Scrolling through two of the most popular travel groups for Egyptians on Facebook, Nomads and Traveller Experience, there is an undeniably significant volume of angry posts about visa rejections by the groups’ Egyptian users. Whether the visas in question are for business, education, or tourism, many of the posts have one thing in common: keen travelers can discern no clear reason, or a reasonable one at least, for the rejections they received. Many Egyptians travel abroad to spend their honeymoons, pursue higher education, do business, or to simply enjoy exploring new countries. Nevertheless, Egypt is not particularly lucky with passport privilege. According to Henley and Partners’ (H&P) 2022 passport global ranking, Egypt ranks at 94 out of 112. Albania, Malaysia, Indonesia, Maldives, Tanzania, Jordan, and Ecuador are some of the few countries Egyptians can explore without a visa or with visa upon arrival. For that reason, many Egyptians are forced to go through endless processes and obtain endless documents, only to get rejected, or receive their visa after intended travel dates have passed. Setbacks and delays Reeham Mourad and Hanya Kotb are two young Egyptian women who, like many others,…
Between Rejections and Delays, Egyptians’ Experiences With Travel Visas
February 22, 2023
