Beware Canadians Travelling to Egypt - New Process for Visa

[travelordie]

52 minutes ago, mr_cruiser8 said:

Check your spam/ junk inbox for the e-mail 

 

Thanks, I tried that but its not there.  My wife also tried to apply with her email address and also failed to receive a verify email.

[2Cruisehoppers]

12 minutes ago, travelordie said:

Thanks, I tried that but its not there.  My wife also tried to apply with her email address and also failed to receive a verify email.

The eVisa portal is browser-specific, meaning it only supports certain browsers.  If you watch the video in my post #275, when it gets to payment section, it has a list of browsers that the portal supports.  We checked our browser to make sure it is compatible before we even started the application.  Not sure if that’s your issue but you may want to double check it. Good luck! 

[DanceMomma]

We just got our passports back from the Embassy in Ottawa and have our expensive Visas, BUT they are SINGLE entry.  Our cruise (Oceania - departing Rome in mid October) has TWO Egyptian stops.  Port Said one day, then Alexandria the next.  This was clear on our Visa application, but, based on the information we were able to gather online at the time we mailed off our applications, we only included money for single entry by mistake.

So now what?

On top of jumping through hoops and paying a premium for the Embassy Visas, do we now need to also get e-visas for the second port??

[travelordie]

46 minutes ago, 2Cruisehoppers said:

The eVisa portal is browser-specific, meaning it only supports certain browsers.  If you watch the video in my post #275, when it gets to payment section, it has a list of browsers that the portal supports.  We checked our browser to make sure it is compatible before we even started the application.  Not sure if that’s your issue but you may want to double check it. Good luck! 

We looked at your video which will be very helpful to us if ever we receive an email from Egypt verifying our email address. We've still received nothing despite using an approved browser, Chrome.

 

We tried applying again and the screen stated "Account already exists" but won't be active until we reply to the verification email.  Meanwhile, we have not received a verification email.

[gnome12]

23 minutes ago, DanceMomma said:

We just got our passports back from the Embassy in Ottawa and have our expensive Visas, BUT they are SINGLE entry.  Our cruise (Oceania - departing Rome in mid October) has TWO Egyptian stops.  Port Said one day, then Alexandria the next.  This was clear on our Visa application, but, based on the information we were able to gather online at the time we mailed off our applications, we only included money for single entry by mistake.

So now what?

On top of jumping through hoops and paying a premium for the Embassy Visas, do we now need to also get e-visas for the second port??

As long as you don’t leave Egypt in between the stops, you are only making one ENTRY into Egypt. 

[gnome12]

11 minutes ago, travelordie said:

We looked at your video which will be very helpful to us if ever we receive an email from Egypt verifying our email address. We've still received nothing despite using an approved browser, Chrome.

 

We tried applying again and the screen stated "Account already exists" but won't be active until we reply to the verification email.  Meanwhile, we have not received a verification email.

I might suggest setting up a gmail account for this and reapplying. There is a possibility that your email provider has blocked the email as suspected spam. 

[travelordie]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I might suggest setting up a gmail account for this and reapplying. There is a possibility that your email provider has blocked the email as suspected spam. 

Thanks, I like this idea but will wait a day just in case the Egypt e-Visa Portal responds to our inquiries on their contact form.  I described the problem on the contact form and am waiting for a response.  My wife did the same.  We'll open new email accounts if we fail to receive a response.

[DanceMomma]

When I re-board the ship in Port Said, sail to Alexandria, and disembark in Alexandria, will they not consider that to be leaving and re-entering?  
I suspect we will not leave Egyptian waters, but I also suspect we will have to go through security in Alexandria who will consider us to be entering their country.

[gnome12]

35 minutes ago, DanceMomma said:

When I re-board the ship in Port Said, sail to Alexandria, and disembark in Alexandria, will they not consider that to be leaving and re-entering?  
I suspect we will not leave Egyptian waters, but I also suspect we will have to go through security in Alexandria who will consider us to be entering their country.

If you enter Canada in Halifax and cruise to Quebec City, you don’t go through immigration again. 

[broberts]

52 minutes ago, DanceMomma said:

When I re-board the ship in Port Said, sail to Alexandria, and disembark in Alexandria, will they not consider that to be leaving and re-entering?  
I suspect we will not leave Egyptian waters, but I also suspect we will have to go through security in Alexandria who will consider us to be entering their country.

 

Doubtful. Taking a ship to travel between Port Said and Alexandria is not much different than taking a train, bus, or camel 🙂. The ship would have to stop in another country between the ports to cause a second entry.

[TeamCan]

2 hours ago, travelordie said:

Thanks, I like this idea but will wait a day just in case the Egypt e-Visa Portal responds to our inquiries on their contact form.  I described the problem on the contact form and am waiting for a response.  My wife did the same.  We'll open new email accounts if we fail to receive a response.

The Egypt e-visa Portal is slower answering emails now. A few weeks ago, I received an answer for an inquiry the next day.  I sent another inquiry last week and it took 3 days for them to send back a reply...an automated email saying if the e-Visa application got rejected for whatever reason, we would have to start over again and pay the application fee again. They are much busier now than 3 weeks ago with processing Visas. I think they will respond, it may just take a little longer. Hopefully soon!

[travelordie]

1 hour ago, TeamCan said:

The Egypt e-visa Portal is slower answering emails now. A few weeks ago, I received an answer for an inquiry the next day.  I sent another inquiry last week and it took 3 days for them to send back a reply...an automated email saying if the e-Visa application got rejected for whatever reason, we would have to start over again and pay the application fee again. They are much busier now than 3 weeks ago with processing Visas. I think they will respond, it may just take a little longer. Hopefully soon!

Thanks, this is very useful to know.

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, DanceMomma said:

When I re-board the ship in Port Said, sail to Alexandria, and disembark in Alexandria, will they not consider that to be leaving and re-entering?  
I suspect we will not leave Egyptian waters, but I also suspect we will have to go through security in Alexandria who will consider us to be entering their country.

Are they not  both in Egypt ??

[acadian_dad]

3 hours ago, broberts said:

 

Doubtful. Taking a ship to travel between Port Said and Alexandria is not much different than taking a train, bus, or camel 🙂. The ship would have to stop in another country between the ports to cause a second entry.

We have somewhat similar situation of a 2 day stop in Alexandria, staying on the boat overnight but want to disembark to explore both days.  The embassy in Ottawa said to be sure that when heading back to the boat on the first day, ask them to

not stamp our visa as if we were leaving the country as we could have issues re-entering the next day.

 

Good luck !

Edited September 20, 2023 by acadian_dad

[DanceMomma]

10 hours ago, acadian_dad said:

We have somewhat similar situation of a 2 day stop in Alexandria, staying on the boat overnight but want to disembark to explore both days.  The embassy in Ottawa said to be sure that when heading back to the boat on the first day, ask them to

not stamp our visa as if we were leaving the country as we could have issues re-entering the next day.

 

Good luck !

Thank you for this advice!  While I agree with other previous posts that we are not leaving Egypt by sailing directly from one Egyptian port to another, I was still nervous about how to prove to authorities at the second port that we hadn’t left.  

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, DanceMomma said:

 I was still nervous about how to prove to authorities at the second port that we hadn’t left.  

Where would you go in the time frame between the 2 ports?

It will probably be a non event

Enjoy the trip

[Fouremco]

48 minutes ago, DanceMomma said:

Thank you for this advice!  While I agree with other previous posts that we are not leaving Egypt by sailing directly from one Egyptian port to another, I was still nervous about how to prove to authorities at the second port that we hadn’t left.  

Egyptian authorities are well aware of ship traffic in its waters and knows that your ship didn't surreptitiously divert to another country.

[travelordie]

21 hours ago, TeamCan said:

The Egypt e-visa Portal is slower answering emails now. A few weeks ago, I received an answer for an inquiry the next day.  I sent another inquiry last week and it took 3 days for them to send back a reply...an automated email saying if the e-Visa application got rejected for whatever reason, we would have to start over again and pay the application fee again. They are much busier now than 3 weeks ago with processing Visas. I think they will respond, it may just take a little longer. Hopefully soon!

I have still not heard back from the Egypt e-visa Portal and therefore cannot apply for an e-visa.  Fortunately, I did hear back from Azamara Customer Service a few minutes ago and they answered my question about whether Canadians need an Egyptian visa for our October, 2023 cruise.  Azamara's response was exactly what we had hoped for.  Here it is:

 

"No visa is required for Canadian residents if they arrive onboard and have booked a shore excursion and return onboard before vessel departure. The exemption will be submitted via our agency and subject to antitreaties approvals. If you have not booked a shore excursion, you cannot leave the vessel, unless you have obtained a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad before arriving at the airport/onboard the ship."
 

 

[TeamCan]

3 hours ago, travelordie said:

I have still not heard back from the Egypt e-visa Portal and therefore cannot apply for an e-visa.  Fortunately, I did hear back from Azamara Customer Service a few minutes ago and they answered my question about whether Canadians need an Egyptian visa for our October, 2023 cruise.  Azamara's response was exactly what we had hoped for.  Here it is:

 

"No visa is required for Canadian residents if they arrive onboard and have booked a shore excursion and return onboard before vessel departure. The exemption will be submitted via our agency and subject to antitreaties approvals. If you have not booked a shore excursion, you cannot leave the vessel, unless you have obtained a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad before arriving at the airport/onboard the ship."
 

 

I'm sorry that Egypt e-Visa Portal never got back to you... but that's great news about not needing an Egyptian visa for your Azamara cruise.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[fannym123]

13 hours ago, travelordie said:

I have still not heard back from the Egypt e-visa Portal and therefore cannot apply for an e-visa.  Fortunately, I did hear back from Azamara Customer Service a few minutes ago and they answered my question about whether Canadians need an Egyptian visa for our October, 2023 cruise.  Azamara's response was exactly what we had hoped for.  Here it is:

 

"No visa is required for Canadian residents if they arrive onboard and have booked a shore excursion and return onboard before vessel departure. The exemption will be submitted via our agency and subject to antitreaties approvals. If you have not booked a shore excursion, you cannot leave the vessel, unless you have obtained a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad before arriving at the airport/onboard the ship."
 

 

@travelordie great to hear Azamara got back to you. Just wonder if the shore excursion mentioned must be the cruise line excursion or it can be the shore excursion organized by Egyptian authorized tour operators? Wonder if you have any insights. 

[mr_cruiser8]

Just as an aside, more bad news for travellers.  Anyone travelling to India soon?  As India has suspended visa applications in Canada due to the recent inter-country developments...🤔

 

India halts visa services, Canada adjusts diplomatic presence as spat escalates (msn.com)

 

 

[travelordie]

3 hours ago, fannym123 said:

@travelordie great to hear Azamara got back to you. Just wonder if the shore excursion mentioned must be the cruise line excursion or it can be the shore excursion organized by Egyptian authorized tour operators? Wonder if you have any insights. 

I know that in some Chinese ports, either ship excursions or Chinese government authorized tour operators will allow passengers to get off the ship but I’ve seen nothing to suggest that both options exist for Egypt.  However, I am just guessing with respect to Egypt.  Sorry, but there’s nothing in my response from Azamara which answers your question.

[fannym123]

1 hour ago, travelordie said:

I know that in some Chinese ports, either ship excursions or Chinese government authorized tour operators will allow passengers to get off the ship but I’ve seen nothing to suggest that both options exist for Egypt.  However, I am just guessing with respect to Egypt.  Sorry, but there’s nothing in my response from Azamara which answers your question.

Thank you @travelordie my cruise is early 2024. I booked an authorized tour operator. If you find out more info when you are on your Oct cruise, please share. Thanks so much. Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

[travelordie]

10 minutes ago, fannym123 said:

Thank you @travelordie my cruise is early 2024. I booked an authorized tour operator. If you find out more info when you are on your Oct cruise, please share. Thanks so much. Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

Yes, I'll do that sometime in late October.   We embark on October 27th or thereabouts.

[alreadythere1]

Will someone of the cruisers out to Egypt after October 1st, please post their experience into Egypt.  Do all Canadians need a travel visa costing $150 per person from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa/Montreal or did they apply for a "72-hour Transit Visa" on arrival.  If they could apply for the transit visa on arrival was it a long drawn out process.  Any and all of your actual experiences would be greatly appreciated!  Enjoy your cruise!