If your Egypt visa has expired, renewing the Egypt e-Visa is just as simple as the original application process. It’s important to renew an expired visa to avoid the considerable Egypt overstay penalties.
The Egypt e-Visa has been designed to modernize the system of obtaining travel authorisation to enter Egypt. The online application is completed online in just a few minutes. There’s no need to visit an embassy or queue at the Egyptian border.
Read on to discover how to renew your Egypt visa, and if it is possible to extend the eVisa while in the country.
We’ll also outline what happens if you overstay your Egypt visa, and the (sometimes serious) consequences you can easily avoid.
Egypt visa renewal application
To renew an Egypt tourist visa, you just need to complete the Egypt e-Visa application. The form involves entering some personal information (such as name, address, passport details, and date of birth) and answering some questions related to security and your travel plans.
You also need to choose whether you want a single or multi-entry visaon the form. The fee varies according to the option you select.
Requirements for renewing an eVisa to Egypt
To successfully renew the e-Visa for Egypt, you need to have the following:
- A valid passport from an eligible country valid for at least six months from the date of arrival.
- A credit or debit card to pay the fee for the electronic visa.
- A recent passport-size photo
- An up-to-date email address to receive the travel authorisation in PDF form.
How long does it take to renew a visa for Egypt?
The process to renew an Egypt e-Visa takes the same length of time as the original visa process. Once the application has been submitted, it’s normally processed within 1-2 working days.
Sometimes extra documentation is required. Therefore, we advise you to apply for the Egypt visa renewal with this in mind, at least 7 working days before your trip.
Once the application has been approved, you receive it in PDF format by email. You can complete the Egyptian Visa Application anytime before your intended date of arrival in Egypt.
Can I renew my visa before it expires?
It is possible to renew your Egypt visa before it expires. Renewing the Egypt visa generally takes 1-2 business days. Please take this into account to time your renewal.
As the online renewal service can only be completed from outside of Egypt, it does not matter if your visa expires while you are waiting for your renewal.
However, if you apply for a renewal while you are still in Egypt, you need to ensure that you do it before your visa expires, to avoid the Egypt overstay fine.
Do I need to renew my Egypt e-Visa if my passport has expired or changed?
To successfully obtain an Egypt e-Visa, you need to have a passport with 6 months remaining from the date of entry. Considering that the longest validity of an Egypt e-Visa is 180 days, your passport should not expire before the visa.
However, it is possible that a passport may be lost, stolen, or changed in some way. In these cases you need to renew the Egypt e-Visa, if you want to return to Egypt
You cannot transfer the e-Visa between passports. If your passport details have changed, the corresponding visa is no longer valid.
The information on the visa must exactly match the details of your passport. If you have more than one passport, you need to ensure that you travel with the same passport you used in the initial application.
Can I extend my Egyptian visa while in Egypt?
Technically, you cannot renew an Egypt e-Visa from inside the country. If you’re in another country or if you have plans to visit a nearby country and return, it is simple to extend your Egyptian visa.
You receive your approved eVisa by email and can then print it out. The simple process saves you having to pay a fine to leave or going through the hassle of applying for a visa extension in Egypt.
How can I extend my Egypt Visa from within the country?
To obtain an Egyptian visa extension, you need to go to the Mugamma Building in Tahrir Square, Cairo. The office is open from 8:00 to 15:30.
You should go to the office as early as possible. You’ll need to take your passport (and a photocopy of it), the almost expired (or expired) visa, and a passport photo.
You should expect to be at the office for a long time. Try to be patient and polite during the process. Take something to do, as the process can take a few hours.
Each case is judged on an individual basis. In some cases, a visa renewal is not possible, and it depends on the circumstances. If you cannot get a visa renewal and your visa has expired, you will need to pay a fine to leave Egypt.
What happens if you overstay your Egyptian visa?
It’s inevitable that sometimes visitors will overstay their Egypt visa, either accidentally or on purpose. However, there are consequences of exceeding the allocated length of stay in Egypt.
If you try to leave Egypt with an expired tourist visa, you may need to pay an Egyptian visa overstay penalty. There used to be a 14-day Egypt grace period for visas, but officially it no longer applies. The fine varies depending on the amount of time you overstayed your visa.
If you’ve only overstayed by a couple of days, you might get away with not paying. But you should be prepared to.
You only need to pay a small fee if you have overstayed by a few days. However, the overstay Egyptian visa penalty can grow to a four-figure sum (in USD) if you overstay your visa by a number of months.
Other consequences for overstaying your Egypt visa
As long as you can pay the fee, leaving Egypt with an expired visa is not a major problem. However, if you cannot pay it, you won’t be allowed to board your flight.
Overstaying a tourist visa in Egypt can also cause issues if you want to travel to the Sinai Peninsula or southern Egypt. Because of the more delicate security situation in the region, the border authorities are stricter and there are more checkpoints.
If your passport and visa are not in order, you will not be able to enter the Sinai Peninsula, including Sharm El-Sheik. If there are any irregularities regarding your passport or visa you will not be allowed through.
Make sure you are aware of the official policy on the documents needed to travel to Egypt. In the end, it’s better not to break the official rules to avoid complications.
How do immigration know if you overstay your Egypt visa?
When you arrive in Egypt and pass through the border, the immigration officer will check your passport and Egypt visa. They will then stamp your passport, officially marking the date that you entered the country.
To leave Egypt, an immigration official will check your documents again. Border control will be able to see your visa validity and the date that you entered the country. This clearly shows if you have overstayed your visa in Egypt.
Avoid paying a fee by renewing your Visa
Fees are often avoidable. To avoid complications, it is better to follow the official rules and procedures as closely as possible.
If you know you’re going to stay beyond the length of your visa, you can request an Egypt visa renewal.
