Atlys Egypt eVisa for Indians: Experience

Atlys is a new age visa assistance solution. Recently I tried Atlys service to get eVisa for Egypt. Initially I was skeptical, but after a friend confirmed he got Egypt Visa through Atlys I decided to give it a try.

Here's a summary of my experience with Atlys, followed by detailed review

• I applied on 3rd Sep, visa was issued on 3rd Sep, but Atlys did so many unwanted drama for a week and released it only on 9th Sep
• Some steps like checking with Interpol, police data base feels fake
• No ticket was asked, no hotel booking, no application form, no bank statement, itinerary or anything- just a photo and passport. Pretty convenient compared to applying via VFS.
  
• Atlys adds an invite letter on their own, while applying via VFS or directly with Egypt govt website we have to arrange an invite letter on our own-this makes all the difference between Atlys and other options- not sure how legal it is for Atlys to add an invite letter on their own.
  
• Atlys Egypt visa costs about 3700 INR. 2100 you've to pay when you apply, 1600 after you get the visa
• But eventually I got my visa, could travel to Egypt on it, so all fine if it ends well.
  

Below are my observations

Above: Visa was issued on same day of application, but Atlys does unnecessary drama, sends dozens of useless, fake notifications, drags it for a week and gives Visa only after a week.  Essentially Atlys has not been transparent in its communications.

#1 Interpol & Police database check? 

Altys claims to check our photo and passport with Interpol, police etc- Not sure how much of this is true and if Interpol/police data is available for private players like this (and if available why not other agencies like VFS not making use of it.

#2 Atlys adds its own Invite letter!

Egypt eVisa official website doesn't let you apply as individual or couple. They only allow group applications, with an Egyptian travel agent giving a letter that they guarantee the tour. Because I had not booked any tour package and wasn't keen to spend a lot, I couldn't take this route. The Eqypt tour packages cost 1500-2000 USD per couple for a week onwards- most operators are not interested in budget travelers. Atlys seem to add an invite letter on their own to our visa application, to bypass this law.

But Atlys doesn't share this invite letter with applicants before visa issuance, so we don't know what they told embassy. However a copy of this invite letter was included in final visa that was issued. But no one asked for invite letter during our travel to Egypt though.

#3 No additional documents asked

Egypt visa via VFS needs application form, photo, flight tickets, hotel bookings etc but Altys doesn't ask any of these. Just a photo and passport is enough. Not sure why Egypt govt gave special concession to Atlys, why can't other vendors like VFS  get same concessions/instructions

#4 Too many updates

When you apply with VFS you hardly get any update. Embassy takes weeks and then a decision is made. We won't get if we're getting visa or not till we see the passport back. Atlys on the other hand sends dozens of notification. Below are what I got

• Checking with Interpol database
• Begun processing
• Internally processed
• Cross referencing documents
• Immigration Supervisor is checking your application
• Sent to internal intelligence
• On track

Looks like unnecessary drama forcefully induced by Atlys.

Egypt eVisa Fee: Had to pay some 2100 INR to Atlys upfront to initiate the visa process and another 1600 to get the visa, total cost 3700 INR. We can pay through UPI, card, net banking and other options. Official Govt websites often have limited payment modes.

So many updates are bit unusual. Would Egypt Embassy keep passing all such details to vendor every day? Or has Atlys given some tablets to Embassy officials and knows what they are doing with an application? I don't know. Too many updates feel unrealistic. With Visa issued on same day, Atlys doing unwanted drama for a week looks unprofessional and dramatic for a professional organization.

Thus overall experience has been good, very different from other vendors like VFS. I got the visa, the trip happened so all good. I had read on Times of India that Egypt gives visa on arrival to Indians with US, Canada visa so was in a relaxed mode for my trip. But later, just in time, realized that news is fake and we will need visa. The official website as well as VFS needed an invite letter from Egyptian travel agent- which wasn't easy to get unless I pay for their expensive package. Was almost on the verge of cancelling my trip but then Atlys made it simpler, though not sure how ethical it is.

However there're lots of negative feedback about Atlys on the net by various customers who didn't get their visa on time. Do proceed with caution & diligence.

Related: Egypt trip planning & FAQs

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