visa for egypt b4 arrival?
 

i am on a new zealand passport, and have been hearing conflicting views as to weather i need a visa b4 my arrival at cairo airport.?<BR><BR>Definative answers or contacts much appreciated.<BR><BR>cheers<BR><BR>Craig

I was there a little less than 2 years ago. We got our visa before going, but had been told that you can get it when you get there and it is cheaper and takes very little time. <BR>We since traveled to Kenya and waited to get our visa when we got to Nairobi. We handed the guy our $50 US and our passports and he stamped them and gave them right back. Took 2 of us about 3 minutes. We got through before those who already had their visas. <BR> If Egypt is still as it was when we went (according to others who waited and got airport visas), that would be the way to go. Hopefully you'll hear from someone who's been there recently.

US passports can get visa upon air arrival in Egypt - while I agree with above post, it is different for each country of passport. Best bet is to contact Egyptian Embassy/Consulate to find out specific rules for NZ citizens.<BR>This is not something to mess with - you may get lots of answers here, but Egypt sets the rules and you don't want to risk being turned away at border.<BR><BR>Another thought is to repost question on Australia/NZ board here - maybe you can find someone who has gone to Egypt.<BR><BR>When we went 18 months ago, they only accepted US dollars to pay for arrival visa (no Egyptian money acccepted - we thought that was really funny)<BR><BR>Have a great trip to Egypt - we thought it was magic.

We were there in 2000, and we got our visas there at the Cairo airport. There is a counter just before the immigration desk.. And it is really much cheaper...IN Singapore where I am, the cost was at S$67. I think we got it for less than $10 per person, if I'm not wrong... <BR><BR>Enjoy Egypt, its magical! Hubby and myself backpacked Egypt for abt 2 weeks while I was 6 weeks pregnant with my now 13 mth-old daughter.

I was there last year with a fellow Canadian and with a Kiwi. We all obtained our visas on arrival and it didn't seem to be a problem (although the Kiwi guy got questioned and I think another Kiwi arriving at the same time got questioned too - but that was at customs and after they received their visa stamps). Nonetheless, we all were granted entry and the visa was much cheaper on arrival.<BR><BR>If you're worried, then I would get one before just to make sure, but my opinion would be to get one on arrival.

I was in Egypt last year. Before going I listened to my travel agent and sent my passport to the egyptian embassy here in Ireland with the appropriate forms/photos and money that was needed. The following week my stamped addressed envelope returned empty and I had to report passports stolen and fill in paperwork and pay for a new passport. When I arrined in Luxor which was my point of entry I was on a queue for five minutes where I was issued with my visa ( I did not get my money back from the egyptian embassy as they did not take responsibility for the loss of passport with visa.) I could have saved my self a major headache if I had of taken the advice of people from this website. Several people from the U.S. had said that there passports had mysteriously disappeared in the post and that it was a simple procedure to pick one up on arrival in Egypt. So unless you hand deliver and collect your own passport from the embassy yourself I recommend waiting until you get there. By the way no photos are required at the airport. You just hand over the money and thay stamp the passport. I was on a long queue and it only took 5 minutes for everyone to get through.