Egypt's 100-Pound Departure Fee Written Into Law — and the Tourism Discount Is Gone
President El-Sisi has ratified Law No. 148 of 2026, fixing a 100-pound fee on departure from Egypt, in force since Friday 31 July per Al-Masry Al-Youm. The amount is not new — but the 50-pound discount for tourism travel is gone.
31 July 2026
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ratified Law No. 148 of 2026, amending the 1984 law that imposes a fee for the development of the state's financial resources, according to Egypt Independent.
The amendment sets a fee of 100 Egyptian pounds on departure from Egyptian territory. Masrawy reported that it rewrites items 5 and 19 of the first article of Law No. 147 of 1984 and takes effect the day after publication in the Official Gazette; Al-Masry Al-Youm reported the provisions came into force on Friday, 31 July.
The exemptions are narrow. Egypt Independent and Masrawy both list only drivers of public passenger and cargo transport vehicles — Egyptian and foreign alike — and workers on cross-border truck lines. Tourists are not exempt.
The same law imposes a fee of 35 pounds on every tonne of cement produced, of all types, with plants required to remit the money to the Egyptian Tax Authority.
The 100-pound figure itself is not new. In June, Egypt Independent reported that Mohamed Sorour, head of the Egyptian Tax Authority's pre-monitoring unit, said the departure fee is fixed at 100 pounds and had not been modified in its value or its legal nature, and that circulating reports of increases or new fees were inaccurate.
What changed was the mechanism. A 50-pound discount had previously applied to tourism-related travel, which the authority said created verification problems across agencies; the reorganisation applies the 100 pounds uniformly, to citizens and foreigners alike.
The law applies nationally, so it covers travellers leaving through Hurghada and Marsa Alam international airports. None of the reports specified where or how the fee is collected.