Libya work visa: employer sponsorship and recruitment approval

The work residence visa is an entry visa that leads to lawful residence in Libya for someone in an employment relationship with a lawful, named employer. A residence permit is granted for the purpose stated in the visa and for the period fixed in the employment authorisation, which may not run past the expiry of the travel document.

Short business trips and project assignments use the temporary assignment visa instead. The work visa is for a job in Libya itself.

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

The employer acts as sponsor. It must be registered with the Authority and hold a delegate card, a copy of which is uploaded. It must also obtain recruitment approval from the Authority's Foreigners Affairs Department, and a copy of that approval is uploaded as well.

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.

The portal lists the work visa among its published visa types but marks it as not yet open for individual online applications, and tells applicants to contact the portal to find out how to apply. Applicants should likewise use the portal's contact form, or ask their Libyan sponsor, to learn which channel applies before relying on any other route.

According to the portal, these conditions apply until a second phase of the system opens a dedicated portal for registered companies to file work visa applications. Until then, employers use the Visa on Approval route: they submit applicants in batches, the VISA Section reviews them, and each approved worker receives a visa ID to redeem in their own account before payment.

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.