Egypt Customs and Duty Free: Allowances, Banned Items and Bringing Souvenirs Home

What are Egypt's duty-free allowances?

Visitors can bring personal belongings into Egypt duty free, plus limited quantities of alcohol, tobacco and perfume; the figures most commonly cited are about one litre of alcohol and 200 cigarettes (or 25 cigars or 200 grams of tobacco) per adult. Egypt's customs authority does not always publish allowances clearly in English, and figures quoted by airlines and travel sites differ slightly, so treat these as a guide and check with your airline or the Egyptian embassy before you travel.

Personal items such as clothing, a camera, a laptop, a phone and a reasonable amount of toiletries are not taxed. Travellers carrying unusually large quantities of new goods, multiple new electronics still in their boxes, or professional equipment may be asked to declare them or pay duty, and occasionally to register valuable equipment so it can be checked out with you on departure. Keep receipts handy if you are travelling with expensive camera gear or an extensive professional kit.

Egyptian airports screen arriving bags by X-ray before you leave the baggage hall, which is how prohibited items such as drones and radios are spotted. If you have nothing to declare, walk through the green channel; customs officers may still ask to look in your bags.

Can you buy duty free when you arrive in Egypt?

Yes: Egyptian airports have duty-free shops in the arrivals hall, before customs, where international passengers can buy a limited amount of alcohol and other goods on showing their passport. This is the cheapest way to have imported spirits or wine during your stay, because duties make imported alcohol expensive in Egyptian shops and hotels.

Look for the Egypt Free Shops counters in the baggage hall at Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. Quantities are restricted per adult, and the arrival purchase generally counts towards your allowance. In past years visitors could also buy a set quantity from Egypt Free Shops outlets in town within a short period after arrival; check whether that still applies. For what is available to drink locally, see alcohol in Egypt.

If you buy duty free at your transit airport, such as Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Singapore, keep it sealed in the tamper-evident bag with the receipt inside until you reach Egypt, and remember liquid limits still apply if you are screened again on a connection.

How much cash can you bring into Egypt?

You can bring any amount of foreign currency, but amounts over US$10,000 (or the equivalent) must be declared on arrival; Egyptian pounds are subject to a separate, much lower limit when entering or leaving.

The limit on carrying Egyptian pounds across the border has been set by the Central Bank of Egypt and has changed over the years; at the time of writing it is a few thousand pounds per person, so check the current figure before you travel. In practice this rarely matters for Australians, who withdraw pounds from ATMs on arrival and bring a small amount of US dollars for tips and emergencies. Declaring larger sums of foreign currency on arrival also makes it easier to take unspent cash out again. For everything else about cash, cards and ATMs, see money in Egypt.

What items are banned or restricted in Egypt?

Do not bring drones, narcotics, controlled medicines without authorisation, weapons or replicas, unapproved two-way radios or satellite equipment, or material considered offensive to religion or public morals.

• Drones: need prior government approval and are routinely held at the airport; see photography and drone rules.
• Medicines: tramadol and other narcotic or psychotropic medicines are tightly controlled, and travellers have been jailed for carrying tramadol. Bring prescription medicines in original packaging with a doctor's letter; see healthcare in Egypt.
• Drugs: penalties for drug offences in Egypt are severe, including long prison sentences, and can include the death penalty for trafficking.
• Weapons: firearms, ammunition, knives beyond small pocket tools, and replica or toy weapons that look real.
• Communications equipment: walkie-talkies, satellite phones and some GPS or radio devices may need approval and can be held at customs.
• Publications and media: pornography and material seen as offensive to religion or critical of the state can be confiscated.

Rules can be updated without much notice, so check current advice on Smartraveller or New Zealand's SafeTravel before you pack.

What can't you take out of Egypt?

Genuine antiquities can never be exported, and removing coral, shells, rocks or sand from protected areas, archaeological sites or the Red Sea's reefs is illegal.

Egypt's antiquities law makes it a serious offence to trade in or export genuine ancient objects, and penalties include heavy fines and imprisonment. Any vendor offering a "real" ancient scarab, statue or coin is either selling a fake or breaking the law; neither ends well. Reproductions are fine and sold everywhere; keep the shop's receipt, which helps if questioned on departure. Licensed antique dealers trading in more recent items, such as nineteenth-century furniture or old books, should provide paperwork for export.

The Red Sea coast and South Sinai are largely protected areas: collecting coral, shells or marine life, even dead pieces on the beach, is prohibited and departing bags at Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh may be checked. Likewise, pocketing stones or sand from the Giza plateau, the temples or the White Desert national park is not allowed.

On departure, bags are X-rayed before check-in as well as at security, so allow extra time at Cairo in particular. Keep receipts for gold and silver jewellery, cartouche pendants, alabaster and any larger purchases, and pack fragile items in hand luggage where liquid rules allow. Shops that ship purchases home for you, such as carpet and furniture workshops, should handle the export paperwork; confirm this in writing when you buy.

What do you need to declare when you return to Australia or New Zealand?

Most Egyptian souvenirs are allowed into Australia and New Zealand, but anything made from plants, wood, animal products, seeds or food must be declared on your incoming passenger card, where biosecurity officers will usually inspect and release it.

Declaring is never a penalty: an undeclared item can bring an on-the-spot fine. Duty-free limits for returning residents are set by the Australian Border Force (abf.gov.au) and New Zealand Customs (customs.govt.nz); at the time of writing, Australia allows adults 2.25 litres of alcohol, 25 cigarettes or 25 grams of tobacco, and A$900 of general goods, while New Zealand's allowances differ. Check both before you shop. For ideas on what is worth buying, see souvenirs from Egypt.