Egypt residence and citizenship

Residence by real estate purchase — 1-year permit

Property worth at least USD 50,000; renewable 1-year residence permit while held. No fee or processing time is stated for this residence route.

Sources: Egypt's New Residence by Investment Program Starts at US$50,000 (IMI Daily, summary)

Residence by bank deposit — 1-year permit

Deposit of at least USD 50,000 in an Egyptian state-owned bank; renewable 1-year permit while maintained. No fee or processing time is stated for this residence route.

Sources: Egypt's New Residence by Investment Program Starts at US$50,000 (IMI Daily, summary)

Residence by real estate purchase — 3-year permit

Property worth at least USD 100,000; renewable 3-year residence permit while held. No fee or processing time is stated for this residence route.

Sources: Egypt's New Residence by Investment Program Starts at US$50,000 (IMI Daily, summary)

Residence by bank deposit — 3-year permit

Deposit of at least USD 100,000 (or another recognised foreign currency) in an Egyptian state-owned bank; renewable 3-year permit while maintained. No fee or processing time is stated for this residence route.

Sources: Egypt's New Residence by Investment Program Starts at US$50,000 (IMI Daily, summary)

Residence by real estate purchase — 5-year permit

Foreign owner of one or more registered Egyptian properties worth at least USD 200,000 receives a renewable 5-year residence permit while the property is held. The figure is set in USD by the programme. No government fee or processing time is stated by the cited residence summary. These permits do not lead to permanent residence or citizenship on their own.

Sources: Egypt's New Residence by Investment Program Starts at US$50,000 (IMI Daily, summary)

Citizenship by investment — non-refundable donation

Direct citizenship (path 0 years) for a non-refundable contribution of USD 250,000 (Decree 876/2023 left it unchanged; payable in instalments over one year). The programme charges a separate USD 10,000 government fee; typical processing is six to nine months.

Sources: Egypt citizenship by investment options (IMI Daily, summary)

Citizenship by investment — real estate

Direct citizenship for a real estate investment of at least USD 300,000 (cut from USD 500,000 by Decree 876/2023). A separate USD 10,000 government fee applies; typical processing is six to nine months.

Sources: Egypt citizenship by investment options (IMI Daily, summary)

Citizenship by investment — business investment plus donation

A separate USD 10,000 government fee applies; typical processing is six to nine months.

Sources: Egypt citizenship by investment options (IMI Daily, summary)

Citizenship by investment — refundable bank deposit

Direct citizenship for a USD 500,000 deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt for three years. Returned in Egyptian pounds at the withdrawal-date rate without interest; currency risk remains. A separate USD 10,000 government fee applies; typical processing is six to nine months.

Sources: Egypt citizenship by investment options (IMI Daily, summary)

Three-year residence for recipients of an Egyptian public pension

Only foreign nationals receiving a monthly pension from Egypt's National Authority for Insurance and Pensions qualify under the cited embassy rule; a foreign pension alone is not stated to qualify. Renewable three-year residence. No minimum pension amount, application fee or processing time is stated. Ordinary naturalization may be requested after ten consecutive years of normal residence, subject to the statutory conditions.

Sources: Three-year residence for Egyptian pension recipients (Embassy of Egypt in Ireland), Egyptian Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975, articles 4 and 10 (Arab Republic of Egypt, English text via UNHCR Refworld)

Employer-sponsored foreign work and residence

The Ministry lists a 2025 labour law. This partial service review does not validate all implementing rules, nationality exemptions or a current end-to-end time. Ordinary naturalization can be requested after ten consecutive years of residence with Arabic familiarity; this is a separate discretionary citizenship process. Fragomen confirms the work and residence permit route remains in use.

Sources: Employer request for a foreign worker (Egyptian Ministry of Labour), Foreign resident application and payment evidence (Egyptian Ministry of Interior, Passports and Immigration), Current Egyptian labour-law listing (Egyptian Ministry of Labour), Egyptian Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975, articles 4 and 10 (Arab Republic of Egypt, English text via UNHCR Refworld), Egypt work and residence permits (Fragomen, summary)

Residence as spouse of an Egyptian citizen

EY describes ordinary residence of three to five years for foreign spouses of Egyptians. The residence application fee and processing time are not stated. Citizenship conditions differ: a foreign wife of an Egyptian may seek nationality after two years under article 7, while an otherwise qualifying foreign husband may use the ordinary ten-year rule; no single citizenship year is modeled.

Sources: Egyptian Nationality Law No. 26 of 1975, articles 4 and 10 (Arab Republic of Egypt, English text via UNHCR Refworld), Egypt ordinary residence for spouses (EY, summary)