New Rules for Granting Residency to

On 8 May, decision No. 828 of 2017 (the “Decision”) was issued by the Ministry of Interior amending decision No. 8180 of 1996 (“Decision 8180”) which regulates foreign residency in Egypt.[1] The Decision introduces a new standard that allows foreigners to be given temporary residency for non-touristic purposes, by way of owning real estate. For a five-year residency, the value of the owned property must not be less than USD 400,000, while it must not be less than USD 200,000 for a three-year residency permit.

Background

In terms of residency, foreigners in Egypt are classified into three groups: (1) foreigners with special residency, (2) foreigners with regular residency, and (3) foreigners of temporary residency.[2] The first type, special residency, is for foreigners who have resided in Egypt for long periods prior to 1952, scientists, writers, artists, industrialists, economists, and others “who perform great services to the country”. The Ministry of Finance has discretion in determining whether a foreigner satisfies these criteria. Regular residency is for foreigners who had resided in Egypt for 15 years that started before 1952 and was uninterrupted until 1960. Temporary residency is that which is granted to foreigners who do not fall under either of the previous categories, and is presently the most common form of foreign residency in Egypt. Typically, temporary foreign residency permits are granted for one renewable year from the Head of the Travel Documents, Immigration, and Nationality Department. The law also allows the Minister of Interior to grant residency permits for a maximum period of 5 years that may be renewed. Decision 8180 contains the details for the regulation of temporary residency. For instance, the law provides that temporary residency may be granted to one of eight categories of foreigners, including investors who are over the age of 60 and who have resided in Egypt for a period of 10 years, in addition to foreigners granted five-year residencies by way of international treaties. As for three-year temporary residency, Decision 8180 provided for 17 categories of foreigners who may be given a temporary residency for that period. The list includes government and public sector employees, political asylum seekers, UN registered refugees, foreigners granted permits under international treaties, and those given permission by the Minister of Interior. Permit fees for temporary residency were amended in February 2017 to be EGP 500 per year, instead of the original EGP 50 per year.[3] It is worth noting that the law allows for foreign ownership of real estate under certain conditions which include that a foreigner does not own more than two properties, and that ownership is for residential purposes and that the surface area of each property does not exceed 400,000 m² This is without prejudice to the right to own real estate that is necessary to undertake special activities that are licensed from relevant authorities. The Cabinet may also exempt some foreigners from these conditions upon its discretion.[4] In any event, the law prohibits foreign ownership of real estate in Sinai and some other border areas.

The Current Decision

The newly issued Decision provides an additional standard according to which foreigners may be granted temporary residency permits for 3 or 5 years. It adds to the criteria for receiving a 3-year residency permit, owning property that is not less than USD 200,000, and to the criteria for receiving a 5-year residency permit, owning property that is not less than USD 400,000 in value. It is also important to note that the Decision defines that owned property must be in the form of buildings and not vacant land, and that the permit and renewal fees be according to the most recent amendments introduced last February.   [1] Minister of Interior Decision No. 828/2017 amending certain provisions of Decision No. 8180/1996 regulating the Residence of Foreigners in Egypt, Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 105 (cont.), 8 May 2017. [2] Law No. 89/1960 on the Entry of Foreigners into Egypt, their Residency, and Exit, Official Gazette, Issue No. 71, 24 March 1960. [3] Minister of Interior Decision No. 344/2017 amending certain provisions of Decisions No. 31/1960 on Visas and No. 180/1964 on the execution of some provisions of Law No. 89/1960, Egyptian Gazette, Issue 38 (cont.) (b), 15 February 2017. [4] Law No. 230/1996 regulating Foreign Ownership of Built Real Estate and Vacant Land, Official Gazette, Issue No. 27 (bis), 14 July 1996.