Egypt visa on arrival or e-visa: which to get and what it costs

Egypt gives most Western visitors a choice. You can buy an e-visa online before the trip, or you can buy a visa on arrival at the airport. Their fees differ by a few dollars and they work differently, and there is a third option at Cairo airport: a digital visa on arrival.

There is also a special case that many beach travelers never hear about. If you fly into Sharm El-Sheikh and stay under 15 days in the South Sinai resorts, you do not need a visa at all, just an entry stamp that the UK government says is free.

The Egypt e-Visa Portal is run by the Ministry of Interior. It lists the nationalities that can apply, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, China and India. Canada is on the portal list too, and the Government of Canada also points Canadian passport holders to the electronic visa. For travelers from the listed countries, the e-visa is the default recommendation.

The e-visa fees come from the Ministry of Interior's e-Visa Portal FAQ. The visa on arrival details come from the UK government's Egypt entry requirements, written for British travelers; check your own government's advice if you hold another passport.

Whichever you choose, your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date you arrive. The UK government also advises at least one blank page.

The e-visa is a tourist visa you buy online and print. The portal FAQ lists a single-entry tourist visa at US$30 and a multiple-entry tourist visa at US$65, paid by Visa, Mastercard or another debit card. Check the total shown at payment before you confirm. It says you must create your application at least 7 days before departure.

Apply at visa2egypt.gov.eg, which is the only official e-visa site. You sign up with an email address, fill in the form, pay and wait for an email with the status. The portal warns that, as with other visas, port authorities can refuse entry to an e-visa holder.

Several private sites use Egypt and visa in their names and add a service charge on top of the government fee. Some also sell a visa to travelers who only need the free Sinai stamp. If a site asks for more than the total the official portal shows at payment, it is an agency.

The portal asks for the same documents on arrival for every e-visa holder: the printout, a passport valid for six months from the arrival date, your travel itinerary and your hotel bookings or details of the places you will visit. Keep them together in one folder, printed, in case the officer asks. The e-visa is linked to the passport you applied with, so travel on that passport.

At approved airports there are kiosks before the immigration counters where eligible travelers buy a visa on arrival. According to the UK government, it costs US$30, in cash only, and is valid for up to 30 days.

The details are on the UK government's Egypt entry requirements page. If you plan to pay cash, have the dollars ready before you land, since the kiosk comes before the immigration counters. The UK government says the digital option at Cairo takes cards only, while the German Foreign Office says cash is accepted at the bank counters for US$36. Either way it costs US$6 more than the physical visa. Spain's foreign ministry adds that card payment is also possible for the physical visa at the border posts, charged in US dollars, so exact cash is still the safest.

The visa on arrival is single entry. If you plan to leave Egypt and come back, for example on a side trip to Jordan, choose the multiple-entry e-visa before you go, or be ready to buy a second visa on your return.

South Sinai has its own arrangement. If you arrive by air at Sharm El-Sheikh and stay less than 15 days in the resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba, you do not need a visa. The UK government says you get a free entry permission stamp on arrival. Other governments describe it differently: Spain's foreign ministry says the stay is visa-exempt but carries a US$25 fee, and Canada lists a 14-day stamp for the Sinai Peninsula. Ask which fee and length apply to your passport before you fly.

The stamp does not cover a day trip to Cairo or Luxor, or anywhere else outside the listed resorts. If there is any chance you will leave them, buy a visa on arrival or an e-visa instead. Tell the officer your plans; it is much easier to buy the visa at the airport than later.

The rule is written for air arrivals at Sharm El-Sheikh. If you arrive by ferry or by land into Sinai, the rules and fees for those crossings apply instead, and they are set out in the next section. When in doubt, ask the officer at the desk which visa or stamp matches your plans before you leave the airport or terminal.

Land and sea crossings have their own rules and fees. At Taba, from Israel, the UK government lists charges of US$20 to US$120 depending on your destination in Egypt, on top of visa costs of up to US$30. On the ferry from Jordan, visas cost US$30 to US$35 at the port terminals for stays beyond 15 days or travel outside Sinai. Visas on arrival are no longer available at crossings from Sudan.

To stay longer than your visa allows, apply for an extension at an Egyptian Passport and Immigration Office before it expires. Keep your entry stamp and visa together, and keep a photocopy of both apart from your passport. Overstaying can lead to a fine when you leave.

Decide your route first. If you are flying to Sharm El-Sheikh for a week at the beach and not leaving the South Sinai resorts, you need only the free stamp. If you are flying into Cairo, Luxor or Hurghada, or you might take a trip from the Red Sea to the Nile, you need a visa, and the simplest choice for eligible nationalities is the e-visa bought at least 7 days before departure.

Check your nationality on the e-Visa Portal list. If it is there, you can buy the e-visa; if it is not, contact an Egyptian embassy or consulate before you travel rather than counting on a visa on arrival. The UK government's advice covers British travelers; other governments publish their own guidance for their citizens, and it is worth reading alongside the Egyptian portal.

Carry the paperwork the portal asks for: the e-visa printout, a passport valid for six months from arrival, your itinerary and your hotel details. For business or family visits, the portal asks for a supporting letter, such as a company letter or an invitation.

If you choose the visa on arrival, plan how you will pay. The UK government says the physical visa is cash only, in US dollars, and the kiosk comes before the immigration counters. At Cairo, the digital option costs US$36, and governments differ on whether cards are the only way to pay.

Keep all your visa paperwork until you have left Egypt. If you apply for an extension, having the printout and your entry stamp together makes the visit to the Passport and Immigration Office simpler.

The main change in 2026 is the digital visa on arrival at Cairo International Airport, which the UK government dates from 1 August 2026 and the German Foreign Office from 1 September 2026. It costs US$36, including a US$6 service fee, against US$30 for the physical visa.

No further change with a date was listed on the official pages read on 2 October 2026. If you are planning the trip around the heat, see the best time to visit Egypt, and for a combined trip with Petra, our guide to the Jordan Pass.