Developement Fee?

[HEPZIBAH]

It's the old $15 visa with a $10 'stamp' stuck on.

Thanks for that information.

[carrie]

If I understand correctly you now have to pay $25 plus the $7 developement fee to enter then when you leave you have to pay a further $24. That means for a family of four another $224. I think it will affect tourism.

[HEPZIBAH]

If I understand correctly you now have to pay $25 plus the $7 developement fee to enter then when you leave you have to pay a further $24. That means for a family of four another $224. I think it will affect tourism.

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The development fee either isn't active yet or is hidden in the flight charge (which is how I understand Bombay's post). Don't forget the extra $4 on the internal flight from Cairo (charged to Egyptians too) if taken. So that would bring us to $54 - which today's exchange rate is approximately £32-25 / LE386.

In the great scheme of things it's not an awful lot of money but, as you say, multiply that by a family and it can soon start to add up. I can see the need for these increases, to a point, but I could argue a good case against them at the moment. For me it's not so much the charge as the way it's being handled. Timing is everything and this seems like bad timing to me.

[Brian Yare]

There is never a good time to put up prices (taxes, charges, call them what you will). But it is better to do it little and often rather than a load at a time.

A little clarity in the explanation to the tired passengers would help a lot, and giving accurate information to the airline crews and travel agencies would also help.

It is probably the surprise of a changed or unexpected charge that causes most problems.

I wonder how many people realise that it is possible to pay for the visa on arrival using LE (and also for purchases in the Duty Free Shops)? And how many people know that they can purchase duty free for 2 days after arrival and also before departure.

[Zooropa]

I wonder how many people realise that it is possible to pay for the visa on arrival using LE

I didn't, but then again I only ever land in Egypt with whatever I left with from the time before and that's usually less than £10 worth, certainly not enough to cover the new fee!

I don't recall that ever being made clear to me - it seems to be suggested that you pay in £/$/€ - I assumed because they like strong foreign currency?

[HEPZIBAH]

There is never a good time to put up prices (taxes, charges, call them what you will). But it is better to do it little and often rather than a load at a time.

A little clarity in the explanation to the tired passengers would help a lot, and giving accurate information to the airline crews and travel agencies would also help.

It is probably the surprise of a changed or unexpected charge that causes most problems.

I wonder how many people realise that it is possible to pay for the visa on arrival using LE (and also for purchases in the Duty Free Shops)? And how many people know that they can purchase duty free for 2 days after arrival and also before departure.

Totally agree with you about the need for accurate information from travel agents and airline crews.

I did know about the possibility of paying for the visa in LE but have never tried. I have read other peoples negative experiences though when they have been refused and dollars, sterling or Euro was demanded. However, I do not see any benefit to the visitor in paying for their visa in LE. If arriving from the UK it makes far more sense to pay for the visa in sterling and then change sterling for Egyptian pounds on arrival. The exchange rage is always far more favourable. Of course some people may have LE to hand but they are going to need that once in Egypt anyway.

[Zooropa]

I arrived in Cairo 9:45 pm on Saturday 31st May and paid $25 for my visa, arrived in Luxor some time after 1am on 1st June - nothing mentioned about an extra tax. That could be because to have caught that flight you must have had your visa on or before 31st May

Does anyone know if this is being charged now?