Libya tourist visa: requirements and how the e-visa works

Libya grants the tourist visa for tourism, recreation and visits to the country's historic and tourist sites. It lets a foreign national enter and stay for a limited, specified period. It does not allow work or study, joining a relative who lives in Libya, or any economic or political activity that would change the purpose of the trip. If you are going to see family or friends, the separate visit visa applies; business trips fall under the temporary assignment visa.

Tourist visas are arranged through a tourism company in Libya. The company acts as sponsor, must be registered with the Passports, Nationality and Foreigners Affairs Authority and must hold a delegate card issued by it. Independent travel without such a sponsor is not described on the portal.

The passport or travel document must have been issued by competent authorities, be valid for at least six months, and allow you to return to the issuing country; a copy is uploaded. The portal accepts regular and diplomatic passports and travel documents.

The sponsoring tourism company must be registered with the Authority and hold a delegate card. It must provide a letter that identifies the tourist group and the destination of the visit, and a copy of that letter is uploaded to the system. Each tourist must have at least USD 1,000, or the equivalent in another convertible currency.

Only citizens of Algeria, Malaysia, Mauritania and Tunisia are fully visa-exempt for Libya, according to the country data published by the eVisa portal. Other travellers should check their passport with the portal's e-visa eligibility check and otherwise plan on needing a visa.

The portal does not publish a fee table. It states only that a visa fee may be requested after the form and documents are complete, and the payment page offers card payment. The amount is shown during the application, so check it there before you pay; we could not confirm a standard fee from an official Libyan source.

Applications start with an account on evisa.gov.ly, where you choose between an individual, agency or company account and sign in with a code sent by e-mail. The form asks for personal and passport data, the Libyan city you will visit, the purpose of the visit, the sponsor's name, e-mail, phone and address, single or multiple entry and the period requested. It also asks whether you hold residence in a third country, whether you are transiting to another destination with a valid entry permit, and whether you have held a Libyan visa or residence or work permit before.

Sponsors such as tourism companies and employers now file through the portal's Visa on Approval route: they submit one or more applicants in a batch, the VISA Section reviews it, and each approved applicant receives a visa ID from the sponsor. The applicant then redeems that ID in their own account, pays, and the visa is issued.

You upload a personal photo and a photo of the passport, confirm a declaration that you will have at least 1,000 Libyan dinars or more on arrival, and then pay the visa fee online when the system asks for it; the application can be edited until payment. The portal says a decision usually takes from several days to a week. An approved e-visa is sent by e-mail as a PDF to present to immigration on arrival; a refusal is also notified by e-mail and you may apply again after dealing with the reason given.

Every Libyan visa type described on the portal lets the holder stay for the period written on the visa unless it is extended, and both the grant and any extension are made at the request of the person concerned. The portal does not explain the extension procedure; ask the Passports, Nationality and Foreigners Affairs Authority or your sponsor before the visa expires.