[MaidenScotland]

A British friend who holds a UK driving licence plus an Egyptian one was refused car hire as he does not have an international licence. If you are British and you want to hire a car in Britain your name must show up on the electrol role under the address that is on your licence, he could not use his Egyptian licence.


So that is me getting the bus,

 

[Musical]

Obtaining an International Driving Permit in Egypt.

To get the IDP, your Egyptian driver's license must still be good for at least a year. You have to take this license (no matter in what governorate it was issued) and your passport (doesn't matter what country the passport is from, dual citizens can use their foreign passport) to the traffic office next to Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Medinet Nasr in Cairo.

At this office, you need to ask for the "letter for the international license." There is one room at this office where there are two guys whose sole job is to issue these letters. Give them your license and your passport and they will record its info in a book and give you a small slip of paper (the "letter") and tell you to take it down the hall to another office to have it sealed. All this is done free of charge and will take about 10-15 minutes.

Now you need to go to the office of the Egyptian Automobile and Touring Club. This is in downtown Cairo on Sharia Qasr al-Nil. It's about halfway between Midan Tahrir and Midan Talaat Harb, across the street from HSBC. You will see an archway leading into a courtyard. Go through the archway and enter the entrance on the left side of the courtyard and go to the second or third floor (depending on how you count!) and turn right (you will see a sign in English). The office is at the end of this hall.

They accept applications between 9:30 and 12:30. You will need to give them the letter, 2 personal photos, a photocopy of your driver's license, the original driver's license, your passport, and 40LE. They will give you an application to fill out in English and Arabic. If you are a dual citizen, you can put your foreign name on the English part so that what appears on the IDP matches your foreign identification rather than the official Egyptian name. I put the Egyptian name on the Arabic part and the American name on the English part.

They will hold on to your license while they process the paperwork, give you a receipt, and will tell you that it will be ready at 2pm. You will get back an IDP that is good for one year and they will have stapled (!?) your Egyptian license to the IDP.

If you time things properly, you could easily finish all this in less than 4 hours in a single day.

 

[GM1]

The last year I have rented (three times) a car in Holland and I have used my Dutch driving licence. On my licence the place of residence is Hurghada (I renewed it during living here in Egypt). There was no problem renting a car.
So apparently there is a difference between UK and Holland.

 

[MaidenScotland]

The last year I have rented (three times) a car in Holland and I have used my Dutch driving licence. On my licence the place of residence is Hurghada (I renewed it during living here in Egypt). There was no problem renting a car.
So apparently there is a difference between UK and Holland.

Yes I am posting about the UK I have no knowledge of Holland,

This is just a newish requirement as he hired one in November without any hassle.

 

[MaidenScotland]

To get the IDP, your Egyptian driver's license must still be good for at least a year. You have to take this license (no matter in what governorate it was issued) and your passport (doesn't matter what country the passport is from, dual citizens can use their foreign passport) to the traffic office next to Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Medinet Nasr in Cairo.

At this office, you need to ask for the "letter for the international license." There is one room at this office where there are two guys whose sole job is to issue these letters. Give them your license and your passport and they will record its info in a book and give you a small slip of paper (the "letter") and tell you to take it down the hall to another office to have it sealed. All this is done free of charge and will take about 10-15 minutes.

Now you need to go to the office of the Egyptian Automobile and Touring Club. This is in downtown Cairo on Sharia Qasr al-Nil. It's about halfway between Midan Tahrir and Midan Talaat Harb, across the street from HSBC. You will see an archway leading into a courtyard. Go through the archway and enter the entrance on the left side of the courtyard and go to the second or third floor (depending on how you count!) and turn right (you will see a sign in English). The office is at the end of this hall.

They accept applications between 9:30 and 12:30. You will need to give them the letter, 2 personal photos, a photocopy of your driver's license, the original driver's license, your passport, and 40LE. They will give you an application to fill out in English and Arabic. If you are a dual citizen, you can put your foreign name on the English part so that what appears on the IDP matches your foreign identification rather than the official Egyptian name. I put the Egyptian name on the Arabic part and the American name on the English part.

They will hold on to your license while they process the paperwork, give you a receipt, and will tell you that it will be ready at 2pm. You will get back an IDP that is good for one year and they will have stapled (!?) your Egyptian license to the IDP.

If you time things properly, you could easily finish all this in less than 4 hours in a single day.

thanks...

I thought it might be the embassy.
Trouble is they have brought in this new regulation without telling anyone, my friend turned up at the airport with two suitcases and a pre booked car from a company he uses 3 times a year only to find himself on the bus and if he hadn't told me I would have been sitting on the seat behind him,

 

[GM1]

Thanks! I will be checking this with the car company before hiring a car next time I travel. Maybe they have changed the rules in the whole of Europe! My last car hire was in September.

 

[GM1]

I have checked the website where I normally rent a car, economycarrentals.com (you can rent a car in the whole of Europe from them, not only for Holland)
I have searched and put in my destination as London, this is written:

International driver’s licence is required for non EU citizens (except Swiss). Driver licence must be written in Latin letters.
English customers must present a credit card or bank statement for the credit card being presented and also one of the following: passport, identity card, another credit card, utility bill, building society book or statement, police warrant card or HM Forces ID card. Non-English customer must present travel documentation confirming dates of arrival and departure to/from the UK.

Local Terms And Conditions

I have also checked the website of Hertz UK and found only the same kind of information as above.

 

[hurghadapat]

I have checked the website where I normally rent a car, economycarrentals.com (you can rent a car in the whole of Europe from them, not only for Holland)
I have searched and put in my destination as London, this is written: Local Terms And Conditions

I have also checked the website of Hertz UK and found only the same kind of information as above.

May be that different companies have different policies...have just found this one and seems you can use your UK licence.

What documents you need when you arrive to pick up hire cars
A full driving licence for all named drivers, with details of all endorsements.
If you've got the new photocard licence, you also need the paper counterpart.
The cardholder of the card used to book online (who must also be a named driver).
A credit or debit card (but only the debit cards listed above).
Another form of identification - one of the following if you're paying by credit card, two if you're paying with a debit card:
Passport
Another credit or debit card
Post Office savings book
Building society deposit book or statement
Police warrant card
Credit finance agreement
Evidence that you work where you say you do
If you live outside of the UK and are paying for the hire car by cash or debit card, you will also need to show your passport and a confirmed return flight ticket at the start of rental. This still applies if you have a UK passport and/or UK driving license.