Egypt delays visa changes
Egypt has changed its mind over plans to change visa rules and requirements.
From May 15, officials had been planning to require visitors to obtain visas in advance, instead of on arrival, unless they were met by a ground-handling agent.
There was some confusion among consumers and the trade over the proposals, which were designed to tighten border security.
But Egypt has now delayed the plans until a new electronic visa system has been developed.
ABTA welcomed the decision, which means independent travellers will still be able to pay for a visa on arrival at Cairo and Luxor, and get a free entry stamp at Sharm el-Sheikh.
"ABTA and its members work closely with the Egyptian authorities and are pleased to see this decision made which will allow the hundreds of thousands of British holidaymakers who visit Egypt every year to continue to do so easily and remove any uncertainty that has arisen recently," said a spokesman.
The Egyptian Government has not set a date for the launch of electronic visas.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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