the process for Saudi Arabia 🫣.

I wish you luck with this. If you’re not arriving to Egypt by air or land, your ship will likely handle your transit visa. If you are flying to Egypt you will require a tourist visa. If you,  or members of your travel party are military, police or retired from those professions, the likelihood of tourist visas being granted is slim. Hope this information is helpful. 

[CDNPolar]

On 6/20/2024 at 7:00 AM, SeaandSky5 said:

I can confirm that my husband (retired police officer) was denied a tourist visa - no reason given, no appeal allowed for this decision. We applied in October in person at the Embassy and were told to return two weeks later to collect our passports and visas. Our cruise was mid November. We paid over $200 each for the visas. I received my visa. My husband was spoken to by an administrator, was handed his passport, told he would not be granted a visa, and shown the door. We were shocked. We asked questions around why this was happening and were told no details would be provided. 
Fortunately, we were arriving in Egypt by cruise ship so we were hopeful that the ship would handle transit visas for passengers. We applied for full visas because the rules had recently changed for Canadian citizens and we wanted to be sure we could enter the country in the event rules changed again and tourists arriving by cruise ship needed a visa. Our cruise line did not indicate we needed an Egyptian visa to board. The entire process was extremely stressful. In the end, all that effort, cost (including a 6 hour drive to Ottawa, return - twice) was not even necessary because our passports were collected onboard and transit visas were stamped to allow us to enter at the various Egyptian ports. 
It was a later poster who confirmed that they had also been denied- they were military and I have heard from another couple that they were also denied visas without explanation and they were also police officers. 
Honestly, it’s so difficult to get a straight answer from anyone. The Embassy or Consulate will not tell you that police or military will be denied and your cruise line will not give you any information other than directing you to the required documentation for the countries you’re visiting. I’m a planner so wanted to get all required visas in advance. Don’t get me started on the process for Saudi Arabia 🫣.

I wish you luck with this. If you’re not arriving to Egypt by air or land, your ship will likely handle your transit visa. If you are flying to Egypt you will require a tourist visa. If you,  or members of your travel party are military, police or retired from those professions, the likelihood of tourist visas being granted is slim. Hope this information is helpful. 

 

It is good to have real life experiences...

 

Thank you for this.

[electro]

On 6/20/2024 at 7:00 AM, SeaandSky5 said:

I can confirm that my husband (retired police officer) was denied a tourist visa - no reason given, no appeal allowed for this decision. We applied in October in person at the Embassy and were told to return two weeks later to collect our passports and visas. Our cruise was mid November. We paid over $200 each for the visas. I received my visa. My husband was spoken to by an administrator, was handed his passport, told he would not be granted a visa, and shown the door. We were shocked. We asked questions around why this was happening and were told no details would be provided. 
Fortunately, we were arriving in Egypt by cruise ship so we were hopeful that the ship would handle transit visas for passengers. We applied for full visas because the rules had recently changed for Canadian citizens and we wanted to be sure we could enter the country in the event rules changed again and tourists arriving by cruise ship needed a visa. Our cruise line did not indicate we needed an Egyptian visa to board. The entire process was extremely stressful. In the end, all that effort, cost (including a 6 hour drive to Ottawa, return - twice) was not even necessary because our passports were collected onboard and transit visas were stamped to allow us to enter at the various Egyptian ports. 
It was a later poster who confirmed that they had also been denied- they were military and I have heard from another couple that they were also denied visas without explanation and they were also police officers. 
Honestly, it’s so difficult to get a straight answer from anyone. The Embassy or Consulate will not tell you that police or military will be denied and your cruise line will not give you any information other than directing you to the required documentation for the countries you’re visiting. I’m a planner so wanted to get all required visas in advance. Don’t get me started on the process for Saudi Arabia 🫣.

I wish you luck with this. If you’re not arriving to Egypt by air or land, your ship will likely handle your transit visa. If you are flying to Egypt you will require a tourist visa. If you,  or members of your travel party are military, police or retired from those professions, the likelihood of tourist visas being granted is slim. Hope this information is helpful. 

Thank you for posting this. Other Canadians on my rollcall are saying that they were told by the cruise line that the cruise will handle the intransit visa and Canadian do not need to acquire one.

As you say , the embassy is not going to tell you that they are denying military and police.

 

Actually, I'd be happy if they just dropped the port from the itinerary. I've been before and have no desire to go back. We booked this cruise for the Turkey stops.

 

Do you mind telling me what cruise line you on?

 

Thanks

 

Lois

[SeaandSky5]

15 hours ago, electro said:

Thank you for posting this. Other Canadians on my rollcall are saying that they were told by the cruise line that the cruise will handle the intransit visa and Canadian do not need to acquire one.

As you say , the embassy is not going to tell you that they are denying military and police.

 

Actually, I'd be happy if they just dropped the port from the itinerary. I've been before and have no desire to go back. We booked this cruise for the Turkey stops.

 

Do you mind telling me what cruise line you on?

 

Thanks

 

Lois

We were on NCL. Because the rules had recently changed, I don’t think they wanted to commit to an answer. Türkiye is amazing. We boarded in Istanbul. Went to the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque and enjoyed the food in the city. The people were absolutely lovely-can’t say the same about Egypt. I felt completely safe in Türkiye and did not feel safe in Egypt -especially Alexandria. We took a few steps outside the gate and were inundated by men offering rides, tours etc. We turned around and went back to the ship. Tours are fine but do not venture out on your own in Egypt, in my opinion. 

[CDNPolar]

On 6/27/2024 at 11:14 AM, SeaandSky5 said:

We were on NCL. Because the rules had recently changed, I don’t think they wanted to commit to an answer. Türkiye is amazing. We boarded in Istanbul. Went to the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque and enjoyed the food in the city. The people were absolutely lovely-can’t say the same about Egypt. I felt completely safe in Türkiye and did not feel safe in Egypt -especially Alexandria. We took a few steps outside the gate and were inundated by men offering rides, tours etc. We turned around and went back to the ship. Tours are fine but do not venture out on your own in Egypt, in my opinion. 

 

This takes the discussion slightly off topic, and although I understand you not feeling safe venturing out on your own and not on a tour, but for me, this is just the culture of the Egyptians and how they make their money and approach tourists.  

 

If you have been on a River Ship in Egypt you see how aggressively the rowboats pull up to the ships and try to sell to you on your balcony or on the sun deck of the ship.  

 

As much as I can understand your feeling unsafe, I see this kind of situation in many countries as walk tall, proud, confidently, don't make eye contact and don't engage and they leave you alone.  We saw so many tactics in Egypt even on tours where sellers were calling "Hey Linda" then "Hey Susan" then another name.... the same guy.  They are just hoping someone in the crowd is Linda or Susan and going to interact.

 

My husband is Chinese and he even got called to with broken Mandarin phrases.

[bleacher04]

On 6/29/2024 at 8:23 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

This takes the discussion slightly off topic, and although I understand you not feeling safe venturing out on your own and not on a tour, but for me, this is just the culture of the Egyptians and how they make their money and approach tourists.  

 

If you have been on a River Ship in Egypt you see how aggressively the rowboats pull up to the ships and try to sell to you on your balcony or on the sun deck of the ship.  

 

As much as I can understand your feeling unsafe, I see this kind of situation in many countries as walk tall, proud, confidently, don't make eye contact and don't engage and they leave you alone.  We saw so many tactics in Egypt even on tours where sellers were calling "Hey Linda" then "Hey Susan" then another name.... the same guy.  They are just hoping someone in the crowd is Linda or Susan and going to interact.

 

My husband is Chinese and he even got called to with broken Mandarin phrases.

 

Good comments @CDNPolar!  So, to take this even further off-topic 😁 occasionally it actually works out the other way.  We were in the Plaka in Athens some years back, and while everyone else was inside the shops, I was just hanging out.  A guy in a souvenir store store across the way starts waving at me and trying to get my attention, and I kept ignoring him.  Finally he shouts, "Hey, is that a Tilley hat?" (yes, I was wearing a Tilley hat).  So I said yes and reluctantly went over to see him.  It turns out that he had lots of family in Toronto, and travelled over for Taste of the Danforth every year.  We had a great time chatting, and he didn't try to sell me a thing.

[bleacher04]

And now back to the topic at hand.  We will be sending our visa applications by courier to the consulate in Montreal on Friday (July 5th).  I will post here how it goes and how long it takes.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, bleacher04 said:

 

Good comments @CDNPolar!  So, to take this even further off-topic 😁 occasionally it actually works out the other way.  We were in the Plaka in Athens some years back, and while everyone else was inside the shops, I was just hanging out.  A guy in a souvenir store store across the way starts waving at me and trying to get my attention, and I kept ignoring him.  Finally he shouts, "Hey, is that a Tilley hat?" (yes, I was wearing a Tilley hat).  So I said yes and reluctantly went over to see him.  It turns out that he had lots of family in Toronto, and travelled over for Taste of the Danforth every year.  We had a great time chatting, and he didn't try to sell me a thing.

In 2014 , we were also by Plaka at the food market , I had the “New” IPhone 6 with us

Had it for less than month , the guys in the butcher stand notice it and came out to see it, has the iPhone was not out in Greece yet 

I had a crowd around to look at the iPhone , fun times 🤣

[ship101]

Bleacher04, did you hear anything from the Consulate in Montreal?  It is impossible to reach them over the phone and no answer to emails. 

[bleacher04]

22 hours ago, ship101 said:

Bleacher04, did you hear anything from the Consulate in Montreal?  It is impossible to reach them over the phone and no answer to emails. 

 

Nothing so far.  The consulate received our applications on July 10th, and the return envelopes have not yet been entered in the ExpressPost system (which I guess means they are still in the consulate).  The consulate did say back in March to expect 3 weeks for turnaround -- others have been reporting much quicker times, but I think they were all going through the embassy in Ottawa.

I have not tried to contact the consulate lately, but I did find they responded quickly to emails sent to <egypt.consulate@videotron.ca>.  The problem is that they never actually answered any of my questions.  My wife also had some limited success contacting them through their Facebook page, using FB Messenger.

 

I am checking the tracking numbers daily, and will post when they are activated.

[ship101]

Thanks for your reply.  This is the email address I used without success. I guess my questions were not interesting enough to be answered…  I will check your post for the developments. 

[CDNPolar]

Is there any change for Canadians getting a Visa for Egypt?

We are transiting through early next year, but on the way back we want to jump out of the Cairo airport on a 20 hour layover to see the Pyramids.

 

We know that we currently do not need the Visa for the transit, but we will if we leave the airport.

 

What is the process now for Canadians?

[bleacher04]

Hooray!  We just got our passports back from the Egyptian Consulate in Montreal -- with our Egyptian visas.  Exactly 3 weeks from when we sent them (via Canada Post Expresspost).

Edited July 29 by bleacher04

[bleacher04]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Is there any change for Canadians getting a Visa for Egypt?

We are transiting through early next year, but on the way back we want to jump out of the Cairo airport on a 20 hour layover to see the Pyramids.

 

We know that we currently do not need the Visa for the transit, but we will if we leave the airport.

 

What is the process now for Canadians?

 

There has been no change and there won't be until Canada and Egypt resolve their diplomatic spat.  In 2023 Canada required all Egyptian citizens to obtain official stamp-in-passport visas to visit Canada, and so Egypt invoked reciprocity and requires the same of Canada.

 

A description of the process and links for the application forms can be found in posts #27-34 in this forum.  Don't apply too early; a single-entry visa is only valid for 90 days, although the multi-entry visa is good for 180 days.

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, bleacher04 said:

 

There has been no change and there won't be until Canada and Egypt resolve their diplomatic spat.  In 2023 Canada required all Egyptian citizens to obtain official stamp-in-passport visas to visit Canada, and so Egypt invoked reciprocity and requires the same of Canada.

 

A description of the process and links for the application forms can be found in posts #27-34 in this forum.  Don't apply too early; a single-entry visa is only valid for 90 days, although the multi-entry visa is good for 180 days.

 

Thanks

 

I assume that we will need a multi-entry Visa.

 

We fly through Egypt twice in a 3 week period, each with a 20 hour layover/connection.

 

The first time we will leave the airport for a hotel dayroom, and the second time we will leave to visit the pyramids and then to a hotel.

 

Thanks!

[CDNPolar]

Another question.

 

I understand that you don't want to apply too soon, but we have to ensure that we get our passports back and Visa's in good time for our trip.

 

I assume that because the application asks for the below, that even if you apply a couple months in advance, the Visa issued would be granted for the "Date of Arrival" and therefore valid for the 3 weeks that we need?

 

[bleacher04]

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I assume that we will need a multi-entry Visa.

We fly through Egypt twice in a 3 week period, each with a 20 hour layover/connection.

The first time we will leave the airport for a hotel dayroom, and the second time we will leave to visit the pyramids and then to a hotel.

 

I don't know it for fact in this case, but typically if you need a visa to enter a country, and you are flying through but leaving the in-transit area of the airport, then you will need a visa.  So I would agree with your assumption.  And with all of the other expenses, the extra CAD $55 per person is worth the peace of mind IMO.

 

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Another question.

 

I understand that you don't want to apply too soon, but we have to ensure that we get our passports back and Visa's in good time for our trip.

 

I assume that because the application asks for the below, that even if you apply a couple months in advance, the Visa issued would be granted for the "Date of Arrival" and therefore valid for the 3 weeks that we need?

 

 

So here's another place where the Egyptian visa process is murky.  Example: our cruise will first enter Egypt on Oct. 2nd.  90 days prior to that date was July 5th, which is why we waited until July 8th to send in our applications.  But someone else on the cruise applied weeks earlier than that, and their single-entry visa came back dated Sept. 1 to Nov. 30th.  So although they applied "early", their time window is fine.

 

In our case, we opted for the multi-entry visa, for reasons I won't get into.  Our visas have no start date, but are valid for 180 days, with an expiry date of Jan. 22, 2025 -- or about 180 days from the date of processing, not from the date of arrival we entered into the application.

 

I don't know if this inconsistency is due to different rules for the single- versus multiple-entry visas, or something else (and you will likely never find that out).  But if I were in your position I would wait until 6 months before your last date of entry to submit the application.