Egypt citizenship by investment: costs, route & status

What are the four investment routes?

Every route starts at the same door. Applicants, or an immigration broker office on their behalf, bring the file to the Citizenship Applicants Reception Office on the first floor of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) building, 3 Salah Salem Road, Cairo. The US$10,000 application fee is non-refundable and travels by bank transfer from abroad. ¹

Behind that door are four investments, each sent from abroad in US dollars. Each one leaves you holding something different afterward. ²

• A contribution of US$250,000, paid to the state treasury as direct, non-refundable revenue. ²
• A property purchase of at least US$300,000. ²
• A project of at least US$350,000, set up or joined under the Investment Law, Law No. 72 of 2017, plus a separate non-refundable contribution of US$100,000. ²
• A deposit of US$500,000 in a special Central Bank of Egypt account, recoverable after 3 years in Egyptian pounds, interest-free. ²

Two thresholds have come down. An undated application form from GAFI lists property at US$500,000 and a 3-year deposit at US$1,000,000. ⁴ The program page, read on 13 September 2026, lists US$300,000 and US$500,000. ² The project route changed shape, and the US$10,000 fee stayed the same. ^{4, 1}

Before you compare routes, decide which status you need. MMT's guide to citizenship, residency and tax residency separates the three, and the citizenship by investment country guides set Egypt beside other programs.

How much does each route cost?

Add the fee and the four routes start at US$260,000, US$310,000, US$460,000 and US$510,000. Each total is a route amount plus the US$10,000 application fee, as read on 13 September 2026. ^{2, 1} The totals leave out lawyers' and brokers' fees, certified documents and any translations, the medical examination, bank charges, property transaction costs, and the running costs of a property or a business.

Match the route to what you want left afterward.

• For the smallest single transfer: the contribution, all of it kept by the state. ^{2, 1}
• For money that comes back: the deposit, US$500,000 repaid in pounds after 3 years. ²
• For an asset: property, with a further US$250,000 if you sell within 5 years. ²
• For a business you plan to run in Egypt anyway: the project, with US$110,000 kept by the state. ^{2, 1}

For the lines outside these totals, MMT's guide to what citizenship by investment costs in full sets out what to price before any transfer.

How is the deposit repaid?

The US$500,000 deposit comes back in Egyptian pounds. It sits in a special Central Bank of Egypt account for 3 years, then becomes recoverable in pounds at the exchange rate the Central Bank announces on the day of recovery, interest-free. ²

Because the pound amount is set on the repayment day, it equals US$500,000 at the Central Bank's rate on that day. ² Beyond the US$10,000 fee, the price of this route is 3 years of forgone interest on US$500,000, plus the cost of turning pounds back into dollars. ¹

Can I pay in instalments?

Yes, on two routes. The US$250,000 contribution and the US$300,000 property purchase can each be paid in instalments over a period of up to 1 year. ²

The refund rule is the part to read twice. If you default or withdraw the application, the amounts already paid come back in Egyptian pounds at the Central Bank's rate on the refund date, capped at the rate on the date you paid, interest-free. ²

That cap works in one direction. If the pound weakens between payment and refund, the refund stays at the pound value on the day you paid, and those pounds buy fewer dollars. If the pound strengthens, the refund uses the lower refund-date rate and converts back to the dollars you paid. ²

In numbers: each dollar of an instalment paid on 13 September 2026 carries a refund ceiling of EGP 51.3068 at that day's buy rate, or EGP 51.4443 at the sell rate. ^{2, 3}

If a year of instalments stretches the budget, MMT's residency guides cover long stays that stop short of citizenship.

What does selling within 5 years cost?

An early sale has a fixed price. Dispose of the property within 5 years of the date you acquired it, and keeping Egyptian citizenship requires a further US$250,000. That payment goes by bank transfer from abroad into the Central Bank, as non-refundable revenue to the state treasury. ²

The project route runs its own clock, from the date the project starts operating. If, within 5 years of that date, the project is liquidated or halted, or you dispose of it or your share, keeping citizenship requires another US$250,000, also non-refundable and sent from abroad. ²

Keep the papers that fix your start date: the day you acquired the property, or the project's first day of operation. That date sets the end of the 5-year window. ²

How long does the application take?

By the published deadlines, a complete file reaches a final decision within 15 months. That is 3 to 6 months to a preliminary decision, 6 months of temporary residence to make the investment, and up to 3 months to the final decision. Collecting certified documents comes first, before that count starts. ¹

1. 01

   File and pay the fee

   Send the US$10,000 non-refundable fee by bank transfer from abroad, in US dollars or the equivalent in another foreign currency. Hand in the file at the reception office in Cairo, in person or through an immigration broker office. ¹

2. 02

   Preliminary decision, 3 to 6 months

   The citizenship unit examines the file and decides on it within 3 to 6 months of the date the file is complete, weighing national security after consulting the security authorities. ¹

3. 03

   Temporary residence, 6 months

   With preliminary approval from the Prime Minister, you receive 6 months of temporary residence in Egypt to put the investment in place and submit formal proof of it. ¹

4. 04

   Final decision, within 3 months

   The unit completes its review and sends its final recommendation to the Prime Minister. The decision granting citizenship comes within 3 months of the date the investment requirements are met. ¹

Those 6 months are the window to complete the investment and prove it. Have the property contract, the project documents or the deposit transfer ready before the preliminary decision arrives. ¹

What are the document requirements?

Order the certificates from other governments first. Two items on the list need your home country's authorities and certification by Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: a criminal-record certificate and an official record of your movements over 5 years. ¹

• A passport copy and a birth certificate or official birth extract. ¹
• Six recent personal photographs. ¹
• A declaration of any other nationalities you hold. ¹
• The number of wives and children (the unit's wording), with their nationalities and supporting documents. ¹
• An official criminal-record certificate from your home country, certified by its competent authority and by Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus one from Egypt. ¹
• An official 5-year record of your movements from your home country and from your country of permanent residence, certified by Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¹
• An official medical examination result from a government hospital. ¹

Start with a timeline of your names, nationalities and countries of residence, then match each line to the office that issues its record. A life spread across several countries means more requests and more certifications. Build that time into the plan before you commit money.

What does the application ask about family?

Wives and children, by number and nationality. That is the unit's wording, and the file needs the documents that support each. ¹

One family rule comes from Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: a foreign wife of an Egyptian man acquires Egyptian nationality 2 years after she applies and declares her wish, provided the marriage lasts those 2 years. Every 6 months, both spouses attend the consulate in person with their passports to declare that the marriage continues. ⁵

That route is separate from the investment program, and its wording covers a wife. Put three questions to the citizenship unit in writing before you plan a family move.

1. Does the 2-year route for a foreign wife apply to the wife of an investor who gains citizenship? ⁵
2. Which route applies to an investor's foreign husband?
3. How are minor children treated, and at which stage of the application?

Dual citizenship and other countries' rules

Egypt asks you to declare every nationality you already hold. The declaration is on the same document list as the certificates from your home country and your country of permanent residence. ¹

Each country whose passport you carry sets its own rules for citizens who take another nationality. Ask its nationality authority what a second passport changes for you there, and ask the citizenship unit for Egypt's side, before you file.

Tax follows separate rules. MMT's guide to citizenship, residency and tax residency keeps the three apart. If Egypt is already a place you return to, the Egypt travel guide covers the trips themselves.