Lebanon student visa and student residence permit

General Security grants Arab students, alone or in groups, a free three-month entry visa when they show a student card or a certificate of admission or enrolment from a university or school. For other foreign students, the visa is granted under conditions that depend on their situation and nationality, through a Lebanese mission or a prior authorization.

The documents for a student visa are an admission statement from a university or institution accredited in Lebanon, or a student card, and proof of sufficient funds to finance the studies. Students holding a grant or scholarship are exempt from both.

Students of religion, of any faith, enrolled at an accredited university or religious institution receive a one-month entry visa on a prior authorization that the institution itself must request; they cannot apply through a Lebanese mission abroad. They must be at least 18, hold an enrolment attestation stating the degree, duration and semesters, travel from their country of nationality and arrive at the start of the academic year, with the request filed one month before it begins.

Within a month of arrival they apply for residence at a regional General Security bureau. Each year they must show they passed the previous year, may repeat a year only once, and their children do not get residence through them. General Security temporarily excludes nationals of several countries from this route, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Iraq and Algeria.

The annual student residence permit costs LBP 15,000,000 in the current General Security fee table, the same amount listed for students of religion. Urgent handling adds LBP 4,900,000 per permit. Nationalities that need a visa in advance pay the LBP 2,000,000 visa fee; Arab students receive their three-month entry visa free.

Students then apply for an annual residence at a General Security regional department. The Liban Post service table lists student residence (code 159) among the permits that can be collected through Liban Post, while renewals for this code are handled at General Security. Student residence is issued for a year; when the passport is valid for less than a year but more than six months, the residence follows the passport's validity.

General Security states that the family members and parents of a student of religion are not automatically given residence through the student; their applications are reviewed individually. Married students of religion cannot bring their children on their own residence.