Lebanon Visa for Travel Agencies
For travel agencies only. This service is for registered travel agencies and agents who sell Lebanon visas to their own customers. If you are a traveller, please contact a travel agency.
In short: Lebanon has no public e-visa. The General Directorate of General Security (GS) decides who gets an entry visa stamped at Beirut airport or a land border, and who needs a GS prior authorisation or an embassy visa before travel. GCC and Jordanian citizens enter freely as tourists, many Arab nationals get a one-month visa on conditions, and most South Asian and African passports need prior authorisation. Plan at least a month for embassy files.
Before you sell any Lebanon trip, check your own government's official travel advice for Lebanon and the airline's latest schedule. Advice and flight operations can change at short notice, and a valid visa does not change that.
How the official system works
Three bodies issue Lebanese entry permission, according to GS's own page on visa conditions:
- General Security in Lebanon, which grants prior authorisation (موافقة مسبقة). The request is filed at a GS regional department by someone in Lebanon: a Lebanese citizen, a legal resident, a tourism institution, a company or a club. The GS Director-General, or the head of the Bureau of Nationality, Passports and Foreigners, decides.
- GS border posts, which stamp visas on arrival for nationalities and categories that qualify.
- Lebanese embassies and consulates, which issue visas with GS approval or under the head of mission's own responsibility.
GS posts its rules as separate notices on general-security.gov.lb under "Entry Visas" and "Diplomatic Missions Abroad", not as one table. Its main list, "The list of countries that have the right to a Lebanese visa", is built as numbered articles. Parts of it are clearly older than the rest and contradict newer posts, as shown below.
Recent changes published by GS include a new mechanism for labour-sending countries. Lebanese missions in India, Cairo, Alexandria, Khartoum, Accra, Abuja, Abidjan and Lagos now send name lists to GS for approval within 72 hours. GS also suspended all entry visas for nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda because of Ebola. Suspensions like that can appear overnight.
Visa types
| Visa (GS terms) | Purpose | Validity / stay | Entries | Who usually uses it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free entry for GCC citizens | Tourism | Six months, extendable to one year by GS | See official portal | Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, Qatari, Bahraini, Omani tourists and their families and household staff |
| Free entry for Jordanian citizens (passport with national number) | Tourism | Three months | See official portal | Jordanian tourists |
| Tourist visa on arrival, with conditions | Tourism | One month, extendable to three months | See official portal | Listed Arab and African nationalities with ticket, hotel and funds |
| Visa for business people, investors, patients, groups | Business, investment, treatment, group tourism | Six months | See official portal | Invited business visitors, patients with medical reports, tour groups |
| Visa for professionals resident in the GCC | Business and professional visits | 11 months (GS article, see note) | See official portal | Managers, doctors, engineers, lawyers holding GCC residence |
| Visit visa by prior authorisation | Individual tourism, family, friendship, medical, training, embassy appointment | See official portal | See official portal | Nationalities not eligible on arrival |
| Collective (group) visa | Tour groups | See official portal | See official portal | Groups filed by a Lebanese tourism company |
| Transit visa | Transit | See official portal | See official portal | Travellers with a visa or residence for their next country |
| Work visa | Employment | Three months after GS and Ministry of Labour approval | See official portal | Not a tourism product |
The 11-month GCC-resident professional visa and the six-month business visa come from the older articles of the GS country list. Confirm with GS before relying on them.
Who can apply how, by nationality
| Nationality | What GS publishes | Practical route |
|---|---|---|
| GCC citizens | Visa-exempt as tourists; six months stamped at the border, extendable free to one year | No visa order needed for the citizen; check household staff rules |
| GCC residents (other nationalities) | Professionals (managers, CEOs, doctors, engineers, lawyers and similar) with valid GCC residence: visa at airport or border. Spouses and children follow their own nationality rules | Check the profession on the residence permit; otherwise assess on passport |
| Jordan | Visa-exempt as tourists with a national-number passport; three months | Jordanians without a national number need prior authorisation |
| Egypt | Conflicting. One article lists Egypt among nationalities given a one-month visa on arrival with conditions. Another says Egyptian citizens need prior authorisation for tourism. Egypt is also listed among labour-sending countries | Treat as prior authorisation or a visa from the Lebanese embassy in Cairo |
| Sudan | Listed both for on-arrival with conditions and among labour-sending countries needing prior authorisation | Treat as prior authorisation; Khartoum mission sends lists to GS |
| Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Somalia, Yemen | One-month visa on arrival, extendable to three, with return ticket, hotel or address and phone, and a minimum sum in cash or a bank-certified cheque | On arrival if the customer carries all three; Yemeni traders, doctors and engineers have extra options |
| Iraq | Listed among countries with a free one-month visa extendable to three; separate rules for traders, doctors and engineers | On arrival; carry hotel and return ticket |
| Syria | Not covered in the GS tourism country list; GS publishes separate notices on Syrian residence and work | Check GS before quoting |
| Palestine | PA passport holders and Palestinian document holders coming from Jordan need prior authorisation; embassy files need a return permit | Prior authorisation |
| Nigeria | Listed for on-arrival with conditions, but also in the prior-authorisation labour category and named as needing pre-approval for group visas | Treat as prior authorisation |
| Kenya, Ethiopia | Third/fourth category (labour-sending countries): prior authorisation | Prior authorisation |
| India, Pakistan, Bangladesh | Third/fourth category: prior authorisation | Prior authorisation; India also has a separate GS work-visa rule |
| Any country not mentioned | Visa from a Lebanese embassy or GS prior authorisation | Embassy or prior authorisation |
Official information checked on 5 November 2026. Rules change, so check the official portal before you take payment.
Processing time and lead times
The official sources do not agree, and that matters more in Lebanon than anywhere else on our list.
- GS, on visas through Lebanese embassies: these files go through the diplomatic pouch and security, judicial and administrative review. GS tells applicants to submit at least one month before travel.
- GS, labour-sending countries: missions submit name lists and GS approves "within 72 hours". A visa issued by a mission but not registered in GS's system within a week makes the traveller ineligible to enter; they are returned on the same flight.
- GS, invited business visitors: a formal request with commercial registry papers is processed in a maximum of 72 hours.
- Lebanese embassy pages: older pages show wide ranges. Abu Dhabi mentions about two to three months; The Hague advises applying at least two months ahead; Cairo mentions three to five days for GS approval. We could not open these pages on 5 November 2026 and they look several years old.
Our planning rule for agencies: for any passport that needs prior authorisation, count at least one month from a complete file to approval, and two months before summer or year-end peaks.
Documents GS asks for
GS's list for tourist visas through embassies:
- Completed application form.
- Colour copy of a passport valid at least six months from the application date.
- One photo, 3.5 × 4.5 cm.
- Hotel booking in the traveller's name, or a full address and phone number in Lebanon with a letter from the host. The host adds proof of Lebanese nationality, or a Lebanese residence permit valid for at least three months.
- Return flight reservation.
- Bank statement for the last three months, or other proof of funds.
- Proof of profession; if unemployed, the sponsor's bank and job documents.
- Residence permit valid six months if living outside the country of nationality.
Business visits add an invitation and the Lebanese partner's commercial registration. Family visits add marriage or birth certificates, medical visits add a specialist's report and appointment, and training visits add the programme. GS may ask for more at any stage. Its older general conditions also list private insurance and a notarised guarantee for some visit visas.
Agency playbook for Lebanon
Diaspora summer and holidays. Demand to Beirut peaks when Lebanese living in the Gulf, Africa and elsewhere fly home: the summer holidays, Christmas and New Year, and Eid. The Lebanese passengers need no visa; the visa work is for their non-Lebanese companions. GS gives a free six-month multiple-entry visa to domestic workers travelling with Lebanese families who live abroad. The worker's passport must carry the employer's name, number and nationality, the note "accompanying his employer", and they must leave with the employer. Non-Lebanese spouses follow their own nationality's rules, and a Palestinian wife of a GCC citizen needs prior authorisation. Open these files when the family books flights, not the week before.
Prior authorisation lead times. For Egyptian, Sudanese, South Asian and East or West African clients, the file is filed in Lebanon by a host, hotel, company or licensed tourism institution, or through an embassy. Ask the customer who their host in Lebanon is before quoting. Without one, an embassy route is the only option.
Groups. GS gives tour groups a collective visa filed by a Lebanese tourism company, with travellers on the company's lists. The older articles say lists go to GS at least 48 hours before entry and that groups must leave together. The GS rules on group size do not agree: one article refers to groups of at least eight, while the conditions page says regional departments handle groups of up to eight and larger groups have "special conditions".
Visa on arrival is conditional. For Arab nationals on the conditional list, the officer expects a return ticket, a hotel booking or full address with phone number, and the funds GS sets. Customers who arrive without them can be refused.
Sequencing. Hold flights, wait for the GS approval or embassy visa, then ticket. Keep tickets changeable during peaks, as approvals and schedules can move.
Common mistakes. Treating an Egyptian or Nigerian passport as "on arrival" because of one old article; forgetting that "Jordanian" must mean a national-number passport; and sending a GCC resident without checking the profession on the residence permit.
Ordering a Lebanon visa in QuickOTA
Approved agencies can order Lebanon visas from the QuickOTA B2B Panel at B2B rates, which are not published on the site. Select the Lebanon visa, add travellers, pay from your prepaid wallet (no minimum deposit) and upload the passport, photo, bank, hotel and host documents requested. The order status stays visible in your panel from submission to result. QuickOTA is not an embassy or part of General Security and does not decide any application. Access is for travel agencies only. Send a partnership request and include a phone or WhatsApp number so our team can reach you.
FAQs
Does a Lebanese passenger's Filipino or Ethiopian domestic worker need a visa?
GS gives domestic workers accompanying Lebanese families who live abroad a free six-month multiple-entry visa at the airport. The worker's passport must carry the employer's details and the note "accompanying his employer". They must leave with the employer.
Can Egyptians get a visa at Beirut airport?
GS's own pages contradict each other. One article lists Egypt for a one-month visa on arrival with conditions, and another requires prior authorisation for Egyptian tourists. Plan the trip as prior authorisation or a Lebanese embassy visa.
How far ahead should we apply for prior authorisation?
GS asks for at least one month for embassy files. Older embassy pages mention up to two or three months. Add time before summer and year-end.
Do GCC residents get a visa on arrival in Lebanon?
GS lists professionals such as managers, doctors, engineers and lawyers with valid GCC residence for a visa at the airport or border. Other residents follow the rules for their nationality.
What happens if an embassy visa is not registered with GS?
For labour-sending countries, GS says the traveller will not be admitted unless the visa can be verified. If it is not registered within a week of issue, the traveller is returned on the same flight.