Egypt offers conscription settlement for Egyptians abroad at $5,000

CAIRO - 27 July 2023: The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday the final acceptance of conscription settlement for Egyptians residing abroad, allowing them to settle their conscription status for 5,000 dollars or euros. 

 

This initiative is part of the government's efforts to provide facilitation and achieve social stability for these individuals.

 

The decision was made after receiving numerous requests from Egyptian citizens abroad who were concerned about returning to Egypt and being unable to leave again due to the lack of a conscription status declaration.

 

Registration for the conscription settlement initiative will begin on August 14th and will be open for 30 days on the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Passport renewal will not be allowed for those individuals until their conscription status is settled.

 

The settlement requests are accepted for Egyptian residents abroad aged between 19 and 30, as well as those above the age of 30, according to their specific circumstances.

 

The Foreign Ministry's initiative provides a viable solution for these travelers in exchange for a payment in foreign currency. This comes at a challenging time for the Egyptian economy, facing a liquidity crisis and difficulties in accumulating dollars. The delay in receiving the second tranche of the $3 billion IMF loan adds further concerns to the economic situation. In June, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stated that the country has no immediate plans to float the currency again, emphasizing the importance of exchange rates as a matter of "national security" and making decisions that positively impact the lives of Egyptians.

 

The IMF had approved a 46-month program for Egypt with a value of $3 billion in December. The program is subject to two reviews each year until mid-September 2026, with the first review originally scheduled for mid-March but delayed. This delay is attributed to the government's non-implementation of the offerings program and the lack of necessary flexibility in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound. While the first payment of $347 million was received in December, the remaining payments are expected to be received in March and September of each year from 2023 to 2026, pending the upcoming review scheduled for September.