Do Japanese passport holders need a visa for Egypt?
By Simran Raheja · Product Manager · SEO and Content, Tripmojo · Updated · Reviewed by Simran Raheja
Yes, but you can buy it on arrival. Japanese passport holders need a tourist visa for Egypt and have two ways to get one: a visa on arrival bought at the airport, or an e-Visa applied for online beforehand. Both give a single entry of up to 30 days and both now cost 30 US dollars, raised from 25 on 1 March 2026.
Quick facts
Travel authorisation- Visa required
- Yes, but available on arrival
- Two routes
- Visa on arrival, or e-Visa applied for online
- Fee
- 30 US dollars single entry, raised from 25 on 1 March 2026
- Maximum stay
- 30 days
- Passport validity
- At least six months beyond your arrival date
- Sinai resorts
- A separate 15-day permit, no visa needed
- Payment on arrival
- US dollars, euros or pounds sterling
Entry requirements
- A Japanese passport valid for at least six months from the date you arrive.
- Either an approved e-Visa, or the cash to buy a visa on arrival at the airport counter.
- Proof of onward or return travel and an address for your stay.
- The visa on arrival is for tourism. Business travel is also covered by the e-Visa, but work of any kind needs a different permission arranged in advance.
How to get an Egyptian visa from Japan
Decide which route you want before you fly, because they cost the same and differ only in where you spend the time. The visa on arrival is bought at a bank counter in the arrivals hall before passport control; the queue is typically 15 to 45 minutes and the payment is cash in US dollars, euros or pounds.
The e-Visa is applied for at the official portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg. Approval usually takes a few working days, so apply at least a week out. Third-party sites charging a service fee on top rank well in search results and are not the official route.
Either way you receive a single entry valid for up to 30 days. A multiple-entry e-Visa is available at 65 US dollars if you are leaving and re-entering, for example a side trip to Jordan.
At passport control, present the passport with the visa sticker or the printed e-Visa approval. The stay is stamped in the ordinary way.
Good to know
- The fee went up on 1 March 2026 and a great deal of published advice has not caught up. A single-entry visa, whether bought on arrival or online, is now 30 US dollars rather than 25, and the multiple-entry e-Visa is 65. If a page is quoting 25 dollars it predates the change, which is worth knowing about the rest of what it tells you. Bring a little more cash than the figure you have read.
- If you are only going to the Sinai resorts you may not need a visa at all. Arrivals at Sharm El Sheikh, Taba or St Catherine who stay within the Sinai resort area can be given a free entry permit of up to 15 days instead. It is genuinely restrictive: it covers the Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba strip and nothing beyond it, so a day trip to Cairo or up to the mainland puts you outside it and you need the full visa. For a diving week on the Red Sea coast it saves the fee entirely.
- Six months of passport validity is a real requirement here, unlike in several European countries where the rule is only that the passport covers your stay. Egypt wants six months beyond your arrival date. Japanese passports are commonly ten-year documents, so this catches people at the end of a cycle who assumed a valid passport was enough.
- The visa is single entry unless you deliberately buy otherwise. Egypt is a common base for a side trip to Jordan or Israel, and coming back across the border on a single-entry visa means buying another one. If a round trip is even possible in your plans, the 65 dollar multiple-entry e-Visa is cheaper than two singles and has to be chosen before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Do Japanese citizens need a visa for Egypt?
Yes, but it can be bought on arrival. Japanese passport holders can either buy a visa at the airport or apply for an e-Visa online beforehand. Both give a single entry of up to 30 days.
How much is an Egyptian visa for Japanese travellers?
Thirty US dollars for a single entry, whether on arrival or online. It rose from 25 dollars on 1 March 2026. A multiple-entry e-Visa is 65 dollars.
Is the visa on arrival or the e-Visa better?
They cost the same and give the same 30 days. The e-Visa saves 15 to 45 minutes of queueing at the airport; the visa on arrival saves applying in advance. Choose on how much you mind waiting.
Can I visit Sharm El Sheikh without an Egyptian visa?
Often yes. Arrivals at Sharm El Sheikh, Taba or St Catherine staying within the Sinai resort area can get a free permit for up to 15 days. Travelling beyond that area, including to Cairo, needs the full visa.
How long must a Japanese passport be valid for Egypt?
At least six months beyond your arrival date. This is stricter than the rule in several European countries, where the passport need only cover the stay.
Related pages
Other passports for Egypt
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on .
- Wikipedia, Visa policy of Egypt — Japan eligible for visa on arrival (30 days, tourism) and for the e-Visa; Sinai visa-free programme up to 15 days in the resort area (en.wikipedia.org)
- VisasNews / iVisa — Egypt single-entry visa-on-arrival and tourist e-Visa fee raised from 25 to 30 US dollars effective 1 March 2026; multiple-entry e-Visa 65 US dollars (visasnews.com, ivisa.com)
- Egyptian official e-Visa portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg — the only official application route (visa2egypt.gov.eg)
Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.
