GlobeQuest

Lebanon visas and residency

Who can visit Lebanon without a visa, and the 4 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Lebanon, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa on arrivalUnited KingdomVisa on arrivalIndiaVisa requiredCanadaVisa on arrivalAustraliaVisa on arrivalGermanyVisa on arrivalFranceVisa on arrivalNetherlandsVisa on arrivalIrelandVisa on arrivalSpainVisa on arrivalItalyVisa on arrivalPortugalVisa on arrivalPolandVisa on arrivalSwedenVisa on arrivalSwitzerlandVisa on arrivalSouth AfricaVisa required
Long stay

How you actually move to Lebanon

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Work permit and annual residence (employer-sponsored)

Foreign nationals employed by a Lebanese entity. Two documents from two bodies: a work permit from the Ministry of Labour and a residence permit from General Security, obtained in that order.

What you need
  • Job offer from a Lebanese employer, who applies for prior authorisation and then the work permit
  • The employer must show the role cannot be filled by a Lebanese national — the preference principle in Decree No. 17561 of 1964, the Foreign Workers Regulation
  • The occupation must not be one reserved to Lebanese nationals
  • Medical tests and a bank deposit attestation, depending on category
  • Application to General Security for temporary residence, normally within three months of arrival
How long it lasts
Work permits are issued for one year and renewed annually; residence is matched to the permit.
Path to permanent residence
Not automatic. Lebanon does issue a longer-term residence — commonly described as three years and renewable — but it is a separate application, not a consequence of years worked.
Cost
Ministry of Labour prior-authorisation and work-permit fees are set in Lebanese pounds and have been revised repeatedly since 2019; General Security charges a separate residence fee. Ask the employer for the current figures rather than relying on any published table.
Processing time
Commonly one to three months once documents are complete.
Worth knowing
  • Around seventy professions are reserved for Lebanese nationals by ministerial decree, covering broad areas including administrative, banking, insurance and educational work. The list is reissued and can change; check the current decree against your actual job description, not your job title.
  • Work permits are graded into classes, and the class you hold affects downstream rights — notably whether your spouse and children can obtain residence on your permit. Establish which class your employer is applying for before you accept.
  • Lebanon has no digital-nomad or remote-work visa. Remote workers use short-stay entry, which is not a residence route.
  • Salaries are taxable in Lebanon. Payroll tax is progressive from 2% to 25%, and the brackets are set in Lebanese pounds and have been re-based by successive budget laws, most consequentially in 2024. How a salary actually paid in US dollars is converted for payroll tax has itself been the subject of specific ministerial rules. Do not model a Lebanese salary without an accountant.
Sources:Lebanon Ministry of LabourGeneral Directorate of General Security (Sûreté Générale)PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Lebanon, taxes on personal income
FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Courtesy residence (residence of courtesy)

The route most foreigners in Lebanon actually use, and the one least discussed abroad: people with a Lebanese connection. General Security grants it free of charge.

What you need
  • One of the qualifying connections listed by General Security — dual nationals; people of Lebanese origin born abroad but not registered; children of a Lebanese parent, biological or adopted; the husband of a Lebanese woman where the marriage is more than a year old; the non-working wife of a Lebanese man; foreign minors born in Lebanon and studying there; retired diplomats who previously served in Lebanon
  • Application form signed in person
  • Passport valid at least three years, plus photocopies
  • Three recent passport photographs (3.5 × 4.5 cm)
  • Category-specific civil documents — marriage and birth certificates, proof of Lebanese nationality, civil status records
How long it lasts
Temporary residence, renewable. General Security states it is granted free of charge.
Path to permanent residence
Does not itself confer permanence, but for people of Lebanese descent it is the practical way to live in Lebanon indefinitely without an employer.
Cost
Free, per General Security's own published conditions. Document attestation abroad is your cost.
Processing time
Weeks, dependent on the completeness of the civil documents.
Worth knowing
  • The three-year passport validity requirement is unusually long and catches people whose passport has two years left. Renew before you apply, not after you are refused.
  • The categories are specific and gendered — the husband of a Lebanese woman and the wife of a Lebanese man are treated under different conditions. Read the category that matches your own situation.
  • Courtesy residence does not by itself carry the right to work. If you intend to be employed, you still need a Ministry of Labour work permit.
Sources:General Security — courtesy residenceGeneral Directorate of General Security (Sûreté Générale)
RetirementLow confidenceVerified August 2026

Annual residence for holders of independent income

People who can support themselves without Lebanese employment — retirees, people living on income from abroad, and applicants over 64, whom General Security exempts from the work attestation requirement.

What you need
  • Evidence of independent means: General Security's annual-residence conditions state either a blocked bank account or a monthly income, each at a threshold set in Lebanese pounds
  • Passport with adequate validity, photographs and the standard application
  • Proof of accommodation
How long it lasts
Annual, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
None directly; it renews rather than accumulates.
Cost
General Security residence fee, set in Lebanese pounds.
Processing time
Weeks.
Worth knowing
  • The thresholds are denominated in Lebanese pounds and were set against a currency that has since collapsed and been administratively re-based more than once. Their real value in dollars is therefore not stable, and the figure General Security applies at the counter is the one that matters. Confirm the current number directly before relying on it.
  • A 'blocked account' test interacts badly with Lebanon's banking crisis: money placed in a Lebanese bank since 2019 has not been freely withdrawable in the ordinary way, and pre-crisis deposits are subject to informal restrictions. Understand exactly what kind of account and what kind of dollars are being required before you transfer anything into Lebanon.
  • Separate annual-residence categories exist for religious students and clergy, and for investors — the investor category, as published, is framed around applicants resident in Arab countries with accreditation from their home country.
Sources:General Security — residence types and annual residence categoriesGeneral Directorate of General Security (Sûreté Générale)
FamilyLow confidenceVerified August 2026

Family residence (dependants of a work-permit holder)

The spouse and children of a foreigner holding a Lebanese annual work permit.

What you need
  • The sponsor's valid annual work permit — General Security's published condition refers specifically to second-class work permits
  • Marriage certificate and passports valid at least a year
  • Notarised work attestation for the sponsor
  • Proof that the sponsor supports the family financially
How long it lasts
Annual, matched to the sponsor's permit; fees are stated as the same as the sponsor's.
Path to permanent residence
None on its own. Dependants follow the sponsor.
Cost
The same residence fee as the principal applicant, per General Security. Minors are exempt from the fee.
Processing time
Weeks after the sponsor's permit and residence exist.
Worth knowing
  • Because the condition is written against a specific work-permit class, a sponsor on a different class may not be able to bring family at all. This is the single most important thing to confirm before moving a family to Lebanon.
  • A family residence does not carry work rights; a working spouse needs their own work permit and faces the same reserved-professions list.
Sources:General Security — residence types and annual residence categoriesGeneral Directorate of General Security (Sûreté Générale)
On the ground

Where you'd land in Lebanon

Beirut

A trilingual Mediterranean city living with an economic crisis, where rent is cash and power is a subscription.

Full Beirut guide

Lebanon at a glance

Capital
Beirut
Population
5.8M
Languages
Arabic, French
Currency
LBP