Reacquiring Lost Citizenship in Egypt

You can ask the Interior Minister to restore your Egyptian nationality. Apply to the Nationality Section of the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Administration in Cairo, or through an Egyptian consulate.

Article 18 of the Egyptian Nationality Law lets the Minister restore nationality to anyone who lost it by taking a foreign nationality with permission. There is no waiting period, no residence condition, and no need to give up your other nationality.

The decision is discretionary. The law sets no criteria, and no statistics or processing times are published. Restorations are made by Interior Ministry decision and published in the Official Gazette, usually in batches.

Expect to provide your Egyptian birth certificate, the decision permitting you to naturalise abroad, your foreign naturalisation certificate and your current passport.

Restoration takes effect from the decision. Children born while you were not Egyptian do not become Egyptian through it, so check their position with our descent quiz.

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