Beware Canadians Travelling to Egypt - New Process for Visa

[travelordie]

6 minutes ago, alreadythere1 said:

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!

We'll be on a cruise visiting Egypt at the end of October.  Why would you apply for a $150 pp visa from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa when you can apply for an Egyptian e-visa online for $25 pp?  Note that Canadians must apply before October 1st for the e-visa.

[alreadythere1]

15 minutes ago, travelordie said:

We'll be on a cruise visiting Egypt at the end of October.  Why would you apply for a $150 pp visa from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa when you can apply for an Egyptian e-visa online for $25 pp?  Note that Canadians must apply before October 1st for the e-visa.

My apologies, I should of been clearer in my question.  Our cruise is November 2024.  We are looking for cruisers experiences with Visa's from December 2023 forward (outside of e-visas, as they will expire by then).  Did you require a Visa from the Embassy or were you able to acquire a "72-hour Transit Visa" in Egypt.  If so, what was your experience?  Don't want to be spending $300 on travel visas that are not necessary and sending our passports away if not necessary.

 

[travelordie]

9 minutes ago, alreadythere1 said:

My apologies, I should of been clearer in my question.  Our cruise is November 2024.  We are looking for cruisers experiences with Visa's from December 2023 forward (outside of e-visas, as they will expire by then).  Did you require a Visa from the Embassy or were you able to acquire a "72-hour Transit Visa" in Egypt.  If so, what was your experience?  Don't want to be spending $300 on travel visas that are not necessary and sending our passports away if not necessary.

 

We are currently travelling and will be until we board our ship.  Therefore, applying to the Egyptian Embassy was not an option.  I contacted Azamara to ask about visas for Egypt and received this response:

"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."
 

 

[alreadythere1]

1 minute ago, travelordie said:

We are currently travelling and will be until we board our ship.  Therefore, applying to the Egyptian Embassy was not an option.  I contacted Azamara to ask about visas for Egypt and received this response:

"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."
 

 

Enjoy your travels.  As mentioned, we would like to hear the experience of cruisers from December 2023 moving forward. 

[Roxxy]

For anyone travelling with NCL.  This is from their web site

Israeli passport holders require a visa for Egypt before the cruise.

No other nationalities require a visa to visit Egyptian ports by sea on a cruise ship. Some nationalities, such as Canadians, require a visa to fly to Egypt, but do not require a visa if entering Egypt by sea.

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents#visa-requirements

 

looks as though no visa necessary if not flying in and out of Egypt.

[nicper]

NCL is not honoring that statement on their website. They said that Canadians will need a visa to travel and that travellers could get denied entrance on the ship without a visa.  Even though it is before Oct. 1, I have not successfully been able to complete the online Visa application and I am nowhere near the embassy and leave for the cruise at the end of October.

If anyone hears anything definitive that visas are not required when arriving by ship, please let me know.

[travelordie]

1 hour ago, nicper said:

NCL is not honoring that statement on their website. They said that Canadians will need a visa to travel and that travellers could get denied entrance on the ship without a visa.  Even though it is before Oct. 1, I have not successfully been able to complete the online Visa application and I am nowhere near the embassy and leave for the cruise at the end of October.

If anyone hears anything definitive that visas are not required when arriving by ship, please let me know.

Post #275 provided us with helpful hints for completing the online e-visa application.  We filled in the applications last Friday and received our two e-visas Monday morning…less than 72 hours after submission.  Our cruise line claims that they will provide us with Egyptian transit visas but in case that changes (we board on October 27th) we decided to get the e-visas anyway.

[Roxxy]

19 hours ago, nicper said:

NCL is not honoring that statement on their website. They said that Canadians will need a visa to travel and that travellers could get denied entrance on the ship without a visa.  Even though it is before Oct. 1, I have not successfully been able to complete the online Visa application and I am nowhere near the embassy and leave for the cruise at the end of October.

If anyone hears anything definitive that visas are not required when arriving by ship, please let me know.

nicper what do you mean "NCL is not honoring that statement"  They confirmed that to me even through a phone call.  Do you have proof otherwise?  Please let me know!

TIA

[nicper]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:20 PM, Roxxy said:

nicper what do you mean "NCL is not honoring that statement"  They confirmed that to me even through a phone call.  Do you have proof otherwise?  Please let me know!

TIA

I talked to two people at Norwegian and my travel agent also talked to two different people. There was no consensus on what will happen when we embark on the cruise and when we arrive in Egypt. All they could agree on is that they are not responsible for getting us a visa and that ultimately we need to follow the guidelines on Visa Central.com. I think the issue is that up until now, the cruise line could get a travel visa for Canadians upon arrival in Egypt but now with the changes, a visa will not be issued to Canadians upon arrival and Norwegian hasn't updated their website. 

[SeaandSky5]

Does anyone have any information now that this has come into effect? We leave for our cruise in 6 weeks so we have time to drive to Ottawa (7 hours away) but I am concerned we won't get an appointment, or get the documents back in time. it is a lot of stress, time and time off work, if we don't need it. 

[nicper]

11 hours ago, SeaandSky5 said:

Does anyone have any information now that this has come into effect? We leave for our cruise in 6 weeks so we have time to drive to Ottawa (7 hours away) but I am concerned we won't get an appointment, or get the documents back in time. it is a lot of stress, time and time off work, if we don't need it. 

I don't have information on that but if you do need to get a visa, it may be easier for you to go through visacentral.ca. This is the company that Norwegian cruise line recommends. The cost is approx $300 (it's an additional $350 if you go with their premium package which I do not think would be necessary). Basically, you would provide them with all your information and you would send your passport to them. They get the visa which goes in your passport and they courier the passport back to you. Once they receive your passport, they said the process takes approx. 15 days.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, nicper said:

I don't have information on that but if you do need to get a visa, it may be easier for you to go through visacentral.ca. This is the company that Norwegian cruise line recommends. The cost is approx $300 (it's an additional $350 if you go with their premium package which I do not think would be necessary). Basically, you would provide them with all your information and you would send your passport to them. They get the visa which goes in your passport and they courier the passport back to you. Once they receive your passport, they said the process takes approx. 15 days.

As of October 1st, those travelling on a Canadian passport can no longer acquire a visa online. That includes the Egyptian government visa portal and all commercial sites such as visacentral.ca or its US counterpart, visacentral.com. The latter may well be recommended by NCL, and can continue to be used by its US client base, but Canadians are currently required to apply at the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa or the Montreal Consulate General, or any Egyptian embassy or consulate elsewhere.

 

From the travel.gc.ca website:

Starting October 1, 2023, Canadian passport holders will not be able to obtain a visa online before travelling to or upon arrival in Egypt. You will be required to obtain a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad.

 

From the Egyptian Embassy FB page:

 

As both the Canadian and Egyptian governments state, online visas are no longer available for Canadian passport holders. They must apply in person or by mail.

 

 

 

 

 

[nicper]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

As of October 1st, those travelling on a Canadian passport can no longer acquire a visa online. That includes the Egyptian government visa portal and all commercial sites such as visacentral.ca or its US counterpart, visacentral.com. The latter may well be recommended by NCL, and can continue to be used by its US client base, but Canadians are currently required to apply at the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa or the Montreal Consulate General, or any Egyptian embassy or consulate elsewhere.

 

From the travel.gc.ca website:

Starting October 1, 2023, Canadian passport holders will not be able to obtain a visa online before travelling to or upon arrival in Egypt. You will be required to obtain a visa from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad.

 

From the Egyptian Embassy FB page:

 

As both the Canadian and Egyptian governments state, online visas are no longer available for Canadian passport holders. They must apply in person or by mail.

 

 

 

 

 

It's my understanding that by going through Visa Central, we would get a paper visa put into our passport. That is why we need to send the passports to Visa Central. Do you know for a fact that Visa Central does not obtain a physical visa on our behalf, vs. a digital visa?

[Dismomx5]

16 minutes ago, nicper said:

It's my understanding that by going through Visa Central, we would get a paper visa put into our passport. That is why we need to send the passports to Visa Central. Do you know for a fact that Visa Central does not obtain a physical visa on our behalf, vs. a digital visa?

Everything changed for Canada on October 1st. The ONLY way to get a visa for Egypt is to apply and get it from the Egyptian embassy or consulate in Canada.

[nicper]

2 minutes ago, Dismomx5 said:

Everything changed for Canada on October 1st. The ONLY way to get a visa for Egypt is to apply and get it from the Egyptian embassy or consulate in Canada.

I understand the changes. It's my understanding that Visa Central gets the visa from the embassy on our behalf. The process is that we need to send Visa Central our passport and at that point they need 15 days to bring/send the passport to the embassy where a visa is stuck into our passport. The passport is then returned to us by courier. I have not actually done this full process and so I can not guarantee this is how it works. I am simply saying this is my understanding.

[acadian_dad]

Things did change 1-Oct in terms of e-Visas for sure.  However, there are these other service providers who have always offered to coordinate a standard visa (in passport) and I believe that they can still get one on your behalf (I had contacted one of them a few weeks ago and they confirmed this then).  You should contact those specific services and get confirmation directly from them.   They are definitely not cheap though - so be careful to understand all the charges (on top of the fee the embassy charges).

[SeaandSky5]

3 minutes ago, nicper said:

I understand the changes. It's my understanding that Visa Central gets the visa from the embassy on our behalf. The process is that we need to send Visa Central our passport and at that point they need 15 days to bring/send the passport to the embassy where a visa is stuck into our passport. The passport is then returned to us by courier. I have not actually done this full process and so I can not guarantee this is how it works. I am simply saying this is my understanding.

Is this for all Canadians entering Egypt regardless of point of entry? (Air, land or sea) or just by air and land? NCL’s website still says Canadians require a visa to fly into Egypt but not to enter by sea. I’m worried they will change this right before our cruise and then we will be out of luck. 

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, nicper said:

I understand the changes. It's my understanding that Visa Central gets the visa from the embassy on our behalf. The process is that we need to send Visa Central our passport and at that point they need 15 days to bring/send the passport to the embassy where a visa is stuck into our passport. The passport is then returned to us by courier. I have not actually done this full process and so I can not guarantee this is how it works. I am simply saying this is my understanding.

Assuming for a moment that the Egyptian embassy will accept an application submitted by Visa Central, what are the benefits in going through a 3rd party that charges you quite a fee for doing what you can do yourself? And possibly add to the time line as everything goes through them, coming and going.  The new application form (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D0GCHXTI6i684vQcopT6jyCd1-dfLu7F/view?fbclid=IwAR1nNsH88cbEq9WaUvf1wp3HROxYtARu3cVish-FyEFQ_a3Z6uv2YtkeDZk) seems quite easy to fill out, and I'm just not seeing the value added by using Visa Central or similar services.

[nicper]

7 minutes ago, SeaandSky5 said:

Is this for all Canadians entering Egypt regardless of point of entry? (Air, land or sea) or just by air and land? NCL’s website still says Canadians require a visa to fly into Egypt but not to enter by sea. I’m worried they will change this right before our cruise and then we will be out of luck. 

Unfortunately, I can't find any information other than that one little blurb on the Norwegian website that says that visa are not required when entering by sea. And if you go to Visa Central, they don't specify either. They simply say that one is required to enter Egypt. Maybe someone will be going to Egypt on this forum in the next few days and will post their experience. Otherwise, I would err on the side of caution and get a visa. I am also travelling, but I was lucky enough to get the e-visa before the Oct 1 deadline.

[nicper]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Assuming for a moment that the Egyptian embassy will accept an application submitted by Visa Central, what are the benefits in going through a 3rd party that charges you quite a fee for doing what you can do yourself? And possibly add to the time line as everything goes through them, coming and going.  The new application form (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D0GCHXTI6i684vQcopT6jyCd1-dfLu7F/view?fbclid=IwAR1nNsH88cbEq9WaUvf1wp3HROxYtARu3cVish-FyEFQ_a3Z6uv2YtkeDZk) seems quite easy to fill out, and I'm just not seeing the value added by using Visa Central or similar services.

I think the main advantage is that you don't need to book an appointment with the embassy, travel to Ottawa, etc. And I had no luck figuring out how to apply directly to the embassy by mail. I had started the process with Visa Central. It was going to cost a total of $300 which included the $150 visa from the embassy and the courier to have the passport returned. It did not include the shipping for me to send my passport to them. I cancelled the process after figuring out how to apply for the e-visa before the Oct. 1 deadline.

[Fouremco]

22 minutes ago, nicper said:

And I had no luck figuring out how to apply directly to the embassy by mail.

Go back. to my post # 312. The red box has the following information:

 

Application can be submitted
IN PERSON or BY MAIL

 

IN CASE of MAIL, Please use A CERTIFIED

COURIER ENVELOPE TO SEND all

documents along with a CERTIFIED

PREPAID RETURN ENVELOPE to mail back
the passport once VISA is issued.

 

The address for both the embassy and consulate are also shown.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Fouremco

[kuzco-like]

44 minutes ago, nicper said:

I think the main advantage is that you don't need to book an appointment with the embassy, travel to Ottawa, etc. And I had no luck figuring out how to apply directly to the embassy by mail. I had started the process with Visa Central. It was going to cost a total of $300 which included the $150 visa from the embassy and the courier to have the passport returned. It did not include the shipping for me to send my passport to them. I cancelled the process after figuring out how to apply for the e-visa before the Oct. 1 deadline.

I followed the instructions I found in this thread for mailing in. I mailed to the embassy in Ottawa (ExpressPost) on Sept 8 and received my passport with visa on Sept 20 (in a prepaid ExpressPost envelope I had included with my application). My application included my passport, a filled-out form, and two passport photos (one stamped and dated) plus the fee ($150). 

Edited October 3, 2023 by kuzco-like

[kodiakcrew]

An update/clarification posted this morning on using evisa:

 

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/buzz/canadians-egypt-e-visa-issued-oct-1-get-pass-global-affairs-updates-page

 

So if you have one already, it retains its validity until the original expiry date (90 days single entry, 6 months multiple entry)

[kodiakcrew]

7 minutes ago, kodiakcrew said:

An update/clarification posted this morning on using evisa:

 

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/buzz/canadians-egypt-e-visa-issued-oct-1-get-pass-global-affairs-updates-page

 

So if you have one already, it retains its validity until the original expiry date (90 days single entry, 6 months multiple entry)

This information can be found on the FB page of the Embassy, as an updated version of of their Sep 11, 7 pm post about the new visa process.

[SeaandSky5]

Hi All,

Ottawa now requires an appointment to get a visa. We still have no definitive answer on whether or not a visa is required if you are entering by cruise ship. Apparently Celebrity has indicated Canadians do not need to apply for visa in advance. 

I’m still nervous. 
 

Celebrity Cruises is one line that stops in Alexandria, Egypt, and according to an update posted last week by the Canadian team, it appears passengers, under the new guidance, will be granted 72-hour visas on arrival.

Celebrity says a 72-hour visa can be obtained upon vessel arrival for most nationalities (including U.S, Canada, U.K., E.U., and Australia).

For 72-hour visa guests, immigration officers will stamp the guest passports on arrival.

The new requirement for Canadians to apply for an Egyptian visa in advance applies only for entry by air, Celebrity notes.