Calling all who've traveled to Cairo, Egypt!!!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

It's not Easter Sunday yet here so I'm not going to start the daily thread with this but I wanted to know from those with experience traveling to Egypt to see their SO's.

Please answer when was the last time you went to Egypt. Which part did you fly into? Which visa did you get tourist visa or entry visa?

Has anyone had to apply ahead for an Egyptian visa? If so which Egyptian embassy did you have to apply to?

What was the turn over time on mailing your passport in and receiving it back? Did you have to pay a fee for your visa if you were a spouse?

[ninaoquinn 0]

Please answer when was the last time you went to Egypt. Which part did you fly into? Which visa did you get tourist visa or entry visa?

I flew into Cairo on 8-21-08 and have been here in Port Said since that day. Once you get to the airport in Cairo, show your passport and your marriage certificate to the man at the window. There will be no visa fee at this time because you are married to an Egyptian. When you go to the second window, again give your passport and marriage certificate. This man will then stamp your passport stating that you are the wife of an Egyptian Male. There is no need to do anything else after that.

If you plan on filing DCF while you are here, this stamp is all you need as proof of residency in Egypt. My husband and I filed DCF on 3-02-09 and the embassy did not question my residency whatsoever. The initial stamp given at the airport was sufficient. Hope that helps.

Edited April 12, 2009 by ninaoquinn

[Hopeishere 4]

Please answer when was the last time you went to Egypt. Which part did you fly into? Which visa did you get tourist visa or entry visa?

I last flew into Cairo egypt in Feb. 09, I got the tourist visa in the airport bank exchange for 15.00 not a big deal. Was there 3 times last year and did the same except on our marriage I did get a residence stamp on my passport for a month time frame, that was done in Cairo near the Ministry of Justice. I think that was like 20LE. Good info to know I could take our marriage papers and get for free, I just never want the hassle so have always just paid the 15.00 USD cash only excepted. Good luck to you Olivia.

[Melly 2 0]

when was the last time you went to Egypt. Which part did you fly into? Which visa did you get tourist visa or entry visa?

Has anyone had to apply ahead for an Egyptian visa? If so which Egyptian embassy did you have to apply to?

What was the turn over time on mailing your passport in and receiving it back? Did you have to pay a fee for your visa if you were a spouse?

I flew in a few weeks ago to Cairo. Got the visa at the airport for $15 like everyone else. That is the easiest way to do it, as opposed to getting it before you go.

The first time I came here I got a visa before I went to Egypt but you have to pay to mail it to the Egyptian Embassy, and since it's your passport, you should pay for insurance and all that too, so it's more expensive to get it beforehand. Also, you never know how long it will take, it should only be a week or two but what if there's a problem or your passport gets lost in the mail?

Just get it when you land at the airport in Egypt.

I didn't have my marriage papers with me, hubby had kept them, so when I came this time I didn't have them to show. Paying the 15 bucks isn't that big of a deal.

We're going soon to get the residency visa. Not sure you can get anything but the 30 day visa at the airport.

[ninaoquinn 0]

I forgot to add that we went to the Egyptian Immigration office in Tahrir the day before our petition interview to make sure that the stamp I received in my passport was a valid residency stamp. The lady at the Immigration office informed us that the stamp I received at the airport from the immigration booth, not the visa exchange, was all the proof of residency that I needed and that I could live in Egypt indefinitely should I wish to. This was because I had my original arabic marriage certificate with me upon entry at the airport. This is an ink stamp with "wife of Egyptian male" written in arabic above the stamp. It is not the paper "tourist or entry" visa stamp that I received when I came the first time.

When we went for the petition interview, the stamp in my passport was sufficient evidence as proof of residency with no need for any further paperwork from Egyptian Immigration.

[Melly 2 0]

I was under the impression (from previous reading), that even as the wife of an Egyptian, your visa is only good for 3 or 5 years at a time (can't remember which), and that you have to renew it after that time period is up??

What you are saying is that you got a PERMANENT residence stamp in your passport?? That doesn't sound right...

[ninaoquinn 0]

Hi Melly,

I thought the same thing and from everything that I had read previously, I had the same impression. That is why I went to the Egyptian Immigration office before I went for the petition interview. The lady at the window looked at my passport stamp, looked at our marriage papers, and said..."She's American...and her passport is stamped with "wife of Egyptian male"...she doesn't need to do anything else. She told us that I can stay here for as long as I wanted and that I didn't need anything else in my passport or any other type of paperwork.

Well, me being the skeptic that I am...I made my husband go to another window...sure enough...got the same answer...after that...we found an Immigration Officer...we showed him my passport stamp and marriage papers....and he said the exact same thing. So, we left and went on to the interview the next day at the embassy. I was actually shocked that I got the same story three times in a row because that is not usually the case here. But fortunately, that was what happened this time.

I can't really speak for what may happen with someone else. All I can do is just share what happened to me in hopes that it helps someone else. Maybe the guy at the airport did me a favor by putting this type of stamp in my passport...I really am not sure..but that is just what happened for me.

[Melly 2 0]

Well, thanks for the explanation. Since I didn't get the stamp at the airport, we have to go and get it anyways, or get.... something. lol

We're hoping to go this week since my 30 days will be up pretty soon and we don't want to go over.

[ya falaha! 0]

Hey Melly...hope you're enjoying Egypt!

Both times I've been to Egypt I've flown into Alex. Once to al Nozha and once to Borg al Arab. The first time I sent my passport to the Egyptian Embassy in Chicago to get the visa stamp. The second time I just got it at the airport. It was much easier to just get it at the airport. I didn't have to worry about the passport getting lost in the mail, etc. I just got tourist visas. The first time I was not yet married, the second time I didn't feel like giving a song and dance and showing my marriage papers so I got another tourist visa.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Thanks everybody. I'm going to do the song and dance at the window. "Hi I'm married to an Egyptian here is my papers he is waiting outside in the terminal for me thanks."

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

Out of curiousity has anyone entered Egypt with an American Marriage Certificate... which of course doesn't say "married to an Egyptian male"...? Did you have to get a visa because it wasn't proof that he was Egyptian? Or?

Which reminds me that we need to register our marriage with the Egyptian government... Just one more thing to do...

[amysaid 9]

I guess this has already been answered several times, but I just thought I'd add my experience too. The first time I went to Egypt (Cairo airport) I bought the tourist visa for 15.00 because we weren't married yet, that was last December. The second time, my husband just showed my passport and our marriage contract to the guy at the window and he stamped it and gave it back to him. When I fly in this summer, that's what I will be doing as well. As the wife of an Egyptian you don't have to have a visa.

[HLM 1]

Does that apply; showing the contract and buying visa; if the husband is american and wife is egyptian?

[Ihavequestions 419]

Aren't the visas and residency stamps two different things?

I, too, paid the $15.00 at the airport and got the three month tourist visa. After marriage, we went to the big, busy office (climbed many, many sets of stairs to get to the proper floor), and received a one-year resident stamp. The resident stamp, along with my marriage papers, have settled the price on many things because I'm no longer charged the "tourist price."

[Melly 2 0]

Does that apply; showing the contract and buying visa; if the husband is american and wife is egyptian?

I would think it would work just the same way, as long as one of the spouses was Egyptian.

You never know with the way things work here though.

Worth trying at least.

As to the conflicting information regarding the residency stamp.....

lol, we'll see what happens when we go down.