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danjaker · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 31

Can I request a stay longer than 30 days upon arrival in Egypt (on a tourist visa), or do I just have it extended while im there if I plan on staying a while?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

I hear that visa rules are in flux at the moment and there are lots of rumors. You are doing the TEFL cert in Alex... right? Ask the school this question and see what they say.

VS

danjaker · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 31

Yea that makes sense, I did recieve a message from someone saying it was easy to extend, from what I read it seems that way but there seems to be no definite answer.

justcolleen · Joined: 07 Jan 2004 Posts: 654 Location: Egypt, baby!

A visitor's visa is still easy to get, although they are now only for three months at a time (renewable - however a visit to the Mogama building is nothing short of a treat).

Employment visas are no longer a sure thing, no matter the profession.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

It should still be easy to get on arrival at the airport. The rumor on the street in Cairo amongst the real long timers (25-30 years ... a couple of them on a tourist visa), who are used to toddling over to the Mogamma once a year to renew for the next year... are hearing from their normally reputable sources that it may be changing to 30 days and then you will have to do a visa run to Cyrpus or wherever.

Of course... cooler heads may realize that it would be cutting their own throats. Three month renewals at the Mogamma can be tolerated and I hope it doesn't get worse than that.

VS

lynnknows · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:04 am Post subject:

You can extend a visa IN EGYPT for up to a year. You can not do it from the States. My family gets a multi exit visa every year becasue we spend a lot of time here. We just renewed our visas recently and had no problem. I know a person that just started working, for the company you are going to take your class, and they got a work visa within 60 days of working for them.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Sorry Lynn... no you can't. Good that you don't have to deal with it for a year, but your next one may be an issue. They are either enforcing an old law that has never been followed or some new law has been passed. People who have been living and working there for over 20 years are suddenly being refused visa renewals and after negotiation, or calling in some wasta, getting only three months. Some employers are even having trouble getting work visas for their people.

It's a new world in Egypt and it sounds like they are going to start doing things like everywhere else. Sad for my many friends who are now having to think about retiring elsewhere.

VS

lynnknows · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:31 pm Post subject:

That may be the case in Cairo but in Alex it is different. I am here now and I just went with a lady that lives two doors down from me and she and her two children just got their visa renewed. She is new here and didnt know where to go. My children and I did ours visas in May and my husband did his in June.
Like I said, a guy my husband knows just got his work visa less than a month ago here in Alex. He has only been here two months at the most. He came to take the class and they ended up offering him a job.
I know we dont have any wasta here but I have had no problem doing anything here.
Many times the people behind the counters dont know what to do. We have gone there a few times asking for a multi entry visa and they had no clue what we were talking about. Most times we talk to a manger and they get things done. Maybe that is what the people you know need to do. I dont know.
What I do know for sure is no one I know in Alex has been turned down for their yearly visa.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

These are people who have been there for 20 or more years, speak fluent Arabic, and have been renewing their visa at the Mogamma every year for all that time. Now suddenly, it can't be done (except for one person with extra backdoor wasta). Expect this rule to start in Alex at any time. BTW, these people have been given a 3 month renewal and told that it can't be renewed again.

Since the Mogamma is the center of this process for the country, they set the standard... seeping out into the rest of the country may take some time, but Egypt is changing.

It is only fair to warn anyone going there now that there is a new sheriff in town and don't expect things to stay the same. Things are very unpredictable in Egypt right now and for the foreseeable future.

VS

It's Scary! · Joined: 17 Apr 2011 Posts: 823

danjaker · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 31

? What was the point of that...

lynnknows · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:03 am Post subject:

VS,

I dont know. I cant comment on that because that has not been my experience or the experience of anyone I know
If fact, I posted this question on two groups I am in. One, that is for Muslims living in the ME and one for Alex.
No one has had any problem renewing their visas in Egypt so far. I am giving it a few days to see if anyone does post that they have had any issues. but so far nothing

I agree, Egypt is changing. I am excited for the people here. They have a chance to do something amazing. I just hope they really do it.

But Egypt is like many ME places. One thing may be true for one place and not for another. Like in UAE, there were people that had the same problem but lived in different areas. The people had a hard time with the visa process in Dubai. In Fujariah, we didnt experience the same issues. The law was the same but different places enforce it differently. As you know these places are run with no real order.
Egypt is the same way, if not worse because it is so much bigger.

My question is if they have been here so long why didnt they just buy property? When you own a home here you can get a visa to stay here.
Its a long process but it can be done. I know atleast 30 people here that have done it. They live here full time. We own property that we are building on and could have done it but I never want to live here full time.

Maybe they can go to Alex and try to get it done.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

This has been discussed quite extensively on the Cairo Scholars website. I have passed on to some about the fact that Alex seems to be renewing the one years if they want to try jumping on the train.

Many of these people don't have the money to invest and/or don't trust the system enough to invest in property. I discussed the idea of buying a flat there with an Egyptian real estate lawyer in the late 90s. This was just about the point where they started to allow expats to buy. But, he pointed out that if one sold, the money couldn't be sent out of the country. Lots of glitches in the legal system and I wouldn't trust the laws to not change in mid-stream sticking you with a total loss of investment. Rather like all the people who have been screwed in the real estate market in the UAE where if you buy, you don't even get a special residence visa. Some teachers lost their jobs... and thus their residence visa... and then couldn't sell their flats because the market had crashed.

VS

Ryan E. McDonald · Joined: 28 Jun 2011 Posts: 4

To answer the original question; to my knowledge you can only get a 30 day visa at the airport. You will then be required to extend your visa before it expires at the Mogamma in Tahrir.

There was a time when you could extend it at the police station in Medinat Nasr. I don't know if this option is still available.

I have also recently heard of a few people overstaying months beyond the 30 day visa and exiting without question or penalty. I, however, am not advising anyone to do this, just an FYI.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Of course, that is if you are in Cairo, not Alex. In particular in Cairo, visa rules are in flux and I wouldn't gamble right now with renewals. I would guess that a new tourist would have little problem adding a month or maybe two.

Those having the major problems are those with 10-20 solid years of renewed tourist visas.

VS