Egypt Citizenship by Investment in 2026: The Complete Guide

When clients ask me about Egypt, I start with one sentence: this is not a passport for visa-free Europe, it is a family and business tool. One investment covers the applicant, the wife and children under 21, and two of the four options return your money. All figures below are in US dollars and were checked on 26 October 2026 against the official Egyptian Cabinet portal and BRIDGES data.

The legal basis

Citizenship by investment rests on Article 4 bis of Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian nationality. The article was added in 2019 (BRIDGES cites Law No. 190 of 2019), and the amounts are set by government decrees. According to BRIDGES these are Decree No. 3099 of 2019 and Decrees No. 876 and No. 3562 of 2023. Applications are examined by the Naturalisation Applications Examination Unit of the Cabinet, and the final decision is signed by the Prime Minister.

Two changes of 2023 matter in practice. Decree No. 876 lowered the thresholds to today’s level, and Law No. 28 of 2023 removed the rule that property had to be bought from the state. BRIDGES warns that many websites still quote the old figures (property from $500,000 and a $750,000 deposit). They no longer apply.

The four options

Option	Minimum	Is the money returned?
Contribution to the state treasury	$250,000	no
Purchase of property	$300,000	the property stays yours; sale before 5 years means paying $250,000 to keep the citizenship
Investment project + treasury contribution	$350,000 + $100,000	the $100,000 is not returned; exit before 5 years means paying $250,000
Deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt	$500,000 for 3 years	yes, after 3 years, in Egyptian pounds, without interest

All money must be transferred from abroad. On top of any option there is a non-refundable $10,000 application fee. Details and family examples are in the cost guide.

Who can apply

The official FAQ says citizens of every country may apply and there is no language test. The applicant must be of full age, have no criminal record in the home country or in Egypt, and pass a medical examination at a state hospital in Egypt. The final decision takes national security into account, and BRIDGES notes that the application is signed with an acknowledgement that a refusal needs no reasons.

The process in short

1. Fill in the application and collect the documents.
2. Pay the $10,000 fee by bank transfer from abroad to the Cabinet’s account at the Central Bank.
3. File in Cairo in person or through an agent from the official list. The preliminary decision follows 3 to 6 months after the file is complete.
4. After approval you get 6 months of temporary residence to complete the investment.
5. The Prime Minister’s final decision follows within 3 months.

Every step and document is in the application guide.

The family

The wife and children under 21 join the same application and do not change the amount. The rules for the wife and for adult children are less simple than they look, so read the family guide before you plan.

What the passport gives

The BRIDGES passport index of 4 October 2026 counts 47 destinations without a prior visa and ranks the passport 89th of 199. Schengen, the UK, the US and Canada require a visa. The real extras are business rights inside Egypt and access to the US E-2 investor visa, which I cover in the passport guide.

My honest view

Egypt fits a large family with a budget around $260,000, an investor who wants the money back (deposit or property), or someone who needs a route to the E-2 visa. If you need Europe without visas, look at the Caribbean instead. I compare the options in the comparison guide.