Lebanon · Visitor

Entry Visa — terms and conditions

Entry Visa — terms and conditions is issued by General Directorate of General Security (Lebanon). VisaAI tracks 35 official requirements for it, each traced to the government page that states it.

Last verified against the official source on .

VisaAI is not a government body and does not issue visas. It cannot decide, predict or guarantee the outcome of an application, and this page is not legal or immigration advice.

Requirements change. Confirm every item on General Directorate of General Security (Lebanon)’s own page before you apply.

Each requirement below is written in plain English by VisaAI. The indented text beneath it is quoted from General Directorate of General Security (Lebanon)’s own page, so you can check what we say against what they say. Where a quotation shows “ ... ”, text has been left out.

Conditions you must meet

  • Who issues: General Security grants prior authorisation, requested at a regional departmentThe authority names exactly who may lodge the request, and the list is narrower than "anyone in Lebanon".
    11- The general directorate of general security (previous authorization): the request is made at the regional departments by the interested party (Lebanese citizen, Palestinian refugee, the owner of a temporary visa, a permanent, a diplomatic, or a particular visa, as well as a residency permit of first or second class).
  • Lebanese missions abroad may grant visas with General Security’s authorisationThe second issuing channel, and it is not independent of the first.
    13- Lebanese missions abroad can grant visas with the authorization of the general security, and under the responsibility of the mission’s director.
  • Touristic group (item 32): up to 8 members, through a touristic institution at a regional departmentThe size threshold is the whole rule.
    NB: in regional departments via touristic institutions for groups having 8 members at the most
  • Touristic group (item 32): groups over 8 are subject to special conditionsThe authority does not publish those conditions on this page and none is invented here.
    NB: for groups that have more than 8 membres, special conditions prevail
  • Student visa (item 34): scholarship holders are exempted from BOTH documentsThe exemption covers both the admission document and the funds document, which is why it is quoted rather than summarised.
    NB: Those who are in receipt of a grant or scholarship are exempted from both documents
  • Business visit (item 38): granted for one month, renewable once, requested at the Bureau of Public RelationsBoth the duration and where the request is lodged.
    NB: this request is made at the bureau of public relations. The visa is granted for one month and is renewable one time.
  • Engagement visit (item 39 bis): with no proof of engagement the visit is treated as a friendly visitA reclassification rather than a refusal, and it changes which row of the table applies.
    -If there is no document proving the engagement, the visit is assumed to be a friendly visit
  • Handing over all the documents does not mean a visa will be grantedThe authority’s own words.
    41- Handing over all the documents doesn’t necessarily mean he will be granted a visa
  • General Security may request further documentsPublished as a standing instruction, not as a caveat.
    42- The general directorate of general security can eventually request further documents.
  • Documents must be in Arabic, French or English; these visas are not renewable and cannot become a work visa without the Director General’s decisionTwo rules that share a line in the source and are quoted together rather than split, because splitting them would assert an adjacency the page does not have.
    43- The requested documents have to be in Arabic, French or English. 44- The visas mentioned in 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 39 bis / are not renewable. They can’t be changed into a work visa without an official decision taken by the general director.

Official forms

  • All visas (item 31): a filled visa application, handed out by a qualifying partyWho may hand out the form is part of the requirement — a person residing legally in Lebanon, a touristic institution, an enterprise, a legal person or a club.
    -A filled visa application that is handed out by the interested party (Lebanese or foreigner) residing legally in Lebanon (with the exception of the 3 rd and 4 rth category) or by a touristic institution, or an enterprise (industrial, commercial, civil…), a legal person, or a club.

Documents you must provide

  • All visas (item 31): certified copies of the inviting party’s ID, passport and residency permitCertified copies of the party in Lebanon, not of the applicant.
    -A certified copy of the ID card, the passport and the residency permit owned by the concerned citizen.
  • All visas (item 31): if an enterprise or club invites, its legal documentsThe authority gives commercial register and investment permit as its own examples.
    If the interested party is an enterprise, a legal person, or a club, he has to hand out all the legal documents requested (commercial register, investment permit, etc.)
  • All visas (item 31): a certified copy of a passport valid at least 6 monthsQuoted with the authority’s own spacing (`6months`).
    -A certified copy of the passport that’s valid for 6months at least.
  • All visas (item 31): refugees not living in their country of origin need a 6-month resident permitOne of three refugee provisions on this page, each covering a different travel document.
    -If the refugee doesn’t live in his country of origin, or doesn’t own a foreign travelling document, he has to have in hand a resident permit for 6months at least.
  • All visas (item 31): fremmedpass or Egyptian travel document holders need a return visa valid over 6 monthsKept separate from the provision above because it demands different documents.
    If the refugee has a FREMMEDPAS travelling document or an Egyptian travelling document, he has to have in hand a certified copy of a return visa valid for more than 6months, as well as a certified copy of the residence permit.
  • All visas (item 31): Palestinian passports, and Jordanian passports without a national number, need a document authorising returnThe narrowest of the three refugee provisions and the one most easily lost in a summary.
    - If the refugee owns a Palestinian passport, or a Jordanian passport without a national number, he has to have in hand a document authorizing his return.
  • All visas (item 31): a residency permit and a plane ticketListed in the shared block.
    -A residency permit and a plane ticket
  • All visas (item 31): private insuranceListed in the shared block.
    A private insurance
  • All visas (item 31): a document stating the applicant’s professionListed in the shared block.
    -A document that underlines the profession of the interested party
  • All visas (item 31): an ID photoListed in the shared block.
    An ID photo
  • All visas (item 31): a guarantee certified by a competent notaryListed in the shared block.
    A guarantee certified by a competent notary
  • Individual touristic visit (item 33): a hotel reservation showing entry and exit dates, address, and title deeds or leasesMore than a booking confirmation — the authority names four things the reservation must show.
    A hotel reservation that underlines the date of entry, and exit, the addressee of residency and the title deeds or leases
  • Individual touristic visit (item 33): a plane ticketListed for this sub-type.
    a plane ticket
  • Individual touristic visit (item 33): a statement of account, a credit card, an attestation of profession and salaryFour items in one row, quoted whole.
    -A statement of account, a credit card, an attestation of profession, and salary
  • Student visa (item 34): an admission statement from an accredited institution, or a student cardThe authority states it as an either/or.
    An admission statement of a university or an institution that’s accredited in Lebanon, or a student card.
  • Student visa (item 34): proof of sufficient funds to finance the studiesListed for this sub-type.
    -A document that proves he has sufficient funds to finance his studies
  • Visit for medical purposes (item 35): a medical reportListed for this sub-type.
    A medical report
  • Visit for medical purposes (item 35): a document showing the hospital or doctor’s appointmentListed for this sub-type.
    -A document that underlines the appointment for a checkup at the hospital or by a doctor
  • Show up at the embassy (item 36): a document showing the embassy appointmentListed for this sub-type.
    -A document that underlines an appointment at the embassy
  • Show up at the embassy (item 36): a hotel reservation or an address of residencyListed for this sub-type.
    -A hotel reservation or an address of residency
  • Transit (item 37): a visa or residency permit, if travelling from a country that is not the country of originConditional, and the condition is the point.
    -A visa or a residency permit if the country where he comes from is not his country of origin
  • Family visit (item 39): a document showing the family tieThe authority names marriage certificate, birth certificate and extract of family civil register as its own examples.
    -A document that shows the family tie (marriage certificate, birth certificate, extract of family civil register)
  • Engagement visit (item 39 bis): a document proving the engagementListed for this sub-type.
    -A document proves there is an engagement

Steps in the process

  • Applying from abroad: the current form is available at embassies, with an ID photo attachedThe procedure changes when the request originates outside Lebanon.
    -The new version is available at embassies, the application has to be filled out, and an id photo has to be attached to the latter

Official sources

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