by Orlando A
Today I wanted to get a bit ahead of myself with things and decided to renew our visas. Actually, I have been contemplating it for a bit of time. However, thoughts of long lines and angry cashiers made me somewhat reluctant to visit the office. The entry visa that you get at the airport is valid for entry into Egypt for three months, so before my arrival, I thought I would be good with it for a while. It costs about $15 US. However, when I read the fine print a few days after arrival, I found out that while it is valid for entry for three months, it is only good for a one month stay. For that reason you have to renew your visa after your first month in Egypt, if you plan on staying longer, otherwise you will be arrested and brutally tortured. No, that isn't really accurate, just like in the states, you will be levied a fine, for allowing your visa to lapse.
Luckily, I read the fine print and went in to the small state office building well within one month to have my visa renewed. The process was relatively painless, because there are English speaking agents and there is a local office centrally located in Luxor that handles the visas. In addition, it doesn't hurt to have assistance from a friend to help out, who is from Luxor, in the know, and who can help move you through the line. Anyway, the 1 year renewal cost a little under 100 LE. It was helpful that I already had photos ready to go and that I had copies of the vital information from my passport.
A good idea is to have a number of photos made locally, when you first arrive and to have copies of your passport vital information and visa section as well. Photos in the US are pretty costly right now, I think when I went in to a photo shop it cost me about 10 US dollars per passport sized photo. However, I had the photos made locally at a very reputable shop, with a professional photographer, for about 12 LE for a set of seven. They only took one at the passport office, go figure.
If you wait until you arrive at the passport office to have them made, the shops around the office will know your desperation and charge accordingly. Another friend told me that when she went to have her visa renewed, the closest shop wanted to charge 50LE. Even though that is only the equivalent of about 8 US dollars, it is still prudent to find a shop before you arrive at the passport office. There are plenty in town, however negotiation is key.
The process consisted of filling out the appropriate paperwork, which included a local contact card, leaving that paperwork, my passport, the photos and the copies for about an hour while they worked on the visa extension. I have already mentioned my phobias about leaving my passport anywhere. However, I dismissed visions of torture and kidnap, left them and everything was fine. While we waited for the visa extensions we visited a local cafe and had falafels for breakfast. When we returned, the cashier was very pleasant, happy to see us, somewhat intrigued by the sight of Americans, I am sure, particularly with a gang of children, and actually smiled cordially, contrary to my earlier expectations.
We had to wait for a few minutes and except for Jake wanting to lay in the floor, that had twice the dirt of the dirtiest government office in the US, everything was fine. Later, when we went to another cafe, which was in a more rural area, he added even more dust and grit. If the worst part of the process was washing a filthy little boy after the visit, I would have to say, the overall process is very straightforward.
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