Egyptian passport
| Egyptian passport | |
|---|---|
 The front cover of a contemporary Egyptian passport. | |
 Identity page of the Egyptian passport | |
| Issued by |
 Egypt |
| Type of document | Passport |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility requirements | Egyptian citizenship |
Egyptian passports are issued to nationals of Egypt for the purpose of international travel. Besides serving as a proof of Egyptian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Egyptian consular officials abroad if needed. Egyptian passports are valid for seven years for adults, and is issued for lesser periods for school or college students, or those who have not finalized their status of the military conscription. The Egyptian Passport is not renewable; one must apply for a new passport after their original has expired. Starting in 2008, The Egyptian government introduced newer machine readable passports (MRP), in order to comply with international passport standards and ICAO requirements. The newer passports offer better security and state-of-the-art anti forging parameters. However, it seems that the new passports are printed on soft material that makes them prone to wear and damage much faster than the older ones especially because the new passports have soft covers.
Passport Features
Egyptian passports are dark green, with the Egyptian Coats of Arms emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The word "جواز سفر•PASSPORT" (the former being the Arabic equivalent) is inscribed below the coat of arms, and "جمهورية مصر العربية•ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT" above. The passport contains 52 pages. The passports are opened from their right end and their pages are arranged from right to left.
Issuing Requirements
Egyptian passports are usually issued to Egyptian citizens for a period of seven years. To apply for a passport,either an Egyptian National ID card is required, or a computerized birth certificate for those below the age of 16. Students must furnish evidence of enrollment at the time of application. Some categories of applicants, mainly first-time applicants who are not students or pensioners, are required to pay a guarantee at the time of application. Applicants with a history of frequent travel are exempted from this requirement.
Issuing Authorities
All Egyptian passports are issued from the Ministry of Interior's Travel Documents, Immigration and Nationality Administration (TDINA) bureaus or from an Egyptian Consulate abroad. The new MRP is currently issued in Egypt only and Egyptian embassies and consulates overseas may only receive applications and return passports to applicants, but cannot print machine-readable documents, and can only issue handwritten emergency passports if required. An application for a passport made in London, for example, would be forwarded to the authorities in Cairo but the issuing authority would be the Egyptian embassy in London.
Identity Information Pages
Egyptian Passport Information appears on the hard cover, and includes the data as shown in the following order
- Passport No.
- National ID
- Place of Issue
- Date of Issue
- Date of Expiry
- Issuing Authority
- Photo of Passport Holder
- Barcode (encodes the machine readable code + passport serial number + issuing office number)
- Name
- Place of Birth
- Date of Birth
- National ID number
- Profession
- Name of Husband and Nationality (in Arabic)-married females only
- Military Status (in Arabic)-males only
- Address (in Arabic)
- Machine Readable Zone
Passport Note
The passports contain a note from the issuing state that is addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that state and requesting that they be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The textual portions of Egyptian passports is printed in both English and Arabic. The note inside of Egyptian passports states, in English:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs requests all whom it may concern to permit the bearer of this passport to pass and give him help and protection whenever necessary.
Languages
The textual portions of Egyptian passports were traditionally printed in both Arabic and French, including both during and after the United Arab Republic union with Syria. Recently, English has taken the place of French, which no longer appears on the passport.
