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Update: (19/05/2009):
Can The Citizens of USA Obtain Libyan Visa? Latest News: Libya Appears To Lift Visa Ban On Americans:
We are currently trying to confirm the news we heard today in that Libya has finally lifted the visa ban on Americans. If the news is confirmed it would mean that the citizens of the United States of America will be able to obtain a Libyan tourist visa. The news first leaked out on the 5th of May, after Saif Al-Islam Muammar Al-Qaddafi was reported to have said, at the American University in Cairo, that “Very, very soon, it will be very easy for many people around the world to visit Libya.”
However, we still do not have 100% confirmation regarding this matter, but today, the 19th of May 2010, may prove to be a historical day as we have strong indications that the time has finally come for Americans to visit Libya on a tourist or visa. Apply for a Libyan visa now via our secure form.
Tripoli - On March 24th, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Janice L. Jacobs, cuts the ribbon on the new consular section of the American Embassy in Jeraba Street, in the Ben Ashour, Tripoli; during which the ambassador Gene A. Cretz emphasized the recent progress the Embassy had made in issuing visas to Libyans: over 4500 non-immigrant visas to Libyan tourists, businesspeople, students, and government officials. Currently, the embassy does not issue any visas to immigrants - visitors who intend to settle in the USA.
Update: (23/03/2009):
The
American
Embassy in Libya
has made an important announcement:
"The Embassy is pleased to announce that effective
March 25, 2009
, the Consular Section in Tripoli will be open
for all non-immigrant visa categories at its Sarraj location.
"
Read
more about this here.
Libya Entry Visa
&
US Citizens:
Libyan visa for the citizens of the USA is such
a complicated issue that we have decided to devote
a special web page for it, so that we can gather as much
information as possible about the US issue.
The Libyan visa complications were the result of the old
political tension between Libya and America. As the
climate changes with time, so does the visa situation.
This continuous change explains the conflicting stories
circulating the Internet regarding the Libyan visa
for Americans: some say you can get a visa, others
say you cannot! Both are correct, because some times
Americans can get a Libyan visa and at other times they
cannot.
The recent visit by Condoleezza Rice,
the first American secretary of state to visit Libya
since John Foster Dulles in 1953, on Friday the 5th
of September 2008,
is a good sign that relations between the two countries
are heading in the right direction.
Moreover, the good news is that the US Senate has confirmed
career diplomat Gene Cretz to be the first US Ambassador
to Libya in 36 years.
This without a doubt will eventually open Libya's
gates to the citizens of the United States of America,
just as the improvements in relations between Libya and
Europe opened the doors for tourists and foreign
investors from all over Europe.
Libyan Visa For Americans:
Officially the travel ban on Americans was lifted a few
years ago, as confirmed by the
US Department
of State
's Bureau of Consular Affair at Travel.State.Gov
(http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_951.html): "The
restrictions on the use of U.S. passports for travel to, in, or through
Libya were lifted in February 2004."
US citizens of Libyan origin
are subject to Libyan law. All children born to Libyan
fathers are considered by the Libyan government to be
Libyan citizens. Dual Libyan-American nationals must
obtain a Libyan travel document before visiting Libya, and are advised
that US consular assistance is extremely limited.
There are cases where American citizens of
Libyan descent entered Libya using old Libyan
documents and then found themselves unable to leave
without obtaining a valid Libyan passport.
The US State Department encourages American citizens
travelling in Libya to register with the nearest
US Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s
travel registration website. Please contact the website
of the American embassy in Libya (in the Serraj District,
Tripoli, tel.: (+218) 91-220-0125) for further information:
http://libya.usembassy.gov/general_travel_info.html.
Registration allows travellers to obtain updated information on travel and security
within Libya, and allows the embassy to contact travellers during emergencies.
For further information about American government websites visit:
http://www.usa.gov/.
Visit Versus VIP Visa:
Here we must make it clear that there are two types of visas in
question:
- VIP visa: this option was available until recently. But now you need to contact Libyan companies that offer business visas, as Libyan law does not allow tourism companies to provide business visas. The situation however looks set to change in the near future.
- Tourist visa: this visa is not guaranteed. You can always try and apply for a tourist visa via one of the Libyan tourism companies, but the outcome is not guaranteed.
Where in American can I apply for a Libyan Visa:
No where.
The Libyan Embassy in Washington
DC does not accept visa applications from the public.You
can contact them for
general enquiries regarding the Libyan visa. The address
is: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW – Suite 705, Washington,
DC 20037, phone number 202-944-9601, website
libyanbureau-dc.org.
However, visa application forms must be submitted to
the Libyan People’s Bureau in Ottawa, Canada; although
even this office frequently
declines to accept visa applications from American
citizens.
What is the alternative?
According to the USA-based ZVS (Zierer Visa
Service) ,
the majority of Americans who apply for the Libyan
tourist
visa
through their company receive a visa. All visitors
must first provide an Arabic translation of their passports
(also provided by the ZVS).
The process as described
in their website (
http://www.zvs.com/
)
involves the following steps:
- All Libya visas are obtained from the Libyan Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
-
The Libyan Embassy in Ottawa needs to receive a
"visa approval" from
the Immigration Department in Tripoli; the
approval is telexed directly to the Embassy in Ottawa.
- This "visa approval" is
requested from the Libyan Immigration Department
by the chosen Libyan tour operator handling the tour.
- Requests from individual
travellers will not be processed; a minimum of
four (4) travellers is
required to make it a valid request.
- This process should be allocated at least 40 working
days.
Our opinion, based on the information we currently have, is that it is
doubtful if the above procedure
will work.
But if you are in a group of five or more (owing to the new
requirement of a minimum of five for all nationalities),
then you can send us the documents to try and secure
the visa for you. We cannot however guarantee that it
will be successful, but we do not mind trying.
Americans who visited Libya recently
Rebecca Byerly, an adventure journalist, documented February's race for
al-Jazeera.
For the first time, a US team has competed in the 200-kilometre
Libyan Challenge Master Trek: a race on foot through
the Sahara.
In the following video Rebecca describes her adventure across
the desert and tells how she was invited by the Libyan embassy
last August (2008) to take part in the 2009 race.
It took the winners just under 30 hours to finish the 200
kilometre race; while Rebecca and her teammates crossed the
finishing line after 58 hours.
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