Import restrictions for Egypt 🇪🇬

Updated: July 2026

Customs rules can change. Before sending a parcel or travelling, check the current requirements on the customs authority's website. This material is for reference only and is not legal advice.

General information

These rules are useful both for people carrying items across the border themselves and for those sending a parcel with a fellow traveller. Used and new items may be imported duty-free; the value of new items may not exceed EGP 10,000, otherwise a customs declaration on Form 93 is submitted (the form is requested at the border crossing). Duty-free shops (within 48 hours after arrival) have a purchase limit of USD 200.

✅ Allowed with restrictions

💰 Cash

Foreign currency may be imported in any amount, but amounts over the equivalent of USD 10,000 must be declared (no duty, for record-keeping and later export). Egyptian pounds may be imported and exported within a limit of EGP 5,000.

🚬 Tobacco and alcohol

You may import duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes, or 25 cigars, or 200 g of tobacco;
• 1 L of alcohol (in factory packaging).

In addition, you may buy alcohol at the duty-free shops on arrival (now with a small tax, within the overall USD 200 limit).

🍕 Food

Food for personal use is not subject to duty. It is prohibited to import poultry-related products (live poultry, eggs, poultry meat in any form, even prepared dishes), as well as seeds, plants, fresh vegetables and fruit, raw potato and cotton.

💊 Medicines

Medicines for personal use are imported in their original packaging with a prescription (preferably in English) issued in the name of the person carrying the medicine. A permit is required for narcotic and psychotropic products. Note: in Egypt, a number of common painkillers (for example, those with tramadol) are classed as strictly controlled — without documents, confiscation and serious consequences are possible.

🐶 Pets

To bring in a cat or dog, you need a veterinary health certificate with vaccination records, issued no earlier than 2 weeks before the trip. On arrival, the pet is examined by a veterinarian of the Ministry of Agriculture; if there are concerns, the animal may be placed in quarantine for 15 days.

🌸 Plants

To import plants and seeds, an import permit is required; fresh vegetables, fruit, seeds and raw potato are generally prohibited from import.

❌ Prohibited without special permits:

• drugs;
• drones (prohibited since 2017 without a permit from the civil aviation authorities and the Ministry of Defence — fines and imprisonment);
• metal detectors;
• antiques (exporting antiquities is strictly prohibited; importing replicas is allowed);
• weapons, ammunition and toys in the shape of weapons;
• walkie-talkies and satellite phones (without a permit);
• cotton;
• hazardous or radioactive waste;
• indecent material, etc.

This service provides information for reference purposes only, is not a customs authority, and does not guarantee its completeness or accuracy. Responsibility for complying with customs rules and for the contents of the goods being moved lies with the person importing or exporting them. Before moving goods, check the current requirements in official sources.

Sources:

Egyptian Customs Authority

General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC)