Egyptian citizenship by descent

Who qualifies, generation by generation

The dates that matter

1. 2004
   July 2004

   Children of an Egyptian father, or of an Egyptian mother (for births from July 2004; earlier maternal-line births by notification to the Minister of the Interior), are Egyptian. Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality, Art. 2 (as amended by Law 154 of 2004: children of Egyptian mothers), Art. 2 ↗

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

Egypt’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father. Where its reasons speak of mothers or fathers, they say:

• Children of an Egyptian father, or of an Egyptian mother (for births from July 2004; earlier maternal-line births by notification to the Minister of the Interior), are Egyptian. Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality, Art. 2 (as amended by Law 154 of 2004: children of Egyptian mothers), Art. 2 ↗
• Whoever is born to an Egyptian father or mother is Egyptian; the law sets no limit on the parent’s own place of birth. Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality, Art. 2 (as amended by Law 154 of 2004: children of Egyptian mothers), Art. 2(1) ↗

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

• Holding this citizenship alongside another is addressed by the law cited; check the current position before relying on it. Law No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality, Art. 2 (as amended by Law 154 of 2004: children of Egyptian mothers) ↗

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The documents, as the rule lists them

Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

• birth

  Civil Status Organization (Ministry of Interior), which holds computerised birth records linked to the national ID number

  By the person’s 14-digit national ID number, or name, date and place of birth. The Egyptian parent’s valid national ID card or Egyptian passport is the proof consulates ask for.

  Ask

  By post, in Arabic · request page ↗

  Takes

  2–9 weeks

  Good to know (2)›

  • For a birth already registered, the embassy orders a computerised extract from the Civil Status Organization in Cairo: $14, back in about 60 days. Apply in person or by USPS mail with the request form, a copy of the Egyptian passport, national ID card or earlier computerised certificate, a signed request to the head of the Civil Status Organization, a cashier’s check to the Embassy of Egypt (no money orders or personal checks) and a tracked, prepaid USPS return envelope. Inside Egypt a relative prints one at any civil registry office.
  • For an adult late registration the embassy asks for national ID copies of siblings, aunts or uncles and the paternal grandfather: collect them from relatives early.

  source ↗

• marriage

  The Egyptian marriage record (Ministry of Justice notary / civil status), or the parents’ foreign marriage certificate registered with the consulate

  The consulate wants the original Egyptian marriage record, or the foreign marriage certificate authenticated by the state and certified by the Egyptian consulate.

  Ask

  In person, in Arabic · request page ↗

  Takes

  2–13 weeks

  Good to know (1)›

  • Names on the foreign birth certificate and the marriage record must match exactly (in the Arabic translation too).

  source ↗

Places on old papers that lead to Egypt

If your family’s records name one of these, Egypt’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.

• Ottoman Empire · also Turkey (before 1923)

  Pick the country the town is in today.

  Today: Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Egypt

Recent and pending changes

We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Egypt.

We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.

If descent doesn’t reach you

2 residence programs lead to Egypt without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

• InvestmentNon-touristic residence by property or deposit (Decree 977/2023)

  Buy real estate or park money in an Egyptian bank and get a renewable residence permit sized to how much you put in: $50,000 for a year, $100,000 for three, $200,000 for five.

• InvestmentCitizenship by investment

  A direct way to an Egyptian passport for a bigger commitment: a non-refundable donation, a real-estate purchase, a business investment, or a refundable bank deposit.

Every source on this page

1 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing.

1. LawLaw No. 26 of 1975 on Egyptian Nationality, Art. 2 (as amended by Law 154 of 2004: children of Egyptian mothers) · Art. 2; Art. 10; Art. 2(1)
2. RecordsEgypt’s Civil Status Authority (Maslahat al-Ahwal al-Madaniya), via an Egyptian consulate or a family member in Egypt: Your Egyptian parent’s birth certificate or national ID
3. RecordsHow to file: Citizen by descent
4. RecordsSetmore online booking (Washington)
5. RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait

Not legal advice. Every answer comes from the country’s own laws and is tested against real cases. Where the law isn’t clear, we say “possible” rather than guess.