New Rules for Foreign Photographers, Film Crews to Protect Egypt's Cultural Heritage

Khaled Al-Anani, Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said among the recommendations and procedures that are being adopted, in support of the tourism sector, are those related to the rules of photography in public places.

Al-Anani noted that a regulatory decision is being studied, in preparation for submission to the Council of Ministers for approval, which includes many mechanisms that regulate photography of all kinds within the country.

In this regard, the minister stressed the need to work on implementing a single window mechanism that collects all fees and obtains approvals from all concerned authorities, with a commitment to grant permits within a specified and announced period of time, taking into account the commitment not to copy and publish scenes offensive to the country and citizens and not photographing children, while not photographing citizens without their written consent.

Al-Anani explained that the regulatory decision pides photography into three types. The first type is related to the personal photography of Egyptians, resident foreigners, and tourists, whereby photography will be allowed with all types of traditional or digital photographic cameras, as well as video cameras, without requiring prior permits or payment of fees.

The second type is what is related to foreign media, foreign correspondents, and news photography, as the State Information Service will continue to issue permits based on the requests submitted to it, provided that these permits are granted within (10 days) from the date of submitting the request from the information service to the competent authorities, and within (15 days) with regard to requests for underwater photography and aerial photography.

The one-stop-shop policy is applied regarding obtaining the necessary permits, with the authority setting up the necessary mechanism in coordination with the concerned authorities to collect the total prescribed fees on behalf of all parties, provided that this is done through the proposed center to be established.

The third type of photography is related to television, film, and documentary productions.

The minister pointed out that it is proposed to establish a digital platform for granting cinematographic permits.

During the meeting, Al-Anani discussed the artistic and cultural activities and events that have been implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture in this regard, in addition to the ministry's preparations to organize the Cairo Conference for the Protection of Cultural Heritage "Towards the International measures to disrupt chains of illegal trade and protect cultural property,” scheduled for next October.