How to get a plastic residence visa in Egypt and how long does it take?

The full cycle, as a participant described it in July 2026: a visa on arrival costs US$30 for 30 days, then Gawazat adds a free 30-day stamp, after which you apply for the plastic card, granted for 5–6 months including the wait. The visa itself cost about US$150 depending on the Egyptian pound exchange rate. After the second plastic card you must leave the country for at least a day (the participant mentioned Turkey, Georgia, the UAE or Belarus), and the process starts again on return. Check the fees and procedure with Gawazat.

According to a participant in June 2026, a paid extension is granted for six months at most, and that includes the wait for the plastic card: roughly two months of waiting and about four months of the visa itself. After that you can apply for a second paid extension.

In June 2026 a participant described how to apply earlier: take the visa you got at the airport to the Gawazat immigration office, where they put a dated "residence till" stamp, and with it you can apply right away without waiting for 60 days to pass. According to them, at least two people did this. There is also an expedited service for US$60 on top of the visa fee, with the card delivered home in about 10 days.

The total stay, a participant said in June 2026, is one year, so the second plastic visa is issued for a shorter term. In July 2026 another participant added that the second card is timed to expire roughly in the month you originally arrived in the country.