Egypt's visa on arrival goes digital: a QR code instead of the sticker

What actually changed

Egypt did not change who may enter. It changed how the visa on arrival is issued.

Until 1 August 2026, a traveller eligible for a visa on arrival bought a physical sticker at a bank counter in the Cairo arrivals hall, handed it to the immigration officer and had it stamped into the passport. Since 1 August the same visa can instead be issued as a QR code, generated before you reach the desk and scanned by the officer.

The amendments behind the change were published in Egypt's Official Gazette on 28 July 2026, and the platform went live at Cairo International Airport (CAI) on 1 August.

Three ways to get the QR code

• The "Visa On Arrival" mobile app (App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery)
• Self-service kiosks in the Cairo arrivals hall
• The official web portal, visaonarrival.gov.eg

Applications are accepted up to 48 hours before departure, during the flight and on arrival — so you can do it from your sofa, at cruising altitude, or standing in the queue. The code arrives by email and can be downloaded or printed.

What it costs

The digital channel is USD 36: the USD 30 visa fee plus a USD 6 service charge for issuing the QR code. The paper sticker stays at USD 30.

Payment is electronic only, Visa or Mastercard. Egypt's terms are blunt about this: payments are final and non-refundable, even if you entered your details wrongly or the border officer refuses you entry. The QR code is a visa, not a guarantee of admission.

Validity

The QR code is single-use and valid for seven days from the moment it is issued. Buying it a fortnight before your flight does not work. The visa itself is unchanged: single entry, up to 30 days in Egypt.

What has not changed

Eligibility. The nationalities that could get a visa on arrival before 1 August are the same ones that can now — roughly 70 countries, plus GCC residence-permit holders whose permit has at least six months left. If you needed an e-Visa in advance before, you still do.

Passport validity is also unchanged: at least six months beyond your arrival date.

Cairo only — and paper still works

This is a pilot. Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, the two airports most European package travellers actually land at, are not on the system yet, and Egypt has named no date. Nor is there a mandatory switchover at Cairo: the bank counters still sell paper stickers and you can still use them.

In practice the QR route is worth it if you are landing at Cairo, want to skip the bank queue and do not mind USD 6 for the privilege. If you are flying to the Red Sea resorts, nothing has changed for you yet.

And one more fee

Separately, since 29 July 2026 everyone leaving Egypt — Egyptian or foreign — pays a departure fee of EGP 100 (roughly USD 2). It comes from Law 148 of 2026, which amends the 1984 state financial resources development law and is published on the Egyptian Tax Authority's website. The only exemptions are drivers and crew working cross-border passenger and freight routes.

The amount is small, but worth knowing: the Tax Authority has said it intends to apply the EGP 100 uniformly, without the reduced tourism rates that were applied inconsistently in the past.