New laws in egypt for workpermit and urfi?

can't you ask your/her embassy? Maybe you can get married in your embassy?

Geely wrote:

can't you ask your/her embassy? Maybe you can get married in your embassy?

Apparently they are not getting married soon that is why he asks about Urfi ......

Many thanks!

So... in that case there isnt an issue for the child to be born in Egypt meaning that he/she will not need a visa, correct?

Is there any process for my girlfriend to get residents visa without us being married? Is it possible without sponsorship from an employer etc?

cairocouple wrote:

Many thanks!

So... in that case there isnt an issue for the child to be born in Egypt meaning that he/she will not need a visa, correct?

Is there any process for my girlfriend to get residents visa without us being married? Is it possible without sponsorship from an employer etc?

Where is she from? Not an intrusion, because residence visas depends heavily on citizenship.

No issue for the child to be born in Egypt and since you are the child's father and you have a work visa, you can sponsor your child for a dependent residence visa.

Hi I am Mary from France.Can I make friends here?

she is French.

can she get a permit to work in Egypt.... does this require sponsorship from an employer?

Thanks again.

cairocouple wrote:

she is French.

can she get a permit to work in Egypt.... does this require sponsorship from an employer?

Thanks again.

Being French, she can extend her tourist visa, or even get a 6-month or a 1-year touristic residence visa .....


However, to work she needs a work permit/work visa which needs a sponsorship from an employer

cairocouple wrote:

she is French.

can she get a permit to work in Egypt.... does this require sponsorship from an employer?

Thanks again.

Being western European, having a burgundy passport from the European Union, she can apply for a one year tourist visa once she is inside Egypt and her arrival tourist visa is about to expire. She will not have to provide any additional documentation except stating she's here as tourist, fill out the application forms, have photocopy of her passport data page and the stamped entrance visa page, two recent passport pictures and the applicable visa fee. The 1 yrs visa will show WORK NOT PERMITTED and also become invalid for re-entry if she should leave Egypt before it expires (she would need to re-apply for an entrance visa then again, which normally is no problem for European citizens).

As to get a work permit: Yes, they normally do require employer sponsorship.

So when is the baby due???

Azeera you are right except for the reentry part.


Visa is valid for exit and reentry without the need for re-entry permit, unless she stays more than 6 continuous months outside Egypt.

So if she has a 1 year touristic residence visa, leaves for instance March 1st and comes back May 1st ( or - to push the limits - August 31st), she can enter using this visa and still be valid.

However, if she needs to stay outside for more than 6 months, she needs a re-entry permit.

A re-entry permit makes your visa valid for re-entry for one year OR before the end of your visa, whichever sooner. So if your visa expires after 4 years and you obtain a re-entry permit today (Feb 16th), it allows you to leave and come back until Feb 15th 2013.

However if your visa expires October 1st 2012 for instance, and you get a reentry permit today, you can leave and come back until October 1st (end of your visa).

thanks for that.

with the baby due in September we are very worried about the fact we are not marred. COming from Europe this really isnt a big deal nowadays... will we encounter any problems in egypt?

Sorry to go back to this but i'm not sure we got a definative answer.

thanks.

cairocouple wrote:

thanks for that.

with the baby due in September we are very worried about the fact we are not marred. COming from Europe this really isnt a big deal nowadays... will we encounter any problems in egypt?

Sorry to go back to this but i'm not sure we got a definative answer.

thanks.

Sir ..... I assure you 100% that there is absolutely NO problem.


PM me your telephone number to call you to assure you since there is too much personal details to share here ......

It is very simple. Go to a lawyer and set up a company for 1000GBP, about 10,000 EGP. And you will be an investor with your own visa.

Set up a consultancy contract with the company that requires your services.

Cairocouple as you say your girlfriend visits you so where does you gf live full time? Is it Scotland/Britain?

I only ask this as I would advise your girlfriend to give birth back in her home country. I gave birth here in Ismailia (because of wanting my Egy hubby to be with me) but I dreadfully regret this now. Getting baby registered and then passport etc is such a hassle, time consuming and expensive business!

My life would have been alot better had I just flown home to give birth and not just for these reasons... I am also sure I would of had a MUCH better experience of birth back in the UK too!!
This is just my advice...

Also on the original topic I wouldn't advise anyone to conduct a urfi marriage. If you want to marry then do it legally at the correct offices.

Has anyone been reissued a new residency/tourist visa lately - in the last month?

I was given a years tourist visa last year as they wouldn't accept my marriage certificate for residency visa, as my name in arabic was missing a DOT!!
I'm off to renew this week so will let you know how I get on

**** SORRY I ONLY READ PAGE 1 DOH!! STUPID ME**** now I know she's French... sorry for my stupidness!

MrsIsmail wrote:

I only ask this as I would advise your girlfriend to give birth back in her home country. I gave birth here in Ismailia (because of wanting my Egy hubby to be with me) but I dreadfully regret this now. Getting baby registered and then passport etc is such a hassle, time consuming and expensive business!

My life would have been alot better had I just flown home to give birth and not just for these reasons... I am also sure I would of had a MUCH better experience of birth back in the UK too!!
This is just my advice...

Besides, your child is now British by descent, not by Birth, which means he/she can NOT convey citizenship to his/her children UNLESS they are born in the UK.

MrsIsmail wrote:

Also on the original topic I wouldn't advise anyone to conduct a urfi marriage. If you want to marry then do it legally at the correct offices.

Agreed. However, some nationals of certain countries need it first to get a 6-month residence permit, with which they can get married legally. Otherwise the government registry office will not even marry them.

MrsIsmail wrote:

Has anyone been reissued a new residency/tourist visa lately - in the last month?

I was given a years tourist visa last year as they wouldn't accept my marriage certificate for residency visa, as my name in arabic was missing a DOT!!
I'm off to renew this week so will let you know how I get on

If you have your ORIGINAL marriage certificate, you can go in and out of the country freely since you are a wife of an Egyptian citizen. Upon entry you will NOT need to pay the $15 for the visa, and will get a free 6-months courtesy visa.

Wives of Egyptians also do NOT get penalized/fined for overstaying their visas (regardless of the visa type) , just show them the ORIGINAL marriage certificate upon exiting the country, and they will let you go without an overstayed visa stamp or fine.

Only condition is to have the original with you, not  copy, and show it to the passport control officer upon entry and/or exit.

However, you need the residence visa if you are going to open a bank account, grant power of attorney, get a driving license, work permit .....etc.

Salam alaykum,

I think there is a bit of confusion here between marriage contracts, residence permits etc, and Shariah Law versus Qanoon (A man-made law used in most Muslim countries which has some bases in Shariah).

1. Orfi marriage.  It is simply a contract between two parties that sanctions the validity of an Islamic marriage, allowing the couple to live together and have children. A man who marries a woman, independently of her being a muslim, christian or jew, is entering a contract with Allah, meaning God. She has in front of God the rights the shariah gives her, which is the same of a contract in court, housing, food clothing and time. If the man does not give the woman her full rights, he is disobeying God, and looking into legal shari issues, if his intentions was simply to marry for then divorcing, this would make the contract 'the facto' invalid. So my advise is, find a religious person who will give you your rights.
Most of the Egyptians hooking you on a beach, or in a disco are not the right candidate! Please women wake up!

2. The Orfi marriage cannot be used to obtain a residence permit, visa etc, or legal rights in court.

3. Court marriage. People in this forum are encouraging a court marriage. This might not be the best solution in all cases. This is a bounding contract in which the parties will have rights and obligations. For those who get married not being too sure, or not wanting children from that person, DO NOT engage in such marriage. Some expatriates women have found themselves prisoner of an unwanted relationship and a pile of legal problems to solve, especially if the woman is muslim. You will have issues remarrying again and emigrating to other countries. Please think carefully.

4. The woman entering either a orfi or court marriage should a wali (legal guardian) she appoints to represent her and guaranty her rights. According to a saying of Prophet Muhammad (saaw) a marriage contract without a wali is invalid. 2 witnness of moral characters, announcement (making the marriage public) and the payment of a dowry is also indispensable for the Islamic contract to be valid.
The dowry in Egypt starts at 10,000 EGP for a non-virgin woman.
I see beautiful foreign women whom Egyptian men would never be able to afford marrying if they were Arabs, as the family would demand a high dowry. The results is often we see educated, beautiful women marry to peasants,  sorry for the term. Imam Ahmad (ra) one of the most famous islamic scholar of the past said: If the daughter of a minister and a peasant ask me to get married, I refuse such marriage'. This is wisdom guys. Rarely these relationships work, because people's assumptions and expectations are so different, there is little way forward. And you have children from that person, well, it is the beginning of the end for both men and women. Some muslim men who marry christain women, at time were not practising, suddenly they have an 'islamic wake up.' They want their children to be full muslim, the mother does not. She takes up the children, go to her embassy, who make them snick out of the country on some plane. Please THINK, THINK, THINK, THINK  before embarking in cross-religion marriages.

4. People who enters a polygamic marriage or cannot obtain the permission from their embassy have different options.

- You need a good lawyer. He can either apply for your case at the
Ministry of Justice on the bases that you are muslim and it is your right to get married (you need a poof of conversion -Shahada certificate), or he will pay a bribe for which you will obtain a marriage certificate form court anyway. This can cost you between 2000 to 3000 EGP.

- You obtain your certificate of no impediment directly form your country and NOT your embassy. It is quiet simple:

   - Go to your hometown Registry and obtain any document such as 
family status or any records stating your marital status. If the document is in a language other than English, have it translated by an official translator. Attest the document by the judiciary/legal body who verify documents to be used abroad, for example in UK the FCO, then have it attested by the Egyptian Embassy in that country.
You will have a fully valid document valid in Egypt showing you are not married. You don't need to go back to your country to do this, there are agencies who provides attestation and documents services.
Usually this kind of certificates have a validity of 1 to 3 months, so make your timing right.

- The law in Egypt is flexible. It is all due to whom you know and knows how to do things. You will find a way to marry in court officially, soon or later. But beware of scams.

- If your problem is a residence permit, register your own company for 10,000 EGP and you will be your own sponsor, or form a partnership with some existing companies. Why begging people for a visa if you can get it yourself? Get a good lawyer, get a good lawyer. Tips: people in this country never say no, even if they are not able to do something. Don't get any lawyer, a GOOD lawyer with connections.

If anybody needs advise in this sense, especially women, whether muslim or christian, please write to me, to know abotu your specific rights and duties according to the Islamic law, in order to make a responsible choice.

erikabrio wrote:

Salam alaykum,
2. The Orfi marriage cannot be used to obtain a residence permit, visa etc, or legal rights in court.

Not true. I got a 6-months residence visa for my wife for the purpose of getting legally married using a Urfi contract.

Needless to say, the day we got the visa we legally married so Urfi was more or less a workaround .......

If you got her a fiancée visa, you could have got it even without the Orfi! In fact you got 6 months, which is a temporary residence, not a full residence permit. A temporary 6 months to 1 year residence permit, no-work permitted visa, is granted anyway to some nationalities without the need of any marriage contract.

Other nationalities, e.g. Tunisian who requires visa from Egyptian embassy abroad will be granted 5 - 6 months visa, but they have to exit when it expires, and extensions are categorically refused.

That visa is for you to marry her in court, I am not sure they will give you six months everytime, just because you show the Orfi paper.

But everything is possible in this country after all.

Some nationalities can extend their visa up to 1 year, this is true in Hurghada and Luxor, but some people experience problems in Alexandria and Cairo.

The Egyptian wrote:

Besides, your child is now British by descent, not by Birth, which means he/she can NOT convey citizenship to his/her children UNLESS they are born in the UK.

Yes I know all about this now, I'm an expert I was just talking about Embassy registration and claiming a UK passport from here. Not something I would recommend with a newborn!

The Egyptian wrote:

If you have your ORIGINAL marriage certificate, you can go in and out of the country freely since you are a wife of an Egyptian citizen. Upon entry you will NOT need to pay the $15 for the visa, and will get a free 6-months courtesy visa.

Wives of Egyptians also do NOT get penalized/fined for overstaying their visas (regardless of the visa type) , just show them the ORIGINAL marriage certificate upon exiting the country, and they will let you go without an overstayed visa stamp or fine.

Only condition is to have the original with you, not  copy, and show it to the passport control officer upon entry and/or exit.

However, you need the residence visa if you are going to open a bank account, grant power of attorney, get a driving license, work permit .....etc.

WOW I never knew this! I haven't been out of the country to know this but glad to know now.

Thank you for this info but can I ask where/how you know this. I have been told too many things on this website that I won't actually believe until someone shows me OFFICIAL proof sorry for being skeptical - just been bitten many times!

You do not need a residence permit to open a bank account if you old a EU nationality(Western EU only). A 6 months visa is sufficient to open a bank account. Americans cannot open a bank account easily due to change of legislation in USA. Most banks will refuse you.

If you are married in court, after 2 years of marriage you can acquire Egyptian nationality.

As for your child been British by descent he/she can pass the nationality to their children only if such children are born in UK.

There you are!

As for driving licence, if you have a UK licence just apply by post to obtain an international driving permit, basically an arabic translation of your UK licence. Look at the AA website.
This will allow you to drive in Egypt legally.

erikabrio wrote:

If you got her a fiancée visa, you could have got it even without the Orfi! In fact you got 6 months, which is a temporary residence, not a full residence permit. A temporary 6 months to 1 year residence permit, no-work permitted visa, is granted anyway to some nationalities without the need of any marriage contract.

Other nationalities, e.g. Tunisian who requires visa from Egyptian embassy abroad will be granted 5 - 6 months visa, but they have to exit when it expires, and extensions are categorically refused.

That visa is for you to marry her in court, I am not sure they will give you six months everytime, just because you show the Orfi paper.

But everything is possible in this country after all.

Some nationalities can extend their visa up to 1 year, this is true in Hurghada and Luxor, but some people experience problems in Alexandria and Cairo.

In my case, there is no fiancee visa, because Ukrainians get visa upon arrival anyways in the airport so it is not applicable. Hence the need for Urfi to get 6 months visa which is a prerequisite for marriage for some nationalities.

Btw this is the only valid workaround per Ministry of Justice as well as Dept of Immigration.  and btw Urfi 6-months visa is non-renewable since 6 months is MORE than enough time to gather your documents and get legally married (if you are serious !). The whole process in my case (incl. Urfi, first visa, legal marriage ...etc.) took 21 days (+ 6 days to receive the notarized marriage contract).

After legal marriage we got a 5 year visa.


and yes that visa was required by Ministry of Justice to get married. It is required for Female Nationals of Philippines, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Israel, and all ex-USSR countries as well as male nationals of Israel.

Btw, all residence visas (even 5 years) say "Temporary" .... There is no such thing as a permanent residence visa in Egypt.

MrsIsmail wrote:

WOW I never knew this! I haven't been out of the country to know this but glad to know now.

Thank you for this info but can I ask where/how you know this. I have been told too many things on this website that I won't actually believe until someone shows me OFFICIAL proof sorry for being skeptical - just been bitten many times!

I am the immigration expert here ...... LOL .....

I know this from the Immigration officers in Tahrir Complex (Mogamma3) and it was also put up on a sign there. Also from IATA Visa Requirements wizard. So don't worry, a wife of an Egyptian is a legal alien EVEN IF she has no valid visa.


Don't worry. I always verify my sources and don't lend an ear to anyone. I check with the Dept of Immigration website, the responsible officer in their HQ in Tahrir, and I even verified it many times.

erikabrio wrote:

You do not need a residence permit to open a bank account if you old a EU nationality(Western EU only). A 6 months visa is sufficient to open a bank account. Americans cannot open a bank account easily due to change of legislation in USA. Most banks will refuse you.

Not true. Checked with most banks before. Residence visa is now A MUST.

erikabrio wrote:

If you are married in court, after 2 years of marriage you can acquire Egyptian nationality.

True in part. First this applies only to wives of Egyptians, but not the other way around.

Second, The general (and biggest) misconception with lots of people is that you get it after two years. You need to apply and after two years of APPLICATION (not marriage) you get it.

And Yes you need to be legally married to apply as you stated.

I applied already for my wife and we are waiting for the two years to finish .... Would've been really useful now that we live in Sudan and they torture me to get her a visa !

erikabrio wrote:

As for your child been British by descent he/she can pass the nationality to their children only if such children are born in UK.

True. But the problem is that if this is a boy and he married a non-EU citizen, it will be difficult to get her a visa if she's pregnant !

erikabrio wrote:

As for driving licence, if you have a UK licence just apply by post to obtain an international driving permit, basically an arabic translation of your UK licence. Look at the AA website.
This will allow you to drive in Egypt legally.

IDL is valid ONLY if you are NOT a resident. Residents MUST use a local license.

However, there are some bilateral license exchange agreements with some countries (you need to check with traffic dept), by which a license from such a country (e.g.: Kuwait for instance) can be exchanged for an Egyptian license without any tests or documentation.

and btw, MrsIsmail, being a mother of an Egyptian citizen also (even if - God forbid - divorced or widowed), is a legal alien regardless of visa status and can get a courtesy visa upon arrival !

The Egyptian wrote:

erikabrio wrote:

You do not need a residence permit to open a bank account if you old a EU nationality(Western EU only). A 6 months visa is sufficient to open a bank account. Americans cannot open a bank account easily due to change of legislation in USA. Most banks will refuse you.

Not true. Checked with most banks before. Residence visa is now A MUST..

I agree with Egyptian, to open an account is very complicated! Until I didnŽt get my egyptian ID I wasnŽt able to, not with my Spanish Passport. I had to carry around my money for half a year, and believe me I went at least to 10 banks

Well if some one doesn't hold a visa and need to save some money, the only option is to go to the Arab Afican International Bank (AAIB) and order an ATM Card (Visa Electron) named 4u Card!
To open it,you need 20 EGP and ypur passport, No need for visa
You can use it to save money plus pay in any place using it and to withdraw money from any A.T.M!

Can two. Foreigner get marry in Egypt am. A Nigeria and my fiance is. A Slovakia

mnas wrote:

Hello,

To get a work permit in tourism field is one of the hardest thing to do now, and max 6 months of a tourist visa and you will have to leave the country and come back if you want. And the tourist visa, 1 month at the airport 15.00 USD, and then month by month, you would be lucky if you get 2 months visa and the three months visa is exceptional. Here are the conditions,one only is enough.

1 opening a local bank account with a minimum of $50,000, 
2 a work permit
3 buying property (an apartment) in Egypt.

Regards,
Mina

1. Temporary residence 600 months, renewable for other 6 months, for a total of 1 year can be easily done by any western block nationality. E.g. USA, Canada, Western Europe. Somehow Russians and Eastern Europeans are discriminated at times, and they renew their visa with less ease.

2. You can't get a residence permit by depositing 50 K USD in the bank anymore.
but you can get it by purchasing a property of the minimum value of 50 K USD.
A residence on ground of being property owners does not grant any right to work in Egypt.
In fact that type of residence might be accompanied by a stamp: work not permitted.

3. It is very easy to get a residence and work permit for the tourism industry if your employer is a major hotel or group or you have some connection.

Everything is possible if one knows the system and those working in it.

momoforevaaa wrote:

what is Urfi?

Common law, unregistered

urfi marraige is quick?

momoforeva wrote:

urfi marraige is quick?

quick and useless.

its time and money consuming