Renewing your tourist visa in Cairo, Egypt

My status in Cairo is like a permanent, temporary resident.  I have been living in Cairo, Egypt almost  3 years now and I need to renew my visa every six months.  If I will be traveling, then I renew it with multiple entry status so I don’t have to keep getting a renewal every time I come back to Cairo.

I had read recently somewhere that they were denying 6 month extensions to tourists, but when I went to renew mine there was no problem in getting the six month extension.  If you are a student, you can also get up to a one year visa.  (NOTE: I renewed my visa July, 2011)

As an American, when you come to Cairo to visit, you can get a tourist visa directly at the airport.  (Look up your country’s rules).  There is a money exchange window where you can buy the visa.  I believe its about $15 usd.  You should bring money to exchange at the window and pay for your visa.  The visa is good for 30 days.  If you plan to stay longer, you need to go to a place called the “Mogamma”, which unfortunately, is in Tahrir Square.  The last two times I had to renew, the revolution had started.  When I finally ended up getting there my visa was expired for more than two weeks and I had to pay 3 times the price of the 6 month extension.  LOL!  Don’t wait till the last minute like I do, to get your renewal.

The Mogamma is a massive building and no one window functions as place to do all that you need to do.  First you have to find the paperwork to fill out.  You also need to bring two passport photos with you, which you can also get in the building but downstairs at a kiosk.  If you don’t shove and push to get to the front to take a picture, no one will ever see you so you must be persistent.  J After you fill out the paperwork, you have to take it to the window where foreigners go, then the woman will tell you to go get your visa stickers from another window down at the other end of the corridor.  Again you kind of have to be persistent and shove and push to get your stickers.  After that, you have to go to another window to pay the visa fees.  THEN…..you have to go back to the foreigner’s window and the lady will say to come to another window in two hours to pick up the passport.  If you started the process after about 10am, it will be too late and she will tell you to bring your passport tomorrow to complete the process.  In which case you would go back to her the next day, and she would submit your paperwork for processing.  This last trip, this took two days because we went back about 10:30 am and by 1:30 the passport still was not ready.  It’s not fun waiting in a line where people are shoving and pushing.  There is no order, you do not take a number.  You just wait until your name is called.  And it could be a few minutes or a few hours.  One lady was so frustrated she was screaming and yelling and told them to give her back her passport, she wants it NOW!! And they gave it to her.  I tried that tactic but it didn’t work for me.  Lol  so we ended up getting so frustrated, and it was hot and no air conditioning, we decided to come back the next day and we came earlier.  We arrived at 9am instead of 10am and waited the two hours, but we went shopping at Wikalet el Balah  (big marketplace in Cairo) so I could buy some fabric to make costumes and when we came back the passport was done.

The funny thing about all of this is that nothing is computerized.  They have these big, gigantic books where they hand record everything.  I don’t understand how they keep track.  Egypt has 85 million people, 25 million that live in Cairo alone.  Also, many of the people that work at the windows for the foreigners don’t speak English.  I have been there to renew my friend’s visa with her, but I think I will never go by myself because what should take me a few hours might take me 6 hours if I go by myself!

Side note: Egypt is safe!  If you come to Egypt and you don’t pass through Tahrir Square you would never know that there is a revolution.  Egypt lost 1M tourists during the revolution.  Egypt needs you to come back!  Actually, I love going to Tahrir Square and have been there more times than I can count. I have never had any problems.   So come back to this city I love, and you will enjoy it as you always have. 

As we were leaving the Mogamma I snapped pictures of the tents and the protesters that were camping out in Tahrir Square.  I also had never seen the graffiti that was written on the walls outside of the Mogamma so I took pictures to share.   I also took pictures of the tent city that was also built in front of the State TV building, as we were driving to Wikalat el Balah,  and of the beautiful Nile.  Enjoy the photos.