COVID Update as of October 10 2022 – It is now possible to Travel to Egypt. It was one of the first nations to let tourists in early June 2020! Check their official website to know more details.
Indian citizens are eligible for E-Visa and Visas on arrival in less than 60 countries. Other than for certain South-East Asian countries, we always have to submit a pile of documents. It is a long procedure to follow for most of the nation’s visas. With an active Schengen / USA/ UK Visa, the Visa obtaining process may get simpler. But for those with none of the above, this post helps you get a Tourist Visa for Egypt.
Egypt Tourist Visa for Indians
It isn’t as tough as getting a Schengen Visa, but you need to do a lot of work & not sit like how we are sitting in the above pic at Abu Simbel.
Indian tourists are eligible for Sticker Visa only. Many countries like the USA, Canada, Japan and many European countries are eligible for E- Visa.
Where to apply for Egypt Tourist Visa in India?
There are two Egypt embassies in India – New Delhi & Mumbai & none in our home city Bangalore. So we had no choice but to go through a travel agent to submit the Visa application forms in Delhi. We could send it either through the postal service or in person. Flying to Delhi on a weekday is troublesome and costs a lot. When you choose an agent to get your Visa, visit their office to drop off your passports and other documents.
Then receive a voucher for depositing your documents. Cheating the Visa process is the biggest scam in the tourism industry. After taking money, a few agents are slow at processing. Keep track and check at least once in 3 days to know the status.
List of documents needed to get an Egypt tourist Visa for Indians
The list is a little lesser than the length of the river Nile
Some of these documents aren’t mentioned on Egypt’s official website. But it is always safer for us Indians to have all these in place while applying for Egypt Visa.
- VISA FEES – we paid 5500 INR/ Person, including agent’s fees ( 2019)
- Passport: Original Passport with a validity of a minimum of six months.
- Original Copy of Passport (E-copy will not be accepted) along with old passports
- Visa application forms filled and signed.
- Two recent passport-size photographs with matt or semi-matt finish, 80% face coverage, white background, and without border (35mm x 45mm).
- Covering-Letter signed by each of us with Name, Designation, passport number, purpose and duration of visit in brief.
- The letter should be addressed to the Consulate General of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mumbai or Delhi.
- Original Personal Bank statement for the last six months with bank seal, sign & signatory’s name. -With bank seal on each page has to be submitted.
- Airline Reservation
Hold on – There is more. Just have a look at 3000-year-old Pharoah’s mummy.
- Travel Itinerary – If you are getting the trip organised, request your organiser to send a letter containing your full name, Passport number, and the voucher for your payment. It must have a brief itinerary if not detailed. Suppose you have done all the bookings by yourself using different websites, add vouchers and confirmations of all hotels, trains and buses(if you have pre-booked) and make a brief faltoo itinerary.
- Hotel Confirmation – specifying the hotel address, Contact details, applicant’s name, check–out dates, and timings.
- Leave a letter from the company you work for.
Do you need Travel Insurance to travel to Egypt?
Not mandatory to obtain a Visa. But we get our Travel insurance done every time we travel outside India.
Is it easy to apply for and get Visa?
This is how Ashrith and I sat, wondering if we would get our Visa or not, just like how these two Caretakers wearing Jalebiyas at Medinet Habu are wondering.
I rate – it 1/5. I am unsure if it is easy to apply for a visa personally, either in Delhi or Mumbai. The MFA website of Egypt is down most of the time. If it opens, finding the information you are looking for is tough. Even after applying for Visa through the travel agent, Delhi Embassy sent back our Visa application two days after accepting, saying the Embassy would be closed for Christmas vacation!
These details were not mentioned on their website when we checked before submitting. Fortunately, our visa agent Santosh took immediate action. We re-wrote the application letter addressed to Mumbai Embassy. Fortunately, we got our Visa 10 days before our departure. BEWARE OF EMBASSY HOLIDAYS. Tough-to-search, hard-to-understand websites with missing information on their holiday list make it worse.
But that annoyance vanishes away once you see a beauty like this in Egypt
TIME TAKEN TO OBTAIN EGYPT TOURIST VISA BEFORE LEAVING – 5 to 7 working days for Embassy. But it took us almost 19 days because of the Christmas holidays.
EASE AT AIRPORT – Submitting immigration forms and going to different kiosks may confuse Cairo airport as it is a bit disorganised.
How easy was it for your to get your Egypt Tourist Visa? Let us know in the comment section below.