Before you start

A passport valid for at least six months
A confirmed job offer from an Egyptian employer registered with the Ministry of Manpower
Original diplomas or professional certificates translated into Arabic
A police clearance certificate from your home country
A medical examination including a mandatory HIV/AIDS test conducted at the Ministry of Health's Central Laboratory

Step-by-step

1
Confirm the employer is registered with the Ministry of Manpower
An unregistered employer cannot sponsor a work permit at all. Establish this before you accept the offer, not after you have resigned elsewhere.
Via employerWho: Your employer
2
Start the Arabic translation of your qualifications immediately
Original degrees and professional certificates must be translated into Arabic, and depending on your country may also need legalisation. This and the police certificate are the usual bottleneck, and both are entirely front-loadable.
In personWho: You
3
Complete the medical, including the HIV test
The HIV/AIDS test must be conducted at the Central Laboratory of the Egyptian Ministry of Health. Results from a doctor at home are not accepted in its place, so this cannot be done before you arrive.
In personWho: You
4
Employer files the work permit application
Ministry of Manpower approval typically comes within about two weeks, subject to Egypt's workforce rules prioritising Egyptian nationals, which is why the qualification documentation carries real weight rather than being a formality.
Via employerWho: Your employer≈2 weeks
5
Wait out the Ministry of Interior security check
The residence visa follows the work permit, and the security clearance can take up to thirty days on top. This is the step that sets your real start date, and it is the one nobody budgets for.
In personWho: Ministry of InteriorUp to 30 days
6
Register your residence in Alexandria Governorate
Routine residence paperwork is handled at the governorate where you actually live. Doing this properly in Alexandria matters downstream — it is what makes your driving licence application, among other things, filable in the right place.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with at least six months' validity
Job offer from an employer registered with the Ministry of Manpower
Diplomas and professional certificates translated into Arabic
Police clearance certificate from your home country
Medical certificate including an HIV/AIDS test from the Ministry of Health Central Laboratory
Passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

Two ministries in sequence, and the second one sets your start date.

People plan around the work permit and are blindsided by the residence visa. Manpower approval in two weeks feels fast until the Interior security check adds up to thirty days behind it. Tell your employer your realistic availability is about six weeks out — an Alexandria employer used to hiring locally may genuinely not know this.

Source: Ministry of Manpower work permit and Ministry of Interior residence visa requirements

The HIV test must be done in Egypt, at one specific laboratory.

A mandatory HIV/AIDS test at the Ministry of Health's Central Laboratory is a documented requirement, and results from your own doctor will not substitute. It is unusual by international standards and worth knowing about before you fly rather than discovering mid-process with a start date already agreed.

Source: Egyptian work permit medical requirements

Governorate matters. Alexandria is not a suburb of Cairo administratively.

Egyptian administration is governorate-based for most of what you will queue for, from residence registration to the Traffic Department. A guide written for Cairo — and almost all of them are — will name the wrong offices. Establish which Alexandria Governorate office handles each step before you take a morning off work for it.

Source: Egyptian governorate administration

Quota rules prioritise Egyptian nationals, so the role has to justify itself on paper.

Egypt's workforce regulations restrict the proportion of foreign staff an employer may hire. A role a local candidate could plainly fill is harder to approve, which is exactly why the Arabic-translated qualifications and the experience documentation carry weight. Thin paperwork on a marginal role is how applications stall.

Source: Egyptian workforce regulations

Common mistakes to avoid

Planning your start date around the work permit alone and ignoring the Interior security check.
Arriving with an HIV test from home — it must be done at the Ministry of Health Central Laboratory.
Leaving the Arabic translation of your qualifications until the application is filed.
Accepting an offer from an employer not registered with the Ministry of Manpower.
Following Cairo-specific instructions for governorate-level steps that must be done in Alexandria.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.