Starting Dec. 1, Canadian citizens will again be able to obtain their Egyptian visa upon arrival in the country, or electronically, reversing a controversial pre-entry requirement implemented by the Middle Eastern country last October that forced applicants to obtain their documents via mail from Egyptian consulates in Ottawa or Montreal.
The move, which came with little information or advance notice, caused disarray for travellers and tour operators with imminent itineraries, and created a barrier to future travel, as Canadians were required to send their travel documents, including passports, and wait for their return.
The cost also jumped nearly five-fold to $150 (plus additional up to $50 in additional mailing costs), though it not yet clear what the new fee will be.
At the time, the CBC reported that an email from the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa sent to Egyptian Canadians claimed the rule change was a retaliatory response to Canadian measures that denied reciprocal visas to Egyptian citizens, stating that those measures were “offensive in nature to the dignity of the Egyptian state.”
However, on Monday, a statement issued on Facebook by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and the Affairs of Egyptians Abroad said: “The Arab Republic of Egypt has decided to cancel the prior visas currently applied to Canadian citizens to travel to Egypt, allowing the visa to be obtained at Egyptian ports of entry. This, in addition to reactivating business with the option to apply and obtain the visa electronically E-VISA.”
The posting said the decision was based on a meeting between Egyptian and Canadian government officials with the intention of “facilitating mutual trade and the flow of tourism, as well as working towards facilitating movement and visas for the travel of citizens…”
The move comes as Egypt ramps up efforts to attract visitors in the face of neighbouring Israel’s ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
(RELATED ARTICLE: Is Egypt safe?)
A major boost in those plans was received yesterday with the partial opening of the much-anticipated – and long-awaited – Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the outskirts of Cairo to 4,000 visitors a day.
When fully operational, the venue will be the world’s largest archaeological museum, housing more than 100,000 artifacts of Egypt’s ancient treasures, including the King Tut collection, which will be relocated from its current home in the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.
Moira Smith, VP Africa & Asia for Goway Travel says the visa development is “really great news,” and will remove a barrier for travel to Egypt for clients.
Smith says the added visa burden, along with the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, initially led to a drop in Canadian travellers to the destination, but while having picked up in 2024, compared to the tour company’s US numbers, Canadians have not recovered as quickly.
But now with the visa burden removed, she says, Canadian will realize they can travel there again easily – and, importantly, can do so without as much advance preparation due to visa processing times. (And similarly, not have to forgo other travel in the interim because their passports have been sent away).
And with new attractions like the GEM, and a new sound and light show in Alexandria, she’s confident that Egypt will be more of a bucket list destination than ever.
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