- Egypt has increased its visa-on-arrival fee from $25 to $30 USD starting March 1, 2026.
- The U.S. implemented higher immigration processing fees for Egyptian nationals citing inflation-based adjustments.
- A pause on immigrant visa issuances for Egyptians took effect alongside stricter security vetting protocols.
(EGYPT) — Egypt raised its Visa-on-Arrival Fee to $30 USD from $25 USD on March 1, 2026, while the United States also imposed higher immigration processing fees and new entry restrictions affecting Egyptian nationals this year.
The changes combine a modest increase for tourists arriving in Egypt with steeper costs for Egyptians seeking some U.S. immigration benefits, alongside a pause on immigrant visa issuances and broader limits tied to security vetting and public assistance concerns.
Travelers arriving at Egyptian airports and seaports now must pay the new $30 USD fee in cash, in U.S. dollars. Reports indicate passports may still receive the standard $25 sticker, with an additional surcharge sticker for +$5 to bring the total to the new amount.
On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of State updated its Egypt travel advisory and said: “You can get a renewable single-entry 30-day tourist visa on arrival at Egyptian airports for approximately $30 USD in exact change USD cash.”
That update anchored one of several policy shifts that have taken effect for Egypt and Egyptian nationals in 2026. The changes center on March 1, 2026, with further reference points on March 18, 2026 and March 28, 2026.
Egypt’s pricing change affects the single-entry tourist visa on arrival, while the multiple-entry visa-on-arrival fee remained $60 (Unchanged) as of March 18, 2026. For travelers, the immediate effect is simple: arriving with exact U.S. cash now matters more.
U.S. authorities, meanwhile, tied their fee changes to inflation adjustments under the USCIS Stabilization Act. Those higher charges took effect on March 1, 2026 and apply to several immigration benefits used by foreign nationals, including Egyptians.
A USCIS alert issued on March 1, 2026 said: “Requests for USCIS’s Premium Processing Service postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, must include the new fee. to reflect inflation between June 2023 and June 2025.”
Under that schedule, premium processing for H-1B, L-1, O-1, and TN petitions increased from $2,805 to $2,965. USCIS also raised the fee for Form I-539, used for change of status for F, J, M, to $2,075.
The fee for Form I-765, covering employment authorization and OPT, rose to $1,780. Those increases add to the cost of seeking faster adjudication or work-related immigration benefits in the United States.
For Egyptian nationals already facing tighter U.S. entry rules, the higher fees come on top of policy restrictions that began earlier in the year. On January 1, 2026, Presidential Proclamation 10998 took effect and limited entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, including Egypt, citing security vetting concerns.
Later that month, the U.S. Department of State added another barrier. A notice dated January 21, 2026 paused all immigrant visa issuances to nationals of Egypt and Sudan.
“Effective January 21, 2026, the Department of State paused all immigrant visa issuances to nationals of countries, including Egypt. whose immigrants have a high rate of collecting public assistance.”
That measure addressed immigrant visas, a separate category from temporary visas and premium processing requests handled through USCIS. Together, however, the rules point in one direction: higher costs and stricter screening for Egyptians seeking to enter or remain in the United States through several immigration channels.
Egypt also introduced a new border-related charge this month that affects some foreign travelers. As of March 28, 2026, U.S. citizens exiting Egypt through the Taba border crossing into Israel, or entering from it, must pay a $120 USD exit fee in cash.
An exception applies to travelers on a 14-day Sinai-only visa. For others using the crossing, the added cost stands apart from the airport Visa-on-Arrival Fee and must be planned for separately.
Taken together, the fee changes create a patchwork of new costs depending on where a traveler is going and what status that traveler seeks. A tourist arriving in Egypt by air now pays $30 for a single-entry visa on arrival, while a traveler using the Taba crossing may face a $120 border fee if the exemption does not apply.
For Egyptian students, workers and applicants dealing with U.S. immigration authorities, the jump is far larger. Premium processing for some work-related petitions now costs $2,965, while student-related status changes under Form I-539 cost $2,075 and employment authorization under Form I-765 costs $1,780.
The formal comparison of former and new fees shows how sharply the U.S. charges moved. Egypt’s single-entry visa-on-arrival rose by $5, from $25 to $30, but the U.S. premium processing fee for H-1B, L-1, O-1, and TN petitions rose by $160, from $2,805 to $2,965.
For student status cases, the increase was also clear. Premium processing for Form I-539 (Change of Status for F, J, M) moved from $1,965 to $2,075 on March 1, 2026.
The multiple-entry Egypt visa-on-arrival did not change, staying at $60. That leaves the main Egypt pricing shift concentrated on single-entry tourists, who now need to account for the new $30 USD cash requirement.
The State Department advisory’s wording also suggests that travelers should not expect loose payment arrangements at arrival points. Its guidance referred to “approximately $30 USD in exact change USD cash,” a phrase that reinforces the need to carry the correct amount.
That matters because implementation on the ground has not necessarily changed the old visa sticker system in a visible way. Reports that a +$5 surcharge sticker may accompany a passport indicate that some arrivals could still see the older $25 visa sticker while being charged the new total of $30.
For visitors, the increase is limited in size but immediate in effect. Anyone budgeting with the older fee in mind now needs extra cash on arrival, and anyone arriving without exact dollars risks delays at airports or seaports.
For Egyptians dealing with U.S. immigration agencies, the burden is broader. The USCIS fee hikes took effect the same day as Egypt’s Visa-on-Arrival Fee increase, March 1, 2026, but they affect benefit categories that often involve study, work, and status changes inside the United States.
USCIS tied the change directly to inflation. In its alert, the agency said the new premium processing charges were meant “to reflect inflation between June 2023 and June 2025.”
That explanation framed the increase as an automatic adjustment under statute rather than a stand-alone policy shift. Even so, the result for applicants is a higher bill.
The State Department’s immigrant visa pause added a separate policy layer with a different rationale. Its January 21, 2026 notice cited “a high rate of collecting public assistance” among immigrants from countries including Egypt.
That pause came after Presidential Proclamation 10998 began limiting entry and visa issuance for nationals of 39 countries, including Egypt, on January 1, 2026. The proclamation addressed security vetting concerns, while the later immigrant visa notice focused on public assistance reliance.
Those two measures do not replace the USCIS fee schedule. They sit beside it.
As a result, Egyptian nationals face a U.S. system that now costs more for some expedited filings and applies tighter rules on immigrant visa issuance and entry. At the same time, visitors heading the other way, into Egypt, face a smaller but still noticeable increase at the border.
The dates define the pace of the changes. January 1, 2026 brought the proclamation, January 21, 2026 brought the immigrant visa pause, March 1, 2026 brought both the Egypt visa-on-arrival increase and the USCIS inflation-based fee hikes, March 18, 2026 brought the State Department’s updated Egypt travel advisory, and March 28, 2026 brought the Taba border fee.
For travelers and applicants alike, 2026 has turned routine planning into a more expensive exercise. Egypt’s new Visa-on-Arrival Fee now stands at $30 USD, and the U.S. measures affecting Egyptians reach from $1,780 and $2,075 processing charges to a full pause on immigrant visa issuances — a mix of costs and restrictions that began with policy decisions but now lands in cash at the counter.
