Will holidays in Egypt be more expensive? There’s a big raise coming

Polish tourists traveling to Egypt must have a visa. Currently, you have to spend $25 to obtain a document enabling you to cross the border, but there is talk of adjusting the fee more and more boldly. A bill on the “increase for services provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt and abroad” was approved by the House of Representatives in early November. According to Hurghada24.pl, the new visa price could be as much as $45.

Egypt visa fees may increase

Although the changes have not been confirmed yet, Egypt is increasingly talking about changing the fee for issuing visas to tourists. The entry document, which is also mandatory for Poles, currently costs $25 and this price has not changed for eleven years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already submitted a project on this matter, which has been accepted by the House of Representatives. According to its provisions, it is planned to collect an additional fee of up to USD 20 for each entry or transit visa issued by the Egyptian authorities at the border and in embassies and consulates. This means that the final total costs could be as much as USD 45, i.e. the equivalent of approximately PLN 165.

Negative impact on tourism

The Council of Ministers is expected to make a decision on fees later this year. Such announcements may be surprising, because in recent years visas in Egypt have been talked about in the context of their abolition rather than increases.

The specter of a forced increase in fees has caused concern in the industry, and the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Boards has sent an appeal to the country’s prime minister. “According to the president of this organization, if the increase in visa fees comes into force, it will have a very negative impact on inbound tourism, limiting its growth and weakening the position of the entire sector in favor of competitors in the region,” we read.