Egypt pilots digital visa system at Cairo Airport
Egypt will launch the first phase of its digital visa-on-arrival system on 1 August at Cairo’s main airport
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced a pilot phase for its new digital visa-on-arrival system, which aims to streamline and modernise international travel to the country.
The pilot will be launched on 1 August 2026 at Cairo International Airport. It is the first phase of a planned nationwide rollout of the system across all airports.
Codes will remain valid for 48 hours from the time of issuance.
The system replaces traditional paper visa stickers with a visa QR code, which can be generated via an official online portal, dedicated mobile app, or via self-service machines at Cairo Airport’s arrival halls, by either the traveller or their travel agency.
During the pilot, the QR system will operate alongside the existing paper visa system. If successful, the latter will eventually be phased out entirely.
Australia recently announced plans to replace its paper arrival cards with a digital declaration system as part of its own modernisation efforts.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor for Voyageur Group, joining in 2021. He writes for both ITIJ and AirMed&Rescue, covering a range of topics including international travel and health insurance, medical assistance provision and air medical transportation. He also serves as Title Editor of the Assistance & Repatriation Reviews. Oliver holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University, as well as a BA in English with Creative Writing from Falmouth University.