Entering Egypt

Entering Egypt is straightforward for German-speaking travelers, and the most important thing to know is this: you have three ways to get a visa, and the official fee is the same for two of them.

This matters because online, it can seem like getting a visa is complicated and best left to a service provider. In reality, the tourist visa for a single entry costs the same amount whether you get it through the official portal or at the airport. What you buy in advance is not a discount but time and peace of mind.

More important than the visa question is another one that can actually derail your trip: your passport. It must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry. If you only realize this at the airport, you won't be flying.

This page walks you through what you need in order: the document, the visa, the shift to digital visas since August 2026, and the import and export rules, one of which is especially relevant for visiting an excavation site.

First, the document, because it's the prerequisite for everything else.

The Federal Foreign Office lists several acceptable documents for German nationals, and the list contains a surprise: alongside the passport and the provisional passport, the national ID card is also accepted. The provisional ID card is not accepted. The child passport is valid, but not if its validity has been altered by hand.

Entering with an ID card, however, has two catches you should know about. First, you must carry two biometric passport photos, because the visa on arrival will then be affixed to a separate sheet rather than into a document. Second, within Egypt, not every authority accepts the ID card as sufficient identification, for example for domestic flights or at hotels. For a short stay in Cairo and Giza, it's doable; for a round trip, the passport is the much more relaxed choice.

Two more points are relevant. Travel documents must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry. And according to the same official source, only passports with the gender marked as M or F are accepted; if you have a different entry, you should clarify this with an Egyptian embassy before booking.

What has changed since August 2026

Since August 1, 2026, the process has been changing, and if you read older descriptions, you'll find a procedure that no longer exists everywhere.

According to the Federal Foreign Office, the traditional visa stickers are to be gradually replaced by digital codes, along with an additional processing fee. Both will coexist during the transition period, and the switch to a digital visa with a QR code began at Cairo Airport in 2026. For you, this mainly means: expect a slightly different process than described, and a small extra fee.

More interesting is what the official visa page itself lists as requirements, because few people know this. The Ministry of Interior portal requires not only a passport valid for six months and a printout of the visa, but also a travel plan and, for tourists, hotel bookings or details of planned destinations. For visits to family or for business, a letter of invitation or confirmation is also mentioned.

If you want to apply yourself, there's one thing to watch out for, as it's the most common reason for unnecessary expenses: there is exactly one official portal, run by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, and it has a German-language version. In addition, there are many commercial sites that look similar, forward the same application, and charge their own fee. Both are permissible, and both lead to the same visa. You should just know which type of site you're on before entering your card details.

In practice, these requirements are rarely fully checked. But don't rely on that, and the effort is minimal: a printout of your hotel booking and return flight in your carry-on takes care of it.

And one sentence on the same official page deserves special attention, because it corrects the impression that a visa is a guarantee of entry: border authorities can refuse entry to a holder of an e-visa without giving a reason. This is not unusual internationally for travel documents, but here it is explicitly stated.

What you may not bring in or take out

Now for the import and export regulations, and one of them concerns the very reason for your trip.

There is a strict export ban on all ancient objects, as well as on many protected plants and animals. At an excavation site, this is not just theoretical: on the way to the site and in the shops around it, items are offered as antiques. Almost all of it is newly made, which is the harmless variant for you. If a piece is actually old, you'll land in serious trouble at the airport, and whether you knew it won't help. So buy souvenirs explicitly as souvenirs.

When it comes to money, there is a reporting threshold. Foreign currencies equivalent to ten thousand US dollars or more must be declared upon entry, and re-exporting higher amounts is only allowed if they were declared upon entry. Violations can lead to confiscation and prosecution. For a normal vacation, this is far above what anyone carries, but if you're traveling for a larger purchase, you should know.

Two more points concern your luggage. Drones may not be brought in without prior approval. And for medications, it's worth asking: whether and under what conditions strong painkillers or ADHD medications can be brought in should be clarified with an Egyptian embassy before your trip. If you take something regularly, it's best to carry a doctor's certificate.

And finally, the point that matters at the end of your trip: overstaying your visa risks deportation, according to official statements. The tourist visa covers a limited stay; check the expiry date as soon as you have it.