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Egypt has extended the permitted stay for holders of its five-year multiple-entry visa from 90 to 180 days per visit; the cabinet announced following its weekly meeting.

Travelers arriving on the long-term visa will now be able to apply for a tourist residence card granting them a 180-day stay per entry.

The permit will remain valid even if they leave and re-enter the country during that period, allowing them to access services and deal with state institutions throughout their stay.

The visa, available to nationals of around 180 countries, is aimed at travelers who make frequent visits to Egypt. It allows multiple entries over five years without the need to reapply each time.

Previously, visitors were allowed a maximum stay of 90 days per entry. Those wishing to stay longer had to exit and re-enter or apply for an extension.

The new rule doubles the permitted duration to 180 days at a time, a move expected to appeal to long-stay tourists, business travelers, and expatriates with ongoing ties to Egypt.

In the same meeting, the cabinet approved a package of proposed incentives to encourage converting residential, commercial, or mixed-use properties into hotels as part of efforts to expand Egypt’s tourism capacity.

The plan would scrap change-of-use fees for projects converting buildings or land to hotel use, provided developers meet strict conditions and timelines.

They would also be temporarily exempted from the improvement levy under the Building Law, if approved by the Ministry of Tourism and the Supreme Council for Planning and Urban Development.

Projects would have to begin operations within one to five years depending on their size, and the exempted properties could not be sold or transferred before opening.

If developers fail to meet the conditions, the incentives would be revoked, and they would be required to pay the full levy plus interest at the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) rate.

The Cabinet stressed that the exemptions will apply only to hotel establishments, not to other types of tourism facilities.

Egypt currently has more than 7,000 tourism establishments, including about 1,300 hotels with over 230,000 rooms.

The government aims to expand this to 500,000 rooms by 2031 as part of its strategy to attract 30 million tourists a year.

Source: Al-Ahram Online