The Egyptian electronic visa is a simple one-page document that contains identity and travel information about the holder. An international traveler needs to carry a minimum of two important documents while on a foreign trip - his/her passport and visa.
While both provide the basic identification details of the traveler, they are not the same. The passport is the identification document issued by the traveler’s country of origin, whereas a visa is granted by the destination country. It gives official permission to enter that country. A foreigner is expected to leave the country before the expiry of the visa validity. The Egyptian visa online is issued to foreign travelers from a few eligible countries to visit Egypt for tourism and related activities.
The travel authorization letter has the official national emblem of Egypt.
On the very top center of the Egypt eVisa, there stands the Egyptian Golden Eagle. A symbol of power, the emblem is also known as the Republican Eagle. As the name suggests, the prominent color in the national emblem is golden, and it has an insignia band in red, white, and black – the colors in the Egyptian flag. The talons of the Golden Eagle hold a scroll that bears the official name of the country written in Kufic script.
The latest version of the eagle was adopted by the government in 1952 following the Egyptian Revolution. A coat of arms with an eagle design of eagle is very common in Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. The symbol is also used in the heraldic banners of several pagan and Muslim rulers.
Apart from the Golden Eagle, the masthead of the Egyptian eVisa also has the name of the issuing authority in both English and Arabic. As per the document, the Egypt eVisa for tourism is issued by the general administration of passports, immigration, and nationality under the Ministry of interior affairs.
The eVisa displays a number of information about the identity and travel itinerary of the holder, both in English and Arabic.
eVisa number: It is a 12-digit unique number. The number can provide the officers at the immigration counter with information about the visa and its holder.
The QR code: The eVisa for Egypt has a QR code that can be scanned and read by a machine. It has an array of black and white squares. These are used for storing URLs or information that can be read by a camera or a smartphone.
eVisa type: The government of Egypt grants eVisas for tourism. The Egypt eVisa for tourism is exclusively issued to foreigners for sightseeing and other tourism-related activities.
Entry type: There are two types of eVisas—single-entry visas and multiple-entry visas. In this field, the document specifies the kind of Egyptian eVisa that a particular international traveler holds.
A single-entry visa allows travelers to enter the country only once in the 30-day allowed stay, and a multiple-entry visa allows the holders of the visa multiple entries during the permitted validity period (6 months).
Validity date: The expiry date of the traveler’s eVisa for Egypt is denoted in the field. Staying in Egypt beyond this date will be deemed illegal and invites fines and, in some cases, legal actions, including deportation. This depends on the number of days the foreigner stayed in the country illegally.
The eVisa also displays the personal identification details of the holders. Foreigners arriving or staying in Egypt are required to have a printed copy of the eVisa all the time so that police or other officials can identify them.
Full name: All foreigners have to give their full name, including the given/first name and their surname/second name, during their online application for an eVisa. Their full name will be printed on the Egypt eVisa. Any mismatch between this name and the name in the passport and other discrepancies may result in entry denial.
The passport number: It is a unique number that has the identity of the passport holder and his/her nationality. The number also reveals the issuance and expiry date of the document.
A passport identifies the holder as a subject of a country. They can approach their nation’s embassy in case of emergencies in a foreign land. In the Egyptian eVisa the number is written in the Arabic numeric system as well.
Nationality: Nationality is an internationally-recognized identity of a person that establishes him/her as the subject of a country. It can give the person protection under international law.
If he/she faces any emergencies or comes to face situations like wars, he/she can contact their embassy for protection. The nationality written on the eVisa must match that on the passport. Errors here may prevent the holder from crossing Egyptian borders.
Date of birth: It is the day the visa holder is born, as mentioned in his/her passport. Date of birth will typically have the date, month, and year in which a person was born.
Passport type: There are many kinds of passports issued by governments across the world, such as official, service, diplomatic, and ordinary.
The passport type of the eVisa holder will be mentioned in the field. To get an Egyptian eVisa, the applicant’s passport should have a minimum validity of six months.
Profession: The Egypt eVisa also has information about the occupation of the holder. Like the other information, the profession of the applicant should be the same as the one appearing on the passport.
At the end of the electronic visa document, there is a warning for international travelers. The warning, which is written both in English and Arabic, states that travelers who exceed the duration of the stay mentioned in the document without a legal residency permit will be required to pay fines. In severe cases, they may be deported or will be banned from visiting the country in the future.
Travelers are encouraged to leave the country before the expiry of visa validity stated in the eVisa for Egypt. If they want to explore the country for more than 30 days, they can apply for an eVisa renewal or leave the country and get a new eVisa.
It is to be noted that the electronic visa does not guarantee a traveler’s entry to Egypt. The decision is left to officials at the immigration counter at the port of entry. They will verify the information mentioned in the Egyptian eVisa and passport. Foreign travelers may have to answer a few questions. If everything goes well, travelers will be allowed into the country.