Egypt will begin piloting a digital visa-on-arrival service across all arrival terminals at Cairo International Airport on August 1. The system replaces the paper visa sticker with an electronically issued credential represented by a QR code.
Eligible travelers will be able to obtain the visa through an official online portal, a mobile application or self-service machines at the airport. The service will accept electronic payment and issue the QR code for use during the arrival process.
The Egyptian Tourism Authority says the portal is scheduled to go live 48 hours before the pilot begins. Assistance will be available through a call center and through live-chat functions in the portal and app.
The August opening is the implementation stage of a program the government disclosed earlier this year, when agreements were signed for electronic visa-on-arrival processing at Cairo airport. The new information establishes the pilot date, terminal coverage and channels travelers will use.
Moving issuance online can shift identity and eligibility checks earlier in the travel journey while reducing the handling of paper forms and physical stickers at an airport counter. The QR code also gives border officers and airline personnel a machine-readable reference to the electronic visa record.
The pilot is limited to Cairo International Airport. The government says it plans a phased expansion to other Egyptian airports after assessing the initial deployment, but it has not provided a complete rollout timetable.
Egypt’s project fits a wider move toward digital credentials and automated processing at airports. It is not itself described as a biometric corridor, and the launch material does not say that a facial or fingerprint match is required to obtain the visa.
That distinction separates the electronic credential from biometric border systems such as the European Union’s Entry/Exit System. Egypt’s immediate change concerns how the visa is requested, paid for and presented; other immigration checks remain part of the arrival process.
Travelers will still need to confirm that they meet Egypt’s visa-on-arrival eligibility rules before using the service. The launch does not expand the list of eligible nationalities or remove the authority of border officials to complete immigration checks.
Sources: Egyptian Tourism Authority, Egypt State Information Service
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
