Forgive the newbie

I am currently trying to find out what the immigration laws are for Egypt.
I am German, my boyfriend is British. We're currently looking to up and leave the country and start over somewhere new.

We've been on holiday in the Sinai area (Dahab) and kind of liked it there, so it is a consideration, but we know next to nothing about the laws that govern immigration and possibly starting a business there.

I'm an IT professional by trade, my boyfriend is a camera man, but neither of us really want to be stuck doing that for the rest of our days.

What we were looking into at the moment is to go into the bed & breakfast / restaurant / cafe business out there, or possibly doing something IT related (Computer repairs, Network setups, Computer training etc)

I was wondering if anyone would know a good source of information (aside from this one ) where I can find out what I need to qualify for immigration and starting a business.

Thanks in advance,

You and your fiance should not face a lot of difficulties starting a business, but I would suggest getting a 'trustworthy' native to help you in the process, as sort of a middleman. And my best advice is to make sure this person is already an EXPERIENCED (preferably) successful business man to help you with all the licensing procedures and to be sort of a middleman for the business you seek to start.

A restuarant license could take forever (unless you grease a few palms) but a bed and breakfast idea would be great if you qualify it under the tourism industry, it could exempt you from paying taxes for 5 years, under the GAFI law, and Invsestment Law of 1997 (also called law 8 of 1997) and the good news under this law your business or partnership could be 100% foreign owned, otherwise you would need an Egyptian partner and they portion is usually 51/49 with them owning the majority.

If your business (restaurant) would not qualify under the investment law, and you do not want an Egyptian partner, then I would advise you to become incorporated.

There are different types of formations,
to become a joint stock company of limited partnership by shares, you would need a minimum of 250,000 LE in working capital (deposited with an Egyptian bank), or a Limited Liability Company, LLC, and you only need a working capital of 50,000 LE, in both cases at least 10% have to be guaranteed by a bank certificate, before you can apply for incorporation with the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

If you can get an attorney to help you locate a "FREE ZONE" to start your business, then you could also be exempt from import duties needed for you business.

I suggest you try to learn as much about running a business as you can, as it is a great deal more than just an ideal and working capital. However once you own a business in Egypt, you can apply for legal residents status which would give you the same benefits as a native Egyptian, such as discounts to hotels, sites, etc, and exemption of the return entry stamp on your visa.

To get a 'reputable' attorney may cost a little more, but its worth it, as some attorneys cannot be trusted. But my ideal of 'reputable' is a firm that is already representing certain well known multinational companies, as their reputation is much too important for them to get involved with unscrupulous activity.

And try to learn as much as you can, so that you can also tests the attorney's knowledge. i.e. if you mention, GAFI law to him, and he has no idea what it is, then you know, he's not the one to use.

Good luck