Corruption in Egypt is a problem, but it can also be your greatest ally. As described in an earlier post, staying past the 30-day tourist visa that you can receive on arrival in Egypt is difficult. I spent several days at the immigration building both in Cairo and in Luxor trying to get them to extend my visa. This later proved to be a ginormous waste of time. 

For starters, it's important to reiterate that corruption in Egypt makes everything a possibility. You can stay in Egypt your entire life without a visa and nobody would likely ever care. If you were happened to be stopped by a police officer, you could simply give them a tip and they would be on their way. You could probably even murder somebody and do the same thing, with enough cash. Seriously.

However, most people who go there will want to respect the laws and government system to stay out of trouble. The reason I started to feel comfortable participating in the corruption is because of the encouragement of my Egyptian friends and realizing how common and acceptable it is. 

However, this post does not advocate supporting the corruption by tipping off police officers, and should be seen as an educational post about what your possibilities are if you are stupid enough to stay past your Egyptian visa like I was. It will also give you the information that was relayed to me while I tried to extend my visa.

How to Bypass the Egyptian Visa Overstay Fee in 2018

So perhaps you are in the same position as I was, and are a little concerned that you have to pay an outrageous fee at the airport or Mogamma building before you are able to leave Egypt. Don't worry, since with corruption comes unlimited possibilities. Here is what you need to do: 

1. Go to the Airport

Don't go to Mogamma. Some people say this is the best way to make the Egypt exit fee cost go down, but it can be cheaper by going straight to the airport. Trust me.

2. Ask the Guards Where to Pay the Fee

Look, everything in Egypt comes down to business. People don't (generally) care about the laws and regulations. As soon as you ask a few guards where you can go to pay the airport exit fee, you will likely find somebody who wants to "help" you. Whenever you hear the word "help" from an Egyptian official, think of it as being a situation where they will ask for a tip. The same rule applies here.

3. Wait for the Guard's "Help"

This is what happened to me. The guard sat me down and I waited for about an hour. For a while, it seemed he wasn't going to come back. But sure enough, he did. He took me straight past all the security checkpoints and lines, straight to the passport stamping area. I told him that I genuinely tried to renew my visa legitimately, but he either didn't care or understand. 

4. Get a Free Stamp

Normally, a Google search would tell you that overstaying your visa in Egypt involves paying around 1000-2000 EGP, depending on how long you overstay your visa. Since I was there for almost 2 months past my allotted 30 days, I was expecting to pay around 2000 EGP. However, with the guard's help, I paid zero and walked towards the terminal. 

5. Negotiate a Baksheesh

If you don't already know this word, you will. Baksheesh is the Arabic word for tip. As a tourist, you will constantly be asked for a baksheesh until it is forever ingrained into your consciousness. Don't get me wrong, I love Egypt and the Egyptian people. This is regardless so true. 

Once you find a corrupt guard who takes you through the security checkpoint and gets you a free stamp on your passport without a ridiculous overstay fee, realize that he (or she) did you a big favor. They will also realize this. In fact, you probably won't get your passport back until you give the guard something. We eventually settled on 1000 EGP, giving me a 50% discount on what the immigration officials told me that I would pay. Great deal for both of us. 

Again, this post doesn't advocate breaking the Egyptian laws. You should first and foremost try to do things the legal way. If you are like me and exhaust all options before reaching this point, this might be a great last resort. After all, you can be blacklisted for staying past your visa, so be polite. 

How to Renew Your Tourist Visa in Egypt, Legally:

Okay, so you want to do things the legal way. Good for you. Be ready to wait in long lines, be redirected from person to person, turned down just because you are talking to somebody who is having a bad day, and told that you need things that are not listed anywhere on the internet. Even Egyptians laugh at the ridiculousness that is the visa renewal process. 

What you need:

• Your passport
• 2" x 2" photo (ideally from your passport)
• A photocopy of your passport photo page.
• A photocopy of your passport visa page. 
• A renewal form (found at the immigration office).
• A rental contract with approved stamp (more on this later).
• Your Egyptian address and contact information.
• Patience, a smile, and an Arabic-speaking friend.
• Plenty of cash. Overshoot and bring 2000EGP in case you go on a rat race like me. 

1. Get a Rental Contract with Approved Stamp

The part that will drive you nuts is the rental contract. To get a rental contract, you cannot stay at a hotel, Airbnb apartment, or any sort of online booking where you show them your e-mail booking. They will not accept this. If they do, you are lucky and met an immigration official in a very helpful mood. 

If you stay at a property like a hotel or Airbnb property, ask the owner if he can write up a rental contract for you. More than likely, they will say no or ask for money since it is rather time-consuming for them. Especially if you aren't actually planning on staying there for over a month. If you are lucky, you will have your rental contract with an approved stamp. Make sure that you have the stamp. The management will know what this is. 

2. Go to Mogamma with Everything but the Renewal Form

The renewable form you will find at the immigration office. The guard might try to tell you to come back tomorrow if you get there past 10AM, but do not listen. There is always a renewal form around. Ask somebody else if one person tells you that there are no more for the day. 

If you do not have the photocopy of your passport, or visa page, there is a place this can be done at the entrance of the Mogamma building in Cairo. Do not worry, it will only cost you about 20 EGP (around $1). 

3. Grab a Form, and Fill Out the Form

This is the easy part. You will be asked lots of questions, including your religious beliefs. Just fill it out honestly. However, it is unlikely that anybody really cares about the answers. Once you get the form filled out, this is where the bureaucracy will start to be in full effect. You NEED to have an Arabic speaking friend. I had one, and still didn't get my visa renewed. 

4. Turn in All Your Paperwork

You might find websites saying to go to an exact window, but here is the reality. There is no specific window, officer, or place that you should turn in your paperwork. Sure, some might appear to be for yours, but the person behind the window will (in all likelihood) say something along the lines of come back tomorrow, go see this person, go to the next window, wait in the long line, go to the embassy of your country (by the way, don't do this), blah blah blah. 

If you find the right window, the official will start to actually look at your forms. If you reach this point, you are in luck. 

5. (In all Likelihood) Be Redirected Somewhere Else

This is the sad reality of the immigration system in Egypt. If you have everything you need, you will probably still be redirected to someone else for something. This is especially true if you don't have an Arabic-speaking friend. Even with the Arabic-speaking friend you will probably still be sent to another window, another person, and so on. Be patient and just do what they tell you to do. 

After all, you might have to deal with this person again after somebody else redirects you back to them. If this is the case, calmly explain that you were sent back by the person who they sent you to. This is a very common thing to experience. I was even sent to the embassy to get an equivalent of a rental contact. In other words, the immigration building actually advised me to break the law and get the embassy to lie and write up a fake rental contract. The American embassy didn't do this for me, of course. 

6. If you are Lucky, they Will Ask for the Fee

Nobody knows what the exact fee for anything is in Egypt. The prices are all relative to your nationality, what the officer asks for, and time. Things change suddenly, and the fee is something that will continue fluctuating. I was informed the renewal would be around 500 EGP, but if you make one person mad or give them the idea that you are rich they will definitely ask for more so that they can pocket some of your money. Good ol' corruption :)

Try to barter the fee down, and pay it. Egyptians love to barter, and there is never one price for anything. You can even barter the people at the tourist sites for the price of a ticket. Try it sometime! Once they take your money, they will also take your passport and paperwork (at least I think, I never made it this far). Come back when they tell you to, hope that they don't lose your passport, and get your new visa. Yay!

Do This Right Away if you Want to Renew Your Visa Legally:

I had all my paperwork, even got my rental contract, and had an Egyptian to help me. He took me to the immigration building and tried to help me. The day before, the man there had told me that once I brought my rental contract he would renew my visa. I did this, got the owner of my apartment to write up a rental contract, get the "stamp," and then talk to the official for me. 

They told me that since my visa had expired by one day, that I would have to pay the exit fee at the airport. It is not like I tried to do it legally, I tried hard. The sooner you get started with the hectic and crazy visa renewal process, the better.