Egypt
Egyptian Citizenship by Investment (Granting Egyptian Nationality in Exchange for Investment)
Egypt grants full citizenship to foreign investors who make one of four qualifying economic contributions plus a USD 10,000 non-refundable state fee, all remitted in foreign currency from abroad. The naturalisation pathway sits on the 1975 Nationality Law as amended by Law No. 190 of 2019, with the current financial thresholds fixed by Prime Minister's Decree No. 876/2023 and applications adjudicated by a dedicated Cabinet unit hosted at GAFI; the Prime Minister personally signs each grant after security clearance. The lowest-cost route is a USD 250,000 non-refundable donation to the public treasury; other routes are USD 300,000 real estate, USD 350,000 in a business plus a USD 100,000 non-refundable payment, or a refundable USD 500,000 bank deposit. There is no minimum residence requirement, dual citizenship is permitted, and the investor's spouse and minor children up to age 21 are included. The trade-off for private clients is a regionally focused travel document (no Schengen, UK, US or Canada visa-free access) and a take-up to date measured in the dozens of approvals, so this is positioned as a fast, low-cost Plan-B and regional-presence citizenship rather than a mobility play.
Figures drawn from primary law and official sources — programmes change, so we confirm the exact current terms with admitted local counsel before you applyHow you qualify.
Donation
Non-refundable direct contribution of USD 250,000 to the Egyptian public treasury, paid in foreign currency transferred from abroad. This is the lowest-cost route and is separate from the USD 10,000 administrative fee.
Real Estate
Purchase of real estate worth at least USD 300,000, paid in foreign currency from abroad and held for 5 years before sale or transfer. Following the 2023 amendment to Art. 11, units may be bought from private Egyptian developers and not only state-owned entities; the unit is registered in the investor's name. Separate from the USD 10,000 fee.
Business
Establish or participate in an investment project with a minimum USD 350,000 contribution, plus a separate non-refundable USD 100,000 paid as direct revenue in foreign currency to the public treasury (total USD 450,000 to qualify, excluding the USD 10,000 fee).
Deposit
Refundable deposit of USD 500,000 via an official Egyptian government bank or the Central Bank of Egypt, returned in Egyptian pounds (EGP) after 3 years with no interest, so the applicant bears the FX and inflation risk on the refund. Separate from the USD 10,000 fee.
Global mobility.
— no visa-free access to the Schengen Area, including France, Germany and Austria.
— no visa-free access to the United Kingdom.
— no visa-free access to the United States and no ESTA eligibility.
— no visa-free access to Canada, with US green-card holders excepted.
Approximately 49 destinations are accessible visa-free or visa-on-arrival as of January 2026. Strength is regional, covering much of Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia; none of the major Western blocs (Schengen, UK, USA, Canada, Australia) are accessible visa-free. This is a Plan-B and regional-presence passport rather than a global-mobility document. Acquiring Egyptian citizenship is unaffected by the EU's CBI-related visa actions, which concern other programmes.
Still want a European base? Pair it.
A Egypt passport answers what most families come for first: stronger mobility and a considered fallback, secured for life and hereditary. Many families want a European base alongside it — somewhere to hold assets, spend time and give their children options. Those are two different jobs, and we build them as one plan rather than asking you to choose.
We pair the citizenship with an EU residence in a single structure — citizenship, passport and residence, built as one: the passport for mobility and standing, the residence for a euro-denominated base and, held over time, a lawful route to a European future.
Choose your structure
Structure selected: Egypt citizenship only. Add a European base at any time — pick one above to see it quoted as a single structure.
Engage us on Egypt
Leave your details and we come back to you personally — the confirmed current terms, the full costing for your family, and an introduction to vetted, admitted counsel for this programme.
Kestrel Private is a discreet private-client advisory led personally by Andrew J. Taylor, formerly Vice Chairman of Henley & Partners. He has served private clients from more than 30 countries, and at Kestrel you have one senior relationship from initial strategy through implementation.
What's involved in Egypt citizenship.
- Family inclusion
- Citizenship is granted to the investor and their minor children up to the age of 21, by decision of the Prime Minister. The investor's spouse is included; parents and siblings are not. Each included dependant is naturalised by the same Prime Ministerial decision. Confirm spouse scope and the per-dependant fee treatment with Egyptian counsel before filing.
- Due diligence
- Adjudicated by the Citizenship Application Examination Unit at the Prime Minister's Office with mandatory clearance by the Egyptian security authorities on national-security grounds; the Prime Minister signs each grant individually. The applicant must be 18 or over, of good conduct with a clean criminal record (police clearance), and must evidence the lawful source of funds. All qualifying sums must be transferred in foreign currency from outside Egypt. From 2025 the programme introduced in-person verification, moving away from fully remote processing.
- Timeline
- GAFI states that the application is processed within 3 to 6 months. Private-client practice commonly runs 6 to 12 months end to end, including security clearance and investment execution. A six-month temporary residence permit is issued after security approval to allow completion of the chosen investment before the grant.
- Physical presence
- There is no minimum-stay or ongoing residence requirement to obtain or keep citizenship. A six-month temporary residence permit is granted to execute the investment. From 2025, at least one in-person appearance for identity verification, biometrics and final passport issuance is required. No annual presence is required thereafter.
- Tax
- Egypt taxes resident individuals on a territorial-plus basis; mere acquisition of citizenship does not create Egyptian tax residency, which is driven by physical presence and centre of vital interests, generally 183 or more days. There is no wealth or net-worth tax. Acquiring Egyptian nationality has no impact on the client's home-country tax position by itself; structuring and any local-source income should be reviewed with Egyptian tax counsel. Dual citizenship is expressly permitted.
- Four qualifying routes set by Prime Minister's Decree No. 876 of 2 March 2023: donation USD 250,000 (non-refundable); real estate USD 300,000; investment project USD 350,000 plus USD 100,000 non-refundable; refundable bank deposit USD 500,000.
- Mandatory non-refundable state and administrative fee of USD 10,000, remitted from abroad to the Central Bank of Egypt, on top of the chosen investment.
- All qualifying funds must be paid in foreign currency transferred from outside Egypt; the refundable deposit is returned only in EGP after 3 years with no interest.
- Legal chain: Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975 (Arts. 4, 6, 11), amended by Law No. 190 of 2019 and again in April 2023; implemented by PM Decision No. 3099/2019 as amended by PM Decree 876/2023 and the 14 September 2023 Cabinet amendment.
- The April 2023 amendment to Art. 11 opened the real-estate route to purchases from private developers (previously state-owned units only); the Art. 6 amendment lets naturalised foreign women pass citizenship to minor children from Arabic-speaking or Muslim-majority countries.
- The grant is discretionary, issued only by decision of the Prime Minister after security-authority clearance; a dedicated Cabinet unit hosted at GAFI examines files.
- No residence or minimum-stay requirement; dual citizenship permitted; spouse and minor children up to 21 included.
- An October 2024 update permits collective investment in a single asset provided each participant's share exceeds USD 300,000.
- Completed citizenship-by-investment application form (filed via the Cabinet unit at GAFI)
- Valid passport and prior passports — certified copies
- Full birth certificate of the applicant and each dependant
- Marriage certificate (where a spouse is included) and children's birth certificates
- Recent passport-size photographs
- Police clearance or certificate of good conduct (no criminal record)
- Proof of lawful source of funds for the investment
- Evidence of the qualifying investment (title deed, company incorporation and capital proof, bank-deposit certificate, or treasury-contribution receipt, as applicable)
- Bank confirmation of the foreign-currency transfer from abroad, including the USD 10,000 state fee paid to the Central Bank of Egypt
- Medical or health declaration as requested
- Curriculum vitae and any supporting bona fides requested during security review
- Powers of attorney where filed by a licensed representative
Legal basis & official sources.
Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality (Arts. 4, 6, 11), as amended by Law No. 190 of 2019 (which created the investment-naturalisation pathway) and the 2023 amendments to Arts. 6 and 11 (approved by the House of Representatives on 12 April 2023). Financial thresholds were set by Prime Minister's Decree No. 876 of 2 March 2023. · Administered by Citizenship Application Examination Unit (Nationality Grant Unit) affiliated with the Office of the Prime Minister (Cabinet), with its reception and administration hosted at the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). The final grant is made by decision of the Prime Minister, following clearance by the security authorities on national-security grounds..
Egypt, answered.
- How much does Egypt citizenship by investment cost?
- The lowest qualifying investment is USD 250,000 via the Donation route. Government, due-diligence and professional fees are additional. Every figure is confirmed in writing before you commit to anything.
- How long does the Egypt citizenship process take?
- GAFI states that the application is processed within 3 to 6 months. Private-client practice commonly runs 6 to 12 months end to end, including security clearance and investment execution. A six-month temporary residence permit is issued after security approval to allow completion of the chosen investment before the grant.
- Does the Egypt passport allow visa-free travel to the Schengen Area?
- Visa required — no visa-free access to the Schengen Area, including France, Germany and Austria.
- Can I include my family in the Egypt application?
- Citizenship is granted to the investor and their minor children up to the age of 21, by decision of the Prime Minister. The investor's spouse is included; parents and siblings are not. Each included dependant is naturalised by the same Prime Ministerial decision. Confirm spouse scope and the per-dependant fee treatment with Egyptian counsel before filing.
- What due diligence does Egypt require?
- Adjudicated by the Citizenship Application Examination Unit at the Prime Minister's Office with mandatory clearance by the Egyptian security authorities on national-security grounds; the Prime Minister signs each grant individually. The applicant must be 18 or over, of good conduct with a clean criminal record (police clearance), and must evidence the lawful source of funds. All qualifying sums must be transferred in foreign currency from outside Egypt. From 2025 the programme introduced in-person verification, moving away from fully remote processing.
- Does Egypt citizenship grant the right to live in the European Union?
- No. Egypt citizenship can confer a second passport and visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel, but it grants no right to live, work or settle in the EU and no path to an EU passport. For a European foothold, residence by investment is the direct route.
General guidance, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Figures are verified to 2026 against official primary sources, and eligibility, thresholds and timelines are confirmed in writing before you commit to anything.
The programme you apply under is the one that exists on the day you file.
For residence applications, we generally plan on approximately two to three months to approval and three to six months from instruction to residence card.
Citizenship applications vary more widely. A straightforward application may receive approval within approximately three months, but six to nine months to passport issuance is a more prudent planning assumption.
Programme rules, government fees and processing times can change. We therefore reconfirm the applicable terms immediately before an application is filed.
Neither approval nor timing can be guaranteed.
If Egypt is the route you want, we can start your file.
A first conversation, not a commitment. Tell us who would be included and what you already hold, and we come back with the route, the confirmed terms and the timeline for Egypt — or tell you honestly if another programme fits you better.