Egypt Digital Visa (2026): Complete Guide to Arriving at Cairo International Airport

At a glance

The essentials first, for readers who want the facts and nothing else. Everything below reflects what was announced at the launch of the pilot at Cairo International Airport. Where a detail has not been made public yet, we say so plainly instead of filling the gap with a guess — and we update this guide as the official information develops.

Before you fly

Most arrival problems are packing problems. They start days earlier, at home, with a document left in a drawer or a phone that will land on 4% battery. A digital visa does not change that; if anything it raises the stakes, because your entry permission now lives on a screen rather than on a page in your passport.

Have the following ready before you leave for the airport, and keep them somewhere you can reach without opening the overhead locker. Preparing these in advance helps reduce delays after landing.

• A passport with at least six months' validity — most airlines and border officials expect it, so check yours before you fly
• Your airline ticket
• A payment method for the visa fee
• A phone or device with internet access for your visa QR code
• Your hotel booking and return flight details, if your nationality requires them

How the new digital visa works

The process itself is short, and the useful thing is knowing its order before you are standing in it. As announced at launch, the total cost is US$36: the existing US$30 visa-on-arrival fee plus a US$6 charge for issuing the QR code.

Nothing about eligibility has changed. The QR code changes the format of the visa on arrival, not the rules behind it, so travellers who could obtain a visa on arrival before can obtain one now — in a new shape.

1. 1Arrive at Cairo International Airport and follow the signs towards passport control.
2. 2Complete the digital visa application if you have not already done so — on the official portal, in the mobile app, or at a self-service kiosk in the arrival hall.
3. 3Pay the fee: US$36 in total as announced at launch (US$30 visa + US$6 issuance).
4. 4Receive your QR code and save it on your phone. A screenshot is enough, and it means you are not depending on airport wifi when your turn comes.
5. 5Present your passport together with the QR code at immigration; the officer scans both.
6. 6Continue to baggage claim and on into the arrivals hall.

Applying: through the official portal only

Layali ElQahera does not issue visas. We are a transport and airport-assistance company, not a visa agent, and no part of a visa fee passes through us at any point.

Apply on the official Egyptian government platform, and nowhere else. The address of the dedicated QR portal has not been published yet, so the button on this page links the established official e-Visa portal — the same government platform travellers have used for years — and we will update this guide the day the QR address is published. Any other site offering to sell you an Egyptian visa deserves your suspicion, not your card details.

The 48-hour catch

This is the single most useful practical fact in the whole change, and the one most easily missed: each QR code expires 48 hours after it is generated. A code created a week before departure is dead long before the aircraft doors open, and re-doing it in the arrivals hall is exactly the situation the new system was meant to spare you.

So generate it close to travel — shortly before you fly, during a layover on the way, or after landing at one of the kiosks in the arrival halls. If you are travelling as a family or a group, remember that every traveller needs their own code, so they are all best generated in the same sitting rather than one at a time across a week.

What happens after immigration?

Receiving your visa is only one part of arriving. Once the officer hands your passport back, the rest of the journey begins — and for a first-time visitor landing after a long flight, with tired children, unfamiliar signage and luggage still circling somewhere behind them, that second half is usually the harder one.

After immigration you still need to:

• Collect your luggage
• Navigate the arrivals terminal
• Meet your driver
• Reach your hotel safely

Make your arrival easier with Airport Fast Track

The assistance works the same whether you land with a QR code, an e-Visa obtained before departure, or a paper sticker from the counter that remains open during the pilot. Visa fees stay between you and the Egyptian government; what we look after is everything around them.

Fast Track at Cairo Airport is available to travellers holding a non-Egyptian passport; Egyptian nationals are served by the Ahlan VIP pass, which normally wants at least 24 hours' notice.

Airport Fast Track from Layali ElQahera is a meet-and-assist service: a representative is waiting for you when you come off the aircraft and stays with you until you are in your car. Here is what our representatives do.

• Meet and greet on arrival
• Guidance through airport procedures
• Help navigating the terminal
• Baggage assistance
• Porter coordination when requested
• Escort to your waiting chauffeur

Continue your journey

Getting through the airport is the first half of arriving. The drive into the city, and the room waiting at the end of it, are the second — and we look after both, so the handover from one to the next is settled before you land rather than improvised in the arrivals hall.

Our airport limousine service covers private transfers with professional chauffeurs across Cairo and the rest of Egypt, at a price agreed before you travel. And our stays cover apartments, villas, hotels and premium accommodation, in the city and along the coast. Both are a button away below.

Why choose Layali ElQahera

Every traveller's first impression of Egypt begins at the airport. That is the reason we treat the arrival as part of the trip rather than an obstacle before it starts.

Our goal is simple: an arrival that is welcoming, efficient and stress-free. From airport assistance and private transfers to accommodation, we help you move from aircraft to hotel with confidence — one team, one point of contact, and a straight answer when you need one. We do not decide who enters Egypt, and we would never pretend otherwise; what we can do is make everything around that decision calm, clear and organised.

Arriving, assisted

Frequently asked questions