Libya : Passport translation must for entry?
 

Hi all,

I am about to travel to Libya. I came to know that a new rule has been enforced by the authorities there which requires translation of the first page of passport to Arabic. Also, this translation seem to be needing an attestation by the Passport authority of the country of issue. There seems to be is no official source of Libya on web to confirm this. I tried to reach the Libyan embassy in India to know from which agency I should obtain the translation? They were cold and not responsive like many ME embassies.

I have now got the translation of the passport done through a freelancer. I am not sure whether it would be acceptable or not.

Several incidents have been reported where visitors have been turned away after landing for not having the translation and for those who did have the translation, for not having the proper attestation.

Does anybody know what exactly is the requirement? Has anyone successfully been through the immigration? What was your experiences?

Thanks,

Canada will provide Arabic translation stamp to its citizens for a fee.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/articles/20071205.aspx?lang=eng

I don't have a definitive answer, but have been trying to work out the answer myself. The UK Passport Agency will supply a blank stamp free of charge with headings in English and Arabic - with dotted lines in between. Someone has to fill in the dotted line gaps in Arabic. Depending on what you read, this might be done by yourself or a mate who speaks Arabic, or by a translation agency. It won't be done by your own Passport Agency. The Libyan Embassies are supposed to have a list of authorised translators, but they don't. Then, depending on who you read, you are supposed to get the filled in stamp authorised and re-stamped by the translators, or by your own Passport Agency, or not at all. The translation must be stamped in your passport and cannot be on a separate sheet of paper. Again, depending on who you read, the Libyan border guards check that the translation is there but don't actually pay much attention to it once they've seen it's there.

This thread might be useful: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntre...rt=45&tstart=0