An Aerial View travel guide

Do you need to apply before you fly?

A growing number of African countries now ask you to apply for entry permission online before you travel, even without a visa. Miss it and you can be turned away at boarding.

Pick your passport and where you're going to see exactly what you need, with the full list of who gets in visa-free, who gets a visa on arrival and who must apply first.

Needs one

Seychelles

Compulsory for everyone

Needs nothing

Rwanda

No visa for any African passport

Your passport

Where you're going

Choose your passport to see your own answer, or read the rules for every passport below.

Entering Egypt

What each African passport needs.

Visa on arrival
6 countries
Benin, Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan
For a 30-day holiday visit. You pay at the airport when you land.
Embassy visa first
43 countries
All others: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire
Get a visa from an Egyptian embassy before you travel. There is one shortcut: if you already have a visa you have travelled on, or a residence permit (a card that lets you live there), from most EU countries, the UK, US, Canada, Japan, Australia or New Zealand, you can get your visa at the airport instead.
Special approval first
4 countries
Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Sudan
You need a visa from an Egyptian embassy, and it also needs a security check by Egypt's authorities before it is issued. This takes longer than a normal visa, so apply early.

Good to know

Some people do not need a visa at all: women from Libya, children under 14 from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and from South Sudan, women and men under 16 or over 50.
From 1 January 2027, Egypt's visa fee goes up from USD 30 to USD 33. If you get your visa at Cairo airport, you will pay USD 39 in total, including service charges.

Official site: visa2egypt.gov.eg. Lists from Visa policy of Egypt, checked 2026-11-05. Covers ordinary passports only.

Rules change often

Join Aerial View and we'll tell you when entry rules change, along with new trips and travel guides.

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All 54 countries we cover

This page is a starting point for planning, not legal or immigration advice. Always confirm with the destination country or your airline before you travel.

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