Bureaucracy has
flourished in Egypt for
five thousand years,
pervading most aspects
of life. Nasser's
promise of a civil
service job for every
graduate has led to a
vastly overstaffed,
inefficient
administration, which
you'll come up against
when obtaining travel
permits or visa
extensions, and which
may well defeat you if
you try to do anything
more complicated. Rules
change from place to
place and individual
bureaucrats may
interpret them
differently, or
introduce new
regulations, or simply
be obstructive through
caprice. Remain patient
and good-humoured no
matter what
Passports and visas
All visitors to Egypt
must hold
passports
that are valid for at
least
six months
beyond the proposed date
of entry to the country.
Almost all Europeans,
plus all North Americans
and Australians and New
Zealanders, must also
obtain
tourist visas
.
Egyptian embassies
and consulates abroad
For visa applications in
person, submit your
passport and application
in the morning and
collect the visa the
same afternoon (applications
cannot be submitted then).
An up-to-date list of
Egyptian embassies can
be found at
www.embassyworld.com.embassy/egypt1.htm
Australia : 1
Darwin Ave, Yarralumla,
ACT (tel 02/6273 4437);
112 Glenmore Rd,
Paddington, Sydney, NSW
2021 (tel 02/9332 3388);
Level 9, 124 Exhibition
St, Melbourne, VIC 3000
(tel 03/9654 8869).
Britain : 2
Lowndes St, London SW1X
9ET (tel 020/7235 9777,
www.egypt-embassy.org.uk).
Mon-Fri 9.30am-12.30pm.
Canada : 454
Laurier Ave, E Ottawa,
ON K1N 6R3 (tel
613/234-4958); 1 Place
Ville Marie, Suite 2617,
Montréal, Quebec H3B 4S3
(tel 514/866-8455). Both
Mon-Fri 9.30am-1pm.
Ireland : 12
Clyde Rd, Dublin 4 (tel
01/606 566)
Israel : 54
Basel St, Tel Aviv (tel
03/546-5151); 68 Afrat
St, Bna Betkha, Eilat (tel
059/597-6115). In Tel
Aviv Mon-Thurs & Sun
9-11am; in Eilat Mon-Thurs
& Sun 9-11am & 1-1.30pm,
Fri 9-10am & 11am-noon.
Jordan : Jebel
Amman, Amman (tel 06/641
375); Sharia al-Istiqlal,
Aqaba (tel 03/316171).
In Amman daily except
Fri 9am-3pm; in Aqaba
daily except Fri
9am-2pm.
New Zealand :
there is no Egyptian
embassy or consulate in
New Zealand; contact one
of the consulates in
Australia.
US : 3521
International Court NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (tel
202/895-5400); 1110
Second Ave, New York, NY
10022 (tel
212/759-7120); 3001
Pacific Ave, San
Francisco, CA 94115 (tel
415/346-9700); 500 N
Michigan Ave, Suite
1900, Chicago, IL 60611
(tel 312/828-9162); 1990
Post Oak Blvd, Suite
2180, Houston, TX 77056
(tel 713/961-4915). All
Mon-Fri 10.30am-12.30pm.
Travel permits
You can travel without
restriction through most
areas of Egypt. However,
special travel
permits are required
for the Red Sea Coast
beyond Mersa Allam and -
depending on relations
with Libya - between
Mersa Matrouh and the
border. Other border
areas may also become
problematic, so if
you're thinking of
visiting such areas,
check beforehand. For
travel permits (or
information), contact
the Ministry of the
Interior in Cairo; the
process can take from
five to fourteen days.
Customs
Egyptian customs
allow you to bring in
200 cigarettes (or 250g
of tobacco) and one
litre of alcohol
. It's worth bearing in
mind that Cairo and
Luxor airports have
duty-free shops for
arriving passengers
before and after
customs. At the duty-free
shop in the arrivals
hall they will ask to
see your ticket, but
won't enquire whether
you've already stocked
up.
Though personal
effects and cameras are
exempt from duty, items
such as electronic
equipment and video
cameras should be
declared and listed on a
Form D. If you lose them
during your visit, they
will be assumed "sold"
when you come to leave
and (unless you have
police documentation of
theft) you will have to
pay 100 percent duty. On
items with a high resale
value (for example,
laptop computers or
video cameras) you may
be required to pay a
deposit against possible
duty charges, which is
refundable on departure.
If customs insists on
impounding goods, get a
receipt and contact your
consulate
