Visa upon arrival at the airport

The number of the UN member states reached 192 in 2014. Of those, the Lebanese citizen can only enter 31 without obtaining advance visas, meaning that for the remaining 161 countries, a strict visa application process must first be completed. The conditions for obtaining a visa differ from one country to another. Some of them are simple and may be realized with ease such as the submission of a valid passport, an affidavit of residence, a copy of a criminal record and a small bank account; some are stricter while others are almost impossible to meet, and even when met, the applicant is not guaranteed to get the visa. Noteworthy is that Lebanon does not apply the principle of reciprocity as we will highlight in the following.

Most of the 31 countries that grant the Lebanese entry visas upon arrival at the airport are relatively far from Lebanon, stretch across a small area and do not present a major attraction due to their lack of wealth and resources. The six countries that are situated in proximity to Lebanon and that may be of interest to the Lebanese are:

Syria: to enter, the Lebanese are required to only carry their IDs with them, without the need for a visa or a passport, a measure that has been in force for decades.

Turkey: from 2010, Turkey started granting free entry visas to the Lebanese upon their arrival at the airport.

Jordan: free entry visas have been given to the Lebanese since June 2005.

The Sultanate of Oman: the Lebanese can obtain entry visas upon arrival at the airport in exchange for a sum of money determined according to the duration of the visit. This has been the norm since 2000.

Malaysia: free entry visas have been given to the Lebanese since 1994

Iran: granting the Lebanese free entry visas upon arrival at the airport began by the end of 2011.

The following Table 1 illustrates the 25 remaining far-away countries the Lebanese can enter with a visa upon arrival.

Source: Prepared by Information International based on a report issued by the consular section at the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Those allowed entry into Lebanon

Lebanon does not respond to the strict measures imposed by certain countries with respect to visa processing with reciprocated action. As a matter of fact, citizens of 86 countries may obtain their visas upon arrival at the airport or at border crossings, including Syrians who only need to show their IDs to cross into Lebanon.

Citizens from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Qatar (Gulf countries) get a free visa and a residence permit for three months that may be renewed up to a year. Domestic workers, drivers and bodyguards enter under the same conditions, provided that they obtain a valid residence permit in the country of their patron.

The other countries are: France, Estonia, Finland, Britain, Germany, Japan, Portugal, Poland, USA, Yugoslavia, Venezuela, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentine, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Belgium, Bhutan,
Brazil, Canada, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Singapore, Romania, Russia, Panama, Norway, Montenegro, Montenegro, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Serbia, Saint Marino, Iran, Moldova, Italy, Georgia, Greece Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein,
Sweden, Tajikistan, Slovakia, Slovenia, Samoa, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, Korea, Spain, Turkey and Jordan. Nationals of the above countries obtain a free visa to Lebanon for a period of one month.

Those denied entry into Lebanon

The countries whose citizens are denied visas upon arrival at the airport in Lebanon total 57 and are generally poverty-stricken and labor-exporting countries. They are the following:

Egypt, Angola, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Central Africa, Tchad, Tibet, Comoros Islands, Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, India, Indonesia, Liberia, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, North Korea, Mozambique, New Guinea, Niger, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Mauritius, Zambia, Vietnam, Honduras, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Rwanda, Philippines, Paraguay, Palu Island, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Somalia, El-Salvador, South Africa, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Suriname, Zimbabwe.

Only 31 countries, mostly poor and located far away, welcome the Lebanese without a strenuous visa application process, while Lebanon opens its doors to citizens from 86 countries, some of which are stringent in granting the Lebanese entry to their territory. On the other hand, Lebanon imposes strict visa requirements on nationals from 58 countries, of which 20 receive the Lebanese with few if any conditions.