Planning a Trip to Egypt? Here’s What You Need to Know About New Mobile Phone Fees

If you’re planning a visit to Egypt soon, there’s an important update from Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and Egyptian Customs Authority that you need to know before you travel — so you’re not caught off guard by fees on your phone upon arrival. The new system applies customs fees to any mobile phone entering Egypt from abroad, but members of the Egyptian community abroad are exempt if they follow a few simple steps. There’s also an important warning if you have an Egyptian phone number you don’t use regularly. Full details below.

How to Get Your Phone Fee-Exempted (Egyptians Living Abroad)

The exemption is valid for 90 days per visit, through 3 steps:

If You’re a Tourist or Hold Foreign Residency

• Phone operating on a foreign SIM card (roaming): Fee exemption is applied automatically
• Phone operating on an Egyptian SIM card designated for foreigners: Fee exemption is applied automatically for 90 days per visit

⚠️ Important: If You Have an Egyptian Number, Make Sure It’s Updated

NTRA has referred four Egyptian telecom operators (Etisalat, Vodafone, Orange, and WE) to the Public Prosecution, following complaints from thousands of citizens that their personal data was used to register SIM cards without their knowledge — which led to innocent people being implicated in criminal cases due to numbers registered in their names without their consent. In one widely reported case, an Information Systems student in Sharqia Governorate was sentenced to 25 years in prison on drug-trafficking charges, after a SIM card registered in his name was allegedly used by another drug dealer without his knowledge. Cases like this are exactly why NTRA is urging every Egyptian number holder — even those abroad — to confirm the line is genuinely theirs. Following meetings with the four operators, NTRA approved a package of urgent measures:

• Halting the sale or activation of new mobile numbers to institutions (public and private sector)
• Sending text messages to all existing subscribers, requiring them to visit a branch and sign a new contract in the name of the line’s actual owner
• Any line not updated within the given timeframe will be permanently deactivated
• Accelerating the rollout of biometric identity verification through operators’ mobile apps, so customers can confirm ownership of lines registered in their names — and take action on any number registered to them that they don’t actually hold

If you have an Egyptian number — even one you don’t use daily — make sure your data is updated with your telecom provider to avoid having the line cancelled, or worse, held liable for activity you didn’t commit.

Sources: Official NTRA communications, Scene Now, Egypt Today