- Uganda and Egypt signed a bilateral visa-free deal for diplomatic and service passport holders.
- Ordinary passport holders must still apply for standard visas for tourism or business travel.
- The agreement aims to strengthen diplomatic relations and facilitate official government travel between both nations.
(KAMPALA, UGANDA) — Uganda and Egypt signed a bilateral deal granting visa-free travel to official passport holders, limiting the waiver to diplomatic and service passports rather than ordinary tourism.
The agreement, signed January 17, 2026, covers holders of diplomatic and service passports from both countries, which Uganda also describes as official passports.
Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Simon Mundeyi announced the deal on February 23, 2026 at the Uganda Police Force headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.
“We have achieved visa-free travel for official and diplomatic passport holders from Uganda travelling to Egypt and also for their counterparts visiting Uganda,” Mundeyi said.
The announcement framed the move as an effort to facilitate official travel and deepen cooperation between Kampala and Cairo, while keeping existing visa rules in place for ordinary travelers.
Only diplomatic and service passport holders qualify for the visa-free travel arrangement, and eligibility depends on the passport category, not nationality alone.
Ordinary passport holders remain outside the waiver and must apply under standard visa rules for entry to Egypt, the announcement indicated.
That distinction matters because the deal does not create visa-free tourism for Ugandans traveling on ordinary passports, and it does not change documentation requirements for most leisure or business visits.
Uganda presented the agreement as part of a broader push to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between Uganda and Egypt.
Mundeyi’s remarks also placed the Egypt deal alongside Uganda’s existing visa abolition agreements with Algeria, Cuba, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey (diplomatic only), Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Those earlier arrangements, as described in the announcement, focus on easing official travel rather than opening broad visa-free entry for all travelers.
Uganda’s statement did not describe the Egypt agreement as a tourism policy change, and the public messaging emphasized that ordinary passport holders still follow regular visa procedures.
For ordinary travelers heading to Egypt, the publicly cited pathways include eVisas and the visa-on-arrival option, with a reported fee range of $25–$30 USD.
The announcement also noted that Egypt has expanded tourist visa exemptions for travelers from countries like the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
Those exemptions were described as tourist-focused and country-specific, and they do not automatically extend to Ugandan ordinary passport holders.
Separately, the expansion was not presented as applying to Uganda’s official passport holders, as the Uganda-Egypt agreement instead carves out visa-free access based on diplomatic and service passport status.
While the agreement sets out visa-free travel for diplomatic and service passports, current reports have not indicated any parliamentary committee involvement or approval tied to the deal.
Implementation can depend on internal government procedures and on updates that reach border officials and airlines, meaning travelers may see a lag between signing, announcement, and consistent recognition.
Ugandans traveling to Egypt, and Egyptians traveling to Uganda, may still need to check with relevant authorities before departure to confirm how the waiver is being applied for diplomatic and service passports.
Mundeyi’s announcement kept the scope narrow and explicit, saying: “We have achieved visa-free travel for official and diplomatic passport holders from Uganda travelling to Egypt and also for their counterparts visiting Uganda.”
