Theyâve changed the visa rules in Egypt. I live here on a tourist visa, as do a number of others. Itâs always been fine for many nationalities to renew their visa annually and live here without the need to marry an Egyptian, work or study. The five year residence visa is impossible to obtain without the former two factors. Foreigners come here for a number of reasons; some to retire, some for the cheaper cost of living, some buy property, some for hijrah â itâs one of the easiest countries to live in visa wise so an apt choice for those looking for relief from the stress, expense or isolation they may face in their home countries. Egyptians have always been seen to welcome others and so the former mentioned groups can live in relative peace and happiness.
Those living in this way also tend to integrate better into the society as opposed to the Petroleum expats who simply see it as a benefit to live like kings while their wives, shop, beautify themselves, get chauffeured around by the driver (yes darling), do lunch (and sometimes âdoâ the local help from what Iâve heard), oh and theyâll learn their one Arabic word â Shukran!
The company I worked for before employed me and paid me via their European head office in order to save the hassles of applying for the work visa, the process for which is a mess of red tape and bureaucracy. Many companies here in Egypt are employing foreigners âunder the tableâ for this reason and while itâs not right, they blame the hassle and expense. Others say itâs unfair to the Egyptians who would be able to do the same job and lose the chance because of these âkhawagaatâ. According to my previous employers if this was the case they wouldnât have hired me since the Egyptian is far cheaper, but in their experience less productive. Kheir. Itâs not about who may be better or worse. This will now end!
In the past couple of weeks, those going to get their annual visa renewed at Mogamma in Tahrir (read âHellâs receptionâ and star of the hilarious Adel Imam movie Irhab wil Kebab) have been informed that they will be given 3 months only after which theyâll not be able to obtain another. They will need to get married, get a job or study if they want to remain in the country. In the words of one such foreigner âItâs not enough to love Egypt and Egyptians anymoreâ.
The major shock, upheaval and mess this is going to cause for some doesnât bear thinking about. Iâve read that there are people with property here who canât get the residence visa due to delays in paperwork or general maladministration. There are people who have sold up everything in their home countries to settle in Egypt because there was no indication that this was going to happen. So why did it happen? Apparently itâs a tit for tat strategy in response to the alleged mistreatment of Egyptians by foreign embassies. The reams of paperwork, waiting times and lack of respect which Egyptians face when applying for European visas which is in opposition to the ease foreigners experience when their visas are granted in the airport on arrival, has prompted the foreign minister to issue a number of complaints to the European Ambassadors. Are their complaints justified? Iâm not Egyptian so I havenât experienced it, but assuming that the people doling out this disrespectful treatment are Egyptian embassy workers themselves it gives rise to the fact that there is more to this than simple inequality.
Customer service in general is lacking here in Egypt; sour faced government employees, who could kill you with a look; donât expect a smile! Sullen shop assistants who prefer to lose a sale rather than find you your preferred size; donât expect a âGood dayâ! Supermarket cashiers who throw your groceries down the checkout; donât expect a thank you! So who can expect the embassy staff to be any better?
This man puts the situation into context:
Serious visa people
Sir– Re ‘Unacceptable treatment‘ ( Al-Ahram Weekly 21-27 August), there is definitely no balance in the way Egyptians get their visas and the manner Europeans do. A European can enter and simply “buy” the entry visa at the airport for 15 euros. For an Egyptian, having a visa to the EU entails a mass of paperwork, bank account statements as well as guarantees. Are EU embassies treating Egyptians unfairly? I don’t think so. The process might be complicated but it’s straightforward and clear. There is little manoeuvring an EU embassy official can do to deny a visa if documentation is correct and complete.
The Schengen visa constitutes 25 countries today, and many people “shop” around trying to see cracks in the system and see which embassy is the easiest to trick, not knowing that the News SYSII has all shared data and information across the entire EU and Switzerland. I do not want to imply that any Egyptian applying for an EU visa is trying to go with an ulterior motive, but sadly we have to look at the reality of the day and that sums up the situation in economy terms.
Europeans are in large measure tourists and they come helping the economy spending their euros. I doubt that anyone will arrive to the shores of the land of Egypt to seek illegal employment or asylum. Given the official statistics, Egypt, after Iran and Pakistan, holds for the European Union the most number of forgeries, attempts at cutting the system and definitely trying to work, or as an asylum seeker, when travelling on the basis of a tourist visa.
Do Egyptians feel that they are badly treated? I guess they do, but Europeans never were “too warm” or like Egyptians who like to be “friends” from the first encounter. It might seem rude to Egyptians but from a European point of view, you are a visa applicant. Their process is emotions-free.
Farouk Mogheth
Bangkok
Thailand
Ahram Link
So where will this leave the jobless, single foreigner with no plans or means to study? I donât know about the others but for me itâs an opportunity to put a pin in the map and find a new home. Iâm a freelancer anyway and my clients are not in Egypt so the hassles for me will be limited to selling up furniture, packing my suitcase, saying goodbye to friends, finding a new place to live, changing my phone number, informing all my family, friends and contacts and trying to make sure I stay connected to the internet. I could return to England, but this is not an option I want to take. Itâs hard to go home when youâve changed, people you knew have changed, priorities and interests have changed and if we consider that culture shock is bad, reverse culture shock is worse.
So where to next? Malta, Spain, Turkey? J
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Growing Pains 