Henley and Partners (H&P), a global legal firm that deals with immigration, have released their 2012 Visa Restriction Index with no major surprises. The Lebanese passport remains at bottom 10, tied with Nepal. In terms of Arab countries, here is the list of passports to have for a visa-free travel (the number in parentheses represent their global ranking while the final number depicts the number of countries a passport holder can visit without visa restrictions):
- Kuwait (62) – 72 countries
- United Arab Emirates (64) – 70 countries
- Qatar (67) – 67 countries
- Bahrain (68) – 66 countries
- Tunisia (71) – 62 countries
- Oman (72) – 61countries
- Saudi Arabia (74) – 59 countries
- Mauritania (79) – 54 countries
- Morocco (82) – 51 countries
- Algeria (88) – 45 countries
- Egypt (89) – 44 countries
- Jordan (90) – 43 countries
- Yemen (92) – 41 countries
- Libya (94) – 39 countries
- Djibouti (96) – 37 countries
- Syria (96) – 37 countries
- Sudan (97) – 36 countries
- Lebanon (98) – 35 countries
- Palestine (100) – 32 countries
- Iraq (101) – 30 countries
- Somalia (102) – 28 countries
I’ve checked WIkipedia and there seems to be an update of the countries Lebanese passport holders can travel to. Here’s the list with the updates highlighted:
- Africa
- Cape Verde
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Madagascar
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Seychelles
- Togo
- Uganda
- Americas
Bolivia- Dominica
- Ecuador
- Haiti
- Nicaragua
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Panama
- Asia
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
Bangladesh- Cambodia
- Georgia
- Jordan
- Iran
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Nepal
- Oman
- Syria
- Timor-Leste
- Europe
- Kosovo
- Turkey
- Oceania
- Cook Islands
- Federal States of Micronesia
- Niue
- Palau
- Samoa
- Tuvalu
Beirut Airport
Over the past two years (since I first blogged about the H&P Visa Restriction Index and the list of countries Lebanese can visit), I have received numerous emails and comments which follow the same line: “I contacted XYZ embassy and they said that I need a visa; your information is wrong”. Let me repeat, H&P collect their information from the IATA Travel Center. The list of countries Lebanese can visit is pulled from WIkipedia where each entry is linked to an article or webpage that confirms the visa-free travel information. Visa information, especially for low-ranking passport holders like Lebanon, is notorious inconsistent and can change overnight without notice. Similarly countries may announce visa-free travel to certain nationalities but never implement it on the ground.
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idit
August 29, 2012 at 1:00 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Are you surprised?
Jad Aoun
August 29, 2012 at 1:04 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Of course not. Wasn’t expecting a change since nothing happened this past year to warrant a change. Now if the security situation remains as precarious as it currently is, we could very well see a downgrade next year. My two cents.
Maher
October 11, 2012 at 11:57 AM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Update: I got in contact with the Bolivian consulate here in Beirut and they said that Lebanese require a pre-approved visa from Beirut before entering Bolivia. The information on Wikipedia needs updating. Regards
Jad Aoun
October 11, 2012 at 12:06 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Thanks Maher. The change has been made on the list and someone has already updated the Wikipedia page.
YASSER
October 16, 2012 at 4:30 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
is it the same for the palestinian holding lebanese document
Jad Aoun
October 16, 2012 at 4:35 PM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
I am not sure.
Olrip
December 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
I have been actually following the visa’s issues since some time and yes things seem to be getting worst for holders of Lebanese passports.
I am actually in a country in Asia, and i am applying for a visa to go to Thailand. I’ve done it 2 years ago and it was a piece of cake: Fill the application + picture, Passport + photocopy + letter from the company i work at. A day later i can picked it up. This time when i called the consulate (as any Lebanese would do), they told me i need to have an interview. I was so surprised and said to myself she’s talking nonsense.
Anyway yesterday (took half a day off from work) i went to give the documents, i had to wait in line for more than an hour, and then they tell me i need to print out all my passport (yes from first till last page). I lowered my head in desperation and well went back today with the copies. And finally as i was in the counter, they gave me back my passport and told me i need to wait for the visa. I was like “Yea ok but why you don’t give me the receipt?”, and then came the clarification of the answer: “We will study your documents and will call you to let you know IF YOU CAN APPLY FOR A VISA in our consulate”.
How to react to something like that? i have kept myself from crying and went back to work. Fact is, now it is not just a story of getting a visa, it is also a story of getting an approval if or not we can apply to get the visa :S. Tunisians had a revolution and they applied with me without problems, but i guess for us we had been downgraded.
So yes the outlook is negative on every level: Security, economy, etc. The Number of countries we can visit may be increasing by 1 or 2 every year, but it is not for the countries where it matters. We are destined to spend our days in the waiting lines to apply for basically countries crappier than ours…
Anyway, I do not belong to any political side, but i guess that when things like in the link below happens, it makes it harder for us to travel anywhere:
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/27221
Jad Aoun
December 26, 2012 at 9:37 AM (UTC 4) Link to this comment
Thank you very much for your comment. Keep me posted on how things go with your visa.