TORONTO — The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the requirement for pre-entry visas currently applied to Canadian citizens travelling to Egypt will be waived as of Dec. 1, 2024.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates announces that the Arab Republic of Egypt has decided to waive the requirement of pre-entry visas currently applied to Canadian citizens traveling to Egypt, while allowing for obtaining a visa upon arrival at Egyptian ports of entry,” says the Ministry in a Facebook update. “This is in addition to reactivating the option of applying for and obtaining an electronic visa (E-VISA). These procedures are scheduled to take effect as of December 1, 2024 for all Canadian citizens arriving in Egyptian territories starting from that date.”

News of the return of the e-visas first broke last month when Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty told Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly that Canadians would soon be able to use the streamlined process again.

The moves come just about a year after Egypt suspended Canadians’ ability to get a visa online or upon arriving in Egypt, which cost roughly $35 for a single person.

Since then Canadians have been paying $150 and mailing in an application form, passport and itinerary to get a visa. The frustrating process, part of a diplomatic rift that saw travellers caught in the middle, raised the ire of the Canadian travel industry.