Faculty Arrival in Egypt

From the Airport to your Apartment

When you arrive at Cairo airport, a University car will be waiting to take you to your apartment. If you are renting an AUC apartment, a representative from the Office of Faculty Housing will be waiting there to give you the apartment keys and to welcome you. The housing office also prepares a survival kit for you. You will find your refrigerator stocked with a cold meal and some breakfast food, and a few staples (salt, sugar, coffee, tea, water). At your new home, you will also find a packet of information prepared by the Faculty Services Committee. The packet will include information about living in Cairo, some useful university information that you will need upon arrival, and maps to help you settle in and find your way around.

AUC Host Family in your Neighborhood

The Faculty Services Committee organizes individual volunteers to help you in the settling in. The pairing is done when dates of arrival are known. This person will call, welcome and introduce you to your neighborhood. The volunteers are individuals familiar with your neighborhood and ready to answer general questions such as shopping areas, transportation and university transport.

Things to do on your first visit to the University

Transportation to the AUC:
Transportation to campus is provided for all AUC faculty, staff and students. It is free for faculty and staff. You can familiarize yourself with the bus system by visiting the AUC transportation website. Among other things, the AUC ID (see below) functions as a bus pass. Since you will get your AUC ID on your first visit, security guards have been instructed to let newcomers in the campus.

Visit the Provost’s Office and your Department:
Upon your initial arrival to the University, you may get in touch with the Office of the Provost as someone will introduce you to your department and office, as well as direct you toward the offices that will help you settle in.

AUC ID card:
You will need to obtain an AUC ID card from the ID section of the AUC Library on your first visit to campus. This card functions as a security identification to enter the campus and the library, and as a bus pass. It also gives you access to your office, but in that case, it needs to be activated with your office room number, which is done by the staff of your department.

Lodging registration:
Egyptian law requires you to register your place of residence in Egypt within 48 hours of your first arrival. If you rent an apartment from AUC, the AUC Office of Supply Chain Management and Business Support will handle the registration with your passport (as well as those of your family members accompanying you). For those not renting from AUC, landlords are responsible to register their tenants with the Ministry of Interior.

Passport registration:
If you are a citizen of the following countries (table below) your passport will also need to be registered with the Egyptian Ministry of Interior within seven days of arrival in Egypt. The AUC business support office will handle the registration. Each time you leave Egypt this registration is automatically canceled, so each time you return you must re-register. It is important to comply with it.

Internet at Home

If you rent an apartment from AUC, Internet connection (including wireless) should be working on your arrival if you have applied for it through the AUC housing office before your travel to Cairo. If you rent a non-AUC apartment, Internet provider websites and contact information can be provided to you upon your arrival by the Office of Information Technology. USB sticks are also available from mobile phone companies, such as Vodafone. Most cafes have a free or low-cost wireless connection, and you will most likely find one in the vicinity of your building.

The Arrival of your Personal Shipment

Your personal shipment is scheduled to arrive after your arrival in Cairo. Upon its arrival at the airport, it needs to be cleared by the Cairo airport customs before it is delivered to your apartment. Please note that the arrival in Cairo and the clearance at the airport may take from one week of your arrival up to one month in worst cases. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you bring in your accompanying luggage enough clothes, important medicines and any academic documents you will need to prepare your syllabus and conduct the first week of classes.

HIV Test, Work Permit and Residence Visa

An HIV test is required to issue and renew a work permit for non-Egyptian faculty. New faculty members must take their HIV test in Cairo by during September and October. The tests are mandated by the Ministry of Health, and the actual tests are conducted at the AUC clinic. Information about the test schedule is sent to all non-Egyptian faculty via e-mail by mid of August. For new faculty joining AUC for the spring semester, information is provided on a one-to-one basis by contacting Business Support staff members business [email protected]. Following the results of the HIV test, that takes one week, work permit formalities are completed. Upon completion, a residence visa is issued for faculty members and accompanying dependants. The University assists faculty members and their families in obtaining the required permits and residence visas. The entire process may take up to three weeks after the HIV test is performed. Therefore, if you are planning to go abroad for a conference before you get your residence visa stamped in your passport, it is advisable before you travel to check with the Business Support office that is taking care of this process as you will need an extension of your first one-month entry visa.

Orientation for Newcomers

AUC offers an orientation program to all newly relocated faculty members, administrators. The orientation usually takes place a week before the beginning of the fall semester. Orientation includes an introduction to the university’s programs and services, panel discussions on teaching and research, introductory sessions on colloquial Egyptian Arabic, as well as panel discussions on various aspects of living in Cairo. You are strongly encouraged to attend these sessions as, besides getting information on different aspects of working at AUC and living in Cairo, it is an opportunity to become acquainted with the other newcomers.