Do I need a visa for transit through Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh?

To arrange a visa through a guide/agency you typically just need to provide: flight number, departure city, passport number, and the name of your hotel in Egypt — no other documents required.

If you don't get the visa right at arrival but later book a Cairo excursion, the tour agency can still arrange the visa at the same price — but the sticker/stamp gets applied at airport passport control, and the agency charges an extra $8-10 for this service.

If buying the $30 visa on arrival in Cairo yourself, make sure the officer actually stamps the visa mark/sticker — otherwise the visa may not be valid.

As of July 2026, a new (streamlined) visa process is being tested only at Cairo airport for now. Elsewhere the process is unchanged: you fill in the entry card by hand and go pay for the visa at the window labeled "Bank".

If you are flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo, you can pay for a visa on arrival at the airport — the cost is $30 per passport.

One traveler reports that when visiting Cairo from Sharm el-Sheikh, the hotel guide arranged visas for the whole group on the spot — without needing to purchase any excursions or tours.

Kazakh citizens face different visa rules compared to Russian citizens: visa on arrival is not available to them. They must either obtain a visa in advance at the embassy in Kazakhstan (not an e-visa), or have a guarantee letter from an Egyptian tour operator upon arrival.

On a routing through Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh, a visa is mandatory because Cairo falls outside the Sinai visa-free zone. Without a visa, you will not be allowed to board the connecting domestic flight.

Cairo does not offer a free visa or entry stamp like Sharm el-Sheikh does. Since you cross the international border in Cairo, there is no airside transit option — you must have a valid visa to proceed to a domestic connection.

Firsthand experience from two separate trips: both times, passengers without a visa were denied boarding the onward flight to Sharm el-Sheikh in Cairo. Appeals to staff did not help.

Since August 2025, purchasing a visa on arrival in Cairo is no longer available without conditions. Three options remain: apply at the embassy before departure, use a visa application center, or book a Cairo excursion through a tour operator and use their guarantee letter to buy a visa at the airport.

The Egyptian e-visa is not available to all nationalities. If you are ineligible, your options are the embassy, a visa application center, or a tour operator guarantee letter tied to a purchased Cairo excursion.