Lebanese passport

Lebanese passport
The front cover of a contemporary Lebanese passport
File:Lebanese Passport Note.jpg Lebanese Passport Note
Date first issued	1944 (First Lebanese Travel Document; Black Cover) 1990 (Burgundy Lebanese Non-machine Readable Passport; Red Cover) April 12, 2006 (Lebanese Machine Readable Passport; Navy Blue Cover) July 2016 (Future Lebanese Biometric Passport)
Issued by	Lebanon
Valid in	All countries with which the Republic of Lebanon maintains diplomatic relations
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Lebanese citizenship
Expiration	5 years after acquisition for adult, 5 years for children
Cost	300,000 Lebanese pounds or 300 USD

The passport of the Republic of Lebanon (Arabic: جواز سفر الجمهورية اللبنانية‎‎) is a passport issued to the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon. It is issued exclusively by the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security (DGGS), and can also be issued at various Lebanese embassies and/or consulates outside the Republic of Lebanon. It allows the bearer a freedom of living in the Republic of Lebanon without any immigration requirements, participate in the Lebanese political system, entry to and exit from the Republic of Lebanon through any port, travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements, facilitates the process of securing consular assistance abroad from Lebanese consular offices if necessary, and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.

Lebanese passport booklets are valid for travel by Lebanese citizens anywhere in the world, although travel to certain countries and/or for certain purposes may require a visa and the Republic of Lebanon itself restricts its nationals from traveling to or engaging in commercial transactions in certain countries against the internal and external safety of the republic. They conform with recommended standards (i.e., size, composition, layout, technology) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

By law, a valid unexpired Lebanese passport or Identity card (Arabic: بطاقة الهوية (transl. Bitakat Al Hawiya); French: Carte D'identité) is conclusive (and not just prima facie) proof of Lebanese citizenship, and has the same force and effect as proof of Lebanese citizenship as certificates of naturalization or of citizenship, if issued to a Lebanese citizen for the full period allowed by law. The Lebanese law does not prohibit Lebanese citizens from holding passports of other countries, though they are required to use their Lebanese passport to enter and leave the country.

An expired Lebanese passport can still be used to return to the Republic of Lebanon at any port and port personnel are obliged by Law to allow the passage of the bearer without any delay or hindrance. The General of General Security has set January 10 2016 as the deadline for validity of Lebanese passports which were renewed by hand prior to their expiry. Post this date, Lebanese citizens with passports set to expire within at least a year should apply for a new 1 or 5 year passport.

The French state-run printing firm, Imprimerie Nationale carries on the official printing works of both the Lebanese and French governments.

Rights and responsibilities of Lebanese citizens

Rights of citizens

Citizens of the Republic of Lebanon by law have the legal right to:

• Live freely in the Republic of Lebanon without any immigration requirements.
• Gain access to free education covering primary, secondary and university education.
• Receive all health-care benefits at any public health institution.
• Participate in the Lebanese political system.
• Benefit from the privileges of the free trade market agreements between the Republic of Lebanon and many Arab countries.
• Get exempted from taxes with no condition of reciprocity.
• Own and inherit property and values in the Republic of Lebanon.
• Enter to and exit from the Republic of Lebanon through any port.
• Travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements.
• Seek consular assistance and protection abroad by the Republic of Lebanon through Lebanese embassies and consulates abroad.

Responsibilities of citizens

• All Lebanese citizens are required by law, when forced by the Lebanese government, to bear arms on behalf of the Republic of Lebanon and to perform work of national importance under civilian direction.

Types

• Ordinary Passport (Arabic: جواز سفر عادي‎‎) - Issued for ordinary travel, such as vacations and business trips.
• Collective Passport (Arabic: جواز سفر جماعي‎‎) - Issued for the occasion of pilgrimages, excursions and other acts of analogous nature, facilitating the issuance of visas, or to decrease administrative costs if a lot of group members do not have their individual passports. Main users of these passports are high schools and tourist agencies. whenever reciprocity with the destiny country exists, its validity is limited a single trip, whose duration will not be able to exceed three months. Though it is not primary means of international travel for organised groups, high schools, and tourism agencies. All members of the group must cross the border at the same time and be part of the same organized trip.
• Diplomatic Passport (Arabic: جواز سفر دبلماسي‎‎) - Issued to diplomats, Top ranking government officials, Diplomatic couriers, Members of the National Assembly, Parliament members, Head judges of the judicial organs, and their deputies, Negotiators that are to deal with international issues, Spouse of the diplomatic passport holders (this passport can only be used when accompanying the primary passport holder), and Unwed and unemployed daughters, and sons younger than 18 years of age of the diplomatic passport holders who live with their parents (this passport can only be used when accompanying the primary passport holder) upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Validity is determined by the nature of the position held.
• Official Passports and on Watch (Arabic: جواز سفر رسمي اثناء الخدمة‎‎) - Issued to individuals representing the Lebanese government on official business. Validity is determined by the nature of the position held.
• Emergency passport (Arabic: جواز سفر طوارئ‎‎) - Issued to who are in need to travel on short notice or urgently need to replace their lost or stolen passport. Emergency passports will only have 12 months validity. Strict rules apply.
• Alien's passport (Arabic: جواز سفر للاجانب دون جواز سفر‎‎) - Issued for travelling purposes to non-Lebanese residents of the Republic of Lebanon who are unable to obtain a passport from their own government.
• Laissez-Passer (Arabic: جواز سفر مرور‎‎) - Issued as an emergency travel document with 8 pages containing handwritten information.
• Refugee Travel Document (Arabic: وثيقة سفر للاجئين‎‎) - Issued for recognized refugees.

Physical appearance

Lebanese passports are navy blue, with the Lebanese Cedar emblazoned in the centre of the front cover.

"The Lebanese Republic, Passport" is written on the cover page in both Arabic and French. The contents of the passport are in Arabic, French and English.

There are 48 pages in the current machine-readable navy blue passport. Frequent travelers may request 52-page passports for no additional cost. Extra visa pages can be added by mail (if the passport holder resides in the Republic of Lebanon) and at most Lebanese embassies and consulates (if the passport holder resides or visits a country overseas). The addition of visa pages used to be free, but as of July 13, 2010, the non-refundable application fee for 24 or 48 additional pages costs 120,000 Lebanese Pounds or 80 US Dollars.

History

Passports issued before the adoption of the navy blue new design were burgundy red and were neither machine readable nor biometric.

In 2012, The Lebanese Directorate General of General Security announced that it would be issuing biometric passports to all of its citizens starting from July 2016. The biometric passport will have a contactless smartcard RFID chip encoded with the bearer's name, gender, date and place of birth, and a digital image of their face, ten fingerprints, palmprints, and electronic signature in a JPEG2000 format embedded at the bottom of the front cover under the word "PASSEPORT".

The Lebanese Directorate General of General Security states that "The use of biometric passports will allow the Republic of Lebanon to follow international standards in the field of passport security to protect the nation's borders and maintain the ease of international travel that Lebanese citizens deserve to enjoy". At the same time, the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security started offering the option of a 5-year validity period as well as the current 1-year validity period.

The old burgundy red passport

A 32-page passport with a burgundy red cover, commonly known as the old burgundy style came into use in 1990 under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the formation of the Passport Service following international agreement on a standard format for passports, and remained in use until replaced by the Modern-style machine-readable navy blue passport on April 12, 2006. As with many documents worldwide and all booklet-format documents, details were handwritten into the passport and (as of 1998) included: number, holder's name, "accompanied by his wife" and her maiden name, "and" (number) "children", national status. For both bearer and wife: profession, place and date of birth, country of residence, height, eye and hair colour, special peculiarities, signature and photograph. Names, birth dates, and sexes of children, list of countries for which valid, issue place and date, expiry date, a page for renewals and, at the back, details of the amount of foreign exchange for travel expenses (a limited amount of sterling, typically 11,500 Lebanese Pounds but increasing with inflation, could be taken out of the country). The bearer's sex was not explicitly stated, although the name was written in with title ("Mr"). Descriptive text was printed in both Arabic, French, and English. (a practice which still continues), e.g. برفقة زوجته / Accompagné de sa femme (Née) / Accompanied by his wife (Maiden name)/. Changed details were struck out and rewritten, with a rubber-stamped note confirming the change.

If details and photograph of a man's wife and details of children were entered (this was not compulsory), the passport could be used by the bearer, wife, and children under 16, if together; separate passports were required for the wife or children to travel independently. Notes section at back: "A passport including particulars of the holder's wife is not available for the wife's use when she is travelling alone." The passport was valid for five years, renewable for another five, after which it had to be replaced. Notes section at back: "... available for five years in the first instance, ... may be renewed for further periods ... provided ... ten years from the original date is not exceeded."

The passport had a printed list of countries for which it was valid, which was added to in handwriting as validity increased.

As of November 24, 2015 all citizens that possess the burgundy red Lebanese passport must submit them to the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security or at any Lebanese embassy as well as any of the various Lebanese Consulates. These passports will no longer be valid since they are not machine-readable. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has decided that November 24, 2015 will be the deadline to implement the use of machine-readable passports only in travel through airports. Those who possess the red Lebanese passport must apply for the navy blue (machine-readable) passport as soon as possible.

The New Biometric passport

On 12 April 2006, the Republic of Lebanon started issuing ICAO compliant machine-readable passports, valid for one or five years, replacing the old burgundy red passport. It is the 45th nation in the world to adopt the ICAO standard. The implementation of the new passport began at offices across Beirut and Tripoli before expanding nationwide between April and June 2006 and to Lebanese embassies/consulates abroad between September and October 2006.

In 2012, A new contract was signed between the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security with a Lebanese company Inkript, a member of Resource Group Holding (RGH), to make the move for biometric passports. Inkript held a joint venture with French firm Gemalto, based in the Netherlands to participate in the tender. Jacques Seif, General Manager of Inkript, said: “We will handle all the programming and software development in-house, while Gemalto will be in charge of manufacturing the passports and matching the program’s interface with the coding machines.”. The contract’s term is three years, and Inkript will produce four million Lebanese biometric passports. The contract, valued at 140 million US dollars, was funded by a Saudi grant. The Lebanese Directorate General of General Security announced that it would be issuing biometric passports to all of its citizens starting from July 2016.

As of July 2016, all new Lebanese passports issued will be biometric passports and machine-readable and will have a contactless smartcard RFID chip embedded inside the polycarbonate data page (3rd EU generation) or a cheap booklet in which the chip is imbeded at the bottom of the front cover under the word "PASSEPORT".

Facial recognition technology is being introduced to coincide with the release of the Biometric Passport. This technology will be used to improve identity verification, reduce identity-related fraud, and protect the legal identity of the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon. Similar technology is used in the Lebanese identity card.

The biometric data that is to be included on the Lebanese passport is the bearer's name, gender, date and place of birth, and a digital image of their face, ten fingerprints, palmprints. Lebanese immigration checkpoints will not be the only ones with the technology to read and authenticate the data from the RFID chip using a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition technology, but widespread adoption of Biometric passport technology around the world has seen the technology installed in international airports in the US, the UK and other countries.

In addition to biometric data and the personal information stored on the information page, the chip also records the bearer's travel history of the last ten entry and exits at Lebanese border control points (Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut Naval Base, Port of Beirut, Port of Byblos, and Port of Tripoli).

All biometric passport will be issued with 48 pages as opposed to the previous choice of 24 or 48 pages.

On 14 August 2014, the General Directorate of General Security released requirements for the new biometric residence permits (Arabic: بطاقات الإقامة البيومترية الذكية (transl. Bitakat Iqama Bayometriya Thakiya) issued to the expatriates residing temporarily or permanently in the Republic of Lebanon. On 15 January 2015, All of the Lebanese government offices started issuing and dealing with the new Biometric residence permit in dealing with the official paperworks of expatriates.

Security features

• PKI – Public Key Infrastructure
• IPI- Invisible Personal ID
• 2D Bar code
• Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ)
• Security Substrate and Laminate
• Ultra Violet features Micro Printing
• Holograms
• Watermark Paper
• Security Ink
• 3 Colour Intaglio Printing
• Guilloche Patterns

Front cover

The words "الجمهورية اللبنانية" (The Republic of Lebanon) are inscribed above the Cedar, whilst the words "Republique Libanaise" and "جواز السفر" are inscribed below.

The biometric passport symbol is to be implemented on Biometric passports issued from July 2016.

Passport note

The passports contain a note from the issuing authority addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of the Republic of Lebanon and requesting that they be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The textual portions of Lebanese passports are printed in Arabic, the official language of the Republic of Lebanon, as well as in both French and English languages. The note inside of the Lebanese passport states:

• In Arabic:

الجمهورية اللبنانية باسم رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية يامل من السلطات المختصة تسهيل مرور صاحب هذا الجواز و منحه المساعدة و الحماية القانونية عند اللزوم

• In French:

Republique Libanaise au nom du President de la Republique Libanaise Le Directeur General de la Surete General prie le autorites competentes de bien vouloir accorder libre passage au titulaire de ce passeport et en cas de besoin, de lui accorder toute aide et protection legitimes.

• In English:

Republic of Lebanon On behalf of The President of the Republic of Lebanon The General Director of the General Security hereby requests competent authorities to permit the bearer to pass without any delay or hindrance and in case of need to provide all lawful aid and protection.

Information page

Lebanese passports include the following data on the information page:

Data	Description
Photograph of the holder	Digital image printed on the page
Type	P for ordinary passports, PD for diplomatic passports, PO for official passports
Code of issuing state	LBN
Passport Number	A six digit number, biometric passports begins with RL
Surname
Given Name(s)
Also Known As	Only printed for people who have another name
Nationality	(لبناني / Libanais / Lebanese)
Date of birth	DD MMM YY
Sex	M for male, F for female
Place of birth	(Only the city or town is listed, even if born outside the Republic of Lebanon) (See note below)
Date of issue	DD MMM YY
Authority	D.G.G.S
Date of expiry	DD MMM YY
Holder's signature	Digital image printed on page
Machine Readable Zone	Starts with P<LBN

The items are identified by text in Arabic, English and French (e.g., "تاريخ الولادة / Date of birth / Date de naissance").

Signature field

A Lebanese passport is invalid if the passport is not signed, and normally the bearer affixes his/her signature on the signature field, whose position has varied with various incarnations of Lebanese passports. Persons too young to sign a passport previously may have a parent or legal guardian sign the passport on their behalf, although this has since been prohibited.

Old burgundy red passports originally contained the signature field below the data page at the passport's inner cover. When navy blue passports began being issued in 2006, a field where the bearer must sign the passport appeared above the information page.

Place of birth

Passport applicants may request, in writing, that their Lebanese passport not list the place of birth (city and country) - or simply the country - on their data page. A separate form is available for such a request, on which one must indicate one's awareness that omitting this information could cause one difficulties at international entry points or when applying for visas.

In response to the government of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) modification to the requirements for the issuance of Chinese visas to Lebanese citizens born in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan the PRC will not issue visas to Lebanese passport holders whose place of birth is inscribed as being Hong Kong HKG, Macau MAC or (city name) TWN. Accordingly, passports issued to Lebanese born in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan now only list the place of birth, without an accompanying three-letter country code, unless upon request.

Since April 1976, the policy has been that Lebanese citizens born in Jerusalem have their birthplace identified only by the city's name, with no national designation, due to the unresolved legal status of Jerusalem. Lebanese citizens born prior to 1948 may have their birthplace identified as Palestine if they were born in what was the British Mandate of Palestine (including Jerusalem).

Document Requirements

• Passport Application Form. (Obtained from government offices or can be downloaded from their website.)
• Old passport. (if applicable, regardless of expiry date)
• Identity Card (Arabic: بطاقة الهوية (transl. Bitakat Al Hawiya); French: carte d'identité)
• Individual and Family status records (Arabic: اخراج القيد الفردي و العائلي) whose date of issuance does not exceed 10 years.
• Certified copy of birth certificate issued by a consular office abroad. *.
• Criminal Record Status. (Arabic: ورقة ان لا حكم عليه)
• Official Residence Permit (Only applicable if applying for a Lebanese passport from one of the Lebanese embassies/consulates outside the Republic of Lebanon.)
• 2 Recent Photos. (Size: 4.3 x 3.5 cm)
• Fingerprints and all biometric data is collected at the Passport Application Center(s). Fingerprint data is not collected from minors aged 12 and under.
• Professional Certificate. (For stating the profession in the passport.)
• Professional Degree. (For stating the profession in the passport.)

Passport photograph

Passport photo requirements are very specific. Official Lebanese Directorate General of General Security photographic guidelines are available online.

• 4.3 cm × 3.5 cm (1.7 in × 1.4 in)
• The height of the head (top of hair to bottom of chin) should measure
• Eye height is between from the bottom of the photo
• Front view, full face, open eyes, closed mouth, and neutral expression
• Full head from top of hair to shoulders
• Plain white or off-white background
• No shadows on face or in background
• No sunglasses (unless it's for medical purposes), but those normally wearing corrective glasses must wear such glasses
• No hat (unless it's for religious purposes)
• Normal contrast and lighting

Issuing Restriction

Passports are not issued to persons who are under arrest because of criminal offenses, or to those who appear as 'dangerous' in accordance with the International Police Agreement of 1920.

People who owe 3,800,000 Lebanese Pounds ($2,500) or more in child support, are not eligible to receive a Lebanese passport. Therefore, they should make arrangements to pay the agency where child support is owed before they submit their application for a Lebanese passport. All questions about their child support arrears or the status of a payment should be directed to the appropriate child support enforcement agency.

Fees

Fees for applying vary based on whether or not an applicant is applying for a new passport or they are renewing an expiring passport for either 1 or 5 years. Fees also vary depending on whether an applicant is under the age of 5.

Multiple passports

Multiple passports are issued to Lebanese citizens on official business, and to diplomats, the latter a process followed by virtually all countries. The United Nations laissez-passer is a similar document issued by that international organization.

However, more than one valid Lebanese passport of the same type may not be held, except if authorized by the General Directorate of General Security.

It is routine for the General Directorate of General Security to authorize a holder of a regular passport to hold, in addition, a diplomatic passport or an official passport.

One circumstance which may call for issuance of a second passport of a particular type is a prolonged visa-processing delay especially for Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe visa applications. Another is safety or security. The period of validity of a second passport issued under either circumstance is generally two years from the date of issue.

Visa Free Travel

Main article: Visa requirements for Lebanese citizens

Visa requirements for Lebanese citizens

A Lebanese passport does not, in itself, entitle the holder to enter another country. To enter another country, the traveler must comply with the visa and entry requirements of the other countries to be visited, which vary from country to country and may apply specifically to a particular passport type, the traveller's nationality, criminal history, health issues, evidence of sufficient funds, evidence of ticket for exit or many other factors.

Visa requirements for Lebanese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Republic of Lebanon. As of January 2016, Lebanese citizens have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to the listed 51 countries and territories, disputed areas, and partially recognized countries though entry conditions do apply for Burundi, South Korea and Vietnam:

Armenia Bangladesh Bolivia Burundi1 Cambodia Cape Verde Comoros Cook Islands Djibouti Dominica Ecuador

Georgia Guinea-Bissau Haiti Indonesia Iran Kish Island Jordan Laos Macau Madagascar Malaysia Maldives Mauritania Mauritius Micronesia Mozambique

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nepal Niue Oman Palau Pitcairn Islands Qeshm Sabah and Sarawak Samoa San Andrés and Leticia. Seychelles Somaliland South Korea2

Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Timor-Leste Togo Transnistria Turkey Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Tuvalu Uganda Vietnam3

_{1 – A visa on arrival can only be obtained at Bujumbura International Airport.
2 – Visa-free access only to Jeju_Province.
3 – Visa-free access only to Phu Quoc Island.}

Note that the Lebanese Identity Card can be used as an optional replacement for the Lebanese passport in the listed countries and territories:

Syria Jordan

Online Visa Application

Lebanese citizens can apply and obtain certain types of visas online to the listed 20 countries and territories, disputed areas, and partially recognized countries:

Australia Canada Colombia Côte d'Ivoire Gabon Kenya Moldova Montserrat New Zealand Nigeria Qatar

Romania Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis São Tomé and Príncipe South Korea United Arab Emirates United States Zambia Zimbabwe

See also

• Lebanese identity card
• Driving licence in Lebanon
• Vehicle registration plates of Lebanon
• Lebanese nationality law
• Visa requirements for Lebanese citizens
• Visa policy of Lebanon
• Constitution of Lebanon
• Lebanese diaspora

References