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Hi Waqas,
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Thanks a lot for updating me.
sabbeh

So I'm the one who's aggressive.聽 Interesting.聽 You opened your last two comments here with asshole and prick.聽

Did the eyeroll smiley offend you that much?

Not offended, just annoyed at the sarcastic comments when you clearly don't know everything there is to know about the subject.

Of the 30+ Canadians I currently employ in Libya, I can't get 6 back. Fact.

Harry,
Is there anything consistent among the 6?聽 Type of visa (business/multiple entry/single entry)? Time in country? Status of residency (pending, done, nearly expired)?

Some Canadians are more equal then the others........

It also depends upon the PR department of your company and the connections of the PRO in the relevant departments.

I got the exit/re-entry permit without any approval from NOC. Next step would be residency renewal beginning of next year, let's wait and see how that goes.

I will be travelleing to UAE from 4th till the 11th. I will let you guys know if there is any problem.

Hold on to your horses till then..............

Cheers!

I reckon you're about right there, Sid - there are many Canadians at our place and none of them have had problems with either exit visas or residence permits.

My husband (by way of company request) was denied travel permission by NOC and was told (contrary to previous proceedure) that the company now has to go to foreign ministry for his exit/re-entry.聽 The company went to the foreign ministry and was told they need NOC approval for husband.聽

He's also been told he can leave anytime he wants, no preapproval required, but they won't let him back in. No problem, just the pesky issue of job, wife and kid left behind.聽


Further complicating our lives:聽 he is 2/3rds way through process to become a US citizen. Requirment of process is five years residency in the States, never being out of the country more than 6mths at a time, and during the prcess, any absence of more than 6mths starts you back at the beginning of the five year countdown. He is now in jeopardy of losing his eligibility status.

Missed his interview/test date in October because of all this mess, yesterday got notice of a replacement date:聽 Dec 21.聽 If he misses the Dec date, I think he is entitled to one last reschedule.聽 But it's up to INS to set the date within his聽 6mth window, they are under no obligation to do so and will not check it for him. His window closes in February. At that point he has to re-establish five year residency all over again. And, we are planning to be working internationally for the next 10 years.

In hindsight, it's unfortunate that we didn't decide to pursue his US citizenship earlier, but we hadn't thought we'd be moving overseas.聽 When he was international before, the requirments for green card eligibility were different, making citizenship now the preferred option given our choice to remain overseas until retirement.

Of course, none of this would be a problem at all if the Libyans weren't being so arbitrary and capricious in the administration of their own laws (such as they are).

HI
聽 聽Any update on new bussiness visa for canadians. Any improvment.

Nope

Just thought I would drop in and follow up on my visa experience,( asked to post here by laurieloo) I managed to contact the embassy in ottawa today, I was told my husband has to go to the passport office there, and apply with a letter to invite me. ( in Libya)and he MIGHT need a copy of my passport. When they get approval from Tripoli I will get the visa. (without having sent them my passort or documents hmm) I have never in my life had such a backass process such as this. Sorry for my expression, guys. I just am AMAZED! that I am the one travelling from Canada and he has to apply first in Libya! When I told her I was in the process of getting my translation and it was a bit difficult she almost laughed! I also asked about the site saying the size of the photos; it is a Canadian sized passport photo that will do here for Ottawa. Well hubby will go to the passport office tomorrow to enquire, maybe with any luck he will be told to make an appointment for the next day because they are too busy. LOL. ( keep telling myself ITS ALL GOOD!)

Hababbi,

I am not sure how the info was conveyed to you, but I can assure you that no visa application will be processed in Libya without a copy of your passport alongwith the translation page.

Once the required documents are submitted with the visa application in Libya, they will start the processing. Depending upon your connections in the immigration department, it can take from a day to a couple of weeks to get approved.

After the approval, a visa referene number is issued and provided to the applicant. The approval is faxed to the Libyan embassy directly by the immigration office.

You have to keep checking with the Libyan embassy to see if they have received your visa for the given reference number.

When they receive the visa from Libya, then you can submit the visa application alongwith the pictures and the visa fee, this will take 2 weeks to process in Ottawa........... unless you go through an agent (charges $300) in which case it would be ready the next day.

I hope this helps.

Hey sadiqi,
Got the low down from visa services in ottawa,
Send a digital photo of my passport to hubby, who then prints it takes it in and applies. wait for authorization from the lybian government, then go back several times to see if they sent it. once they get it in ottawa send it to visa services for translation, who will then take it to the embassy for the visa. he said only one canadian on his list was approved over the past few weeks. Says it will take weeks... oh well live and learn. Say the big man there is still mad at us so this is the outcome of our actions. ( another case of cutting of your nose to spite yourself LOL ) Thanks S.
By the way, I have the stamp and did get a translation from another place, not on the passport though. I am not sure if the page should be translated on the passport prior to my hubby applying the man said they would do that after he gets authorization.

Hababbi,

The translation has to be stamped in the passport otherwise it will not be accepted. A separate page is not what they are looking for.

I am pretty sure that the translation has to be done prior to applying for the visa in Libya. Photographs are not required in Libya, just a copy of the passport plus the translation page.

Thanks!S.

The stamp itself will not suffice, the translation needs the signiture of the person who provided the translation, that piece cost me $60 all cash in an envelope

That stamp is worth it's weight in gold (maybe more). I should get one made and open a kiosk outside the Libyan embassy in Ottawa........

Retirement job probably!!!

Thanks to all for your great info and support. THings can get crazy in ones mind when they arent so sure how it works. Special thanks to Julien for having a tremendous site for expats to help and guide one another.

Canadian passport holders where I work are now affected the same as elsewhere - no more re entry visas.

Sandman,
Yu wrote: Canadian passport holders where I work are now affected the same as elsewhere - no more re entry visas.

Can you clarify?聽 Are Canadians gettting in/out the same now as others or are the Canadians at your work having the same difficulties reported elsewhere?

Same problems as with many other companies - Canadians can leave anytime they like, but not allowed to return.

Hi all,

I left Libya on the 4th Dec. there were no issues on my departure. No one said that I couldn't come back, no final exit stamp was done in the passport.

I am booked to fly back on the 11th. I will update if I make it back............

There does seem to be more and more business visa problems as opposed to the exit-entry stamps.I was on 6 month multi-entry visa and I left Libya on 5th December, 2009 as my current visa was about to expire on 8th December, 2009. Now my company asked me that they can not get new bussiness visa on canadian passport. As I am holding dual citizenship so they told me to send me copy of my other country passport and its arabic translation so they can arrange my new bussiness visa on my other passport.
Just let me know during travelling聽 being dual citizen and holding to two different passport is there any problem or not at Tripoli International Airport

Late yesterday I got word that husband has been approved by NOC for re-entry. Will truly breathe easily when his passport is stamped.

My and daughter's passports (me USA, she -Canadian) are already stamped.聽 Go figure.聽

Don't know what kind of visa he has - am guessing residency with single entry re-entry, I know it's not a multiple entry/exit visa.聽

This is all so confusing and unpredictable.聽 Like I've said before, in many ways, the most difficult expat experience I've ever had.

Just got from my best (Canadian) friends. Laughed my butt off - and that's a big butt to dissolve in laughter. Figured that us Canadians and Candian-philes would appreciate a good laugh.   

Canada eh! 

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Sabbeh,

There is no problem with keeping both passports on you as they are both legal documents.

You only have to show the one with the valid visa to the immigration, no need to confuse the issue.

I have similar status. I brought my other passport with me this time just in case there is a re-entry problem.

Siddiqui
聽 聽 聽 聽 Thanks a lot for guidance. Today I applied for my other passport ( MRP) at the Consulate in Toronto as my previous passport was expired in July 2008. For Arabic Translation they told me that they can not assist in this and I have to go to some translation agency authorized by Libyan Embassy Ottawa to get it done. Kindly let me know if you have the Arabic translation of your other passport done in Toronto or Ottawa and what was the process.
sabbeh

HI Sabbeh,
I contacted visa service canada,( web search) and they are able to do the translation they are in Ottawa. hope this helps.

Personally, I WOULD NOT show two different passports in the same name, especially if they are different nationalities.

I ended up in the $hit in Congo one time after they found a second British passport in my case and I spent a good few hours trying to justify to them why they shouldn't shoot me at dawn for high treason.

Libya is teeming with "security" officials and they won't think twice about carting you off to their equivalent of the Lubyanka if you give them a weak enough excuse. Look at the recent example of the two Swiss who've been convicted and jailed recently on trumped up immigration / espionage charges!

As I said, no need to show both passports to anyone at the immigration or the airport.

Just present the one with the valid visa for the trip to Libya and that will be that.

By the way, for the other scenario, I went through that her in Tripoli unintentionally though on my first trip to Libya. I had both my passports in my hip pouch and when they ask for passports before finally boarding the plane, I took out the wrong passport by mistake, then gave him the Canadian one. The guy went suspicious immediately, looked closely at both passports and then just handed them back to me without any comments or problems.

Just an update from my side:
I recently came back from a week vacations and I had no problem of any sort while exiting or re-entering the country on exit/re-retry visa.
My two other Canadian colleagues also made their vacation trips in last two weeks and are back safe and sound without any issue at immigration.
I am not sure how much the notion "final exit for canadians" is ture...as fellow canadians I know are travelling back and forth without any problem.

Hababbi!

The links below are from gov of canada and their recommendation for arabic translation.
The second link is the company i used for arabic translation. They are based in Ottawa.

Scroll down to mid page of the link below and u will find translation stuff:


The recommended company (its the link for VDI/LOL Business International Ltd). They can get u stamped visa is 24 hrs, ofcourse for a price. You can talk to them and ask them about express service.



Hope this helps.
Cheers:D
Waqas

all,

husband finally got exit/re-entry visa.聽 he'll stay in Canada after the christmas break while we return; when he finishes his US citizenship work and files for a new passport, he'll return to Libya.聽 Then, he'll transfer his residency to his American passport.聽 And, we'll be okay unless a similar kerfluffle arises with the Americans.聽 Now I've probably jinxed it.

thanks to all for help and encouragement.

We were told on Thursday by the company visa dept. that the issue has now been officially resolved.聽 Our company has been one of the ones that was having a hard time of it the entire way through, (no Cdns were leaving or coming), so it seems it is all better now.聽 Passport is stamped and we are ready to get the F out of here!

Hey everyone, Just dropping into update the most recent adventure in this process. As of Saturday my husband informed me that he had been at the passport office in Benghazi ( 4 days in a row trying to get the autorization number)and had been told they are no longer giving tourist visas to canadians. This is not what the embassy here told me when i called last week. So now he is telling me he has to go to immigration to apply for some number, so that I can come as his wife. Being he is libyan one would think it would be no real difficulty but they may not even recgonize our marriage! ( oh yes I forgot I am CANADIAN and we arent being given visas to visit so why would they say yes to a legal marriage.) Well he is running all over trying to get our marriage registered and trying to get approval for me to visit. What a fustrating process.I dont know a thing about being sponsored as his wife but that is what I understand he has to do! It would appear this is way too complicated. Just crazy! All this just to see my husband holy cow.

I am back for more of the same..............

Merry Christmas......... Ho Ho Ho!!!!

welcome back S! Glad to see it went ok for you.

I called the embassy this morning. They say there is no issue and many approvals have been processed. They are not sure why hubby has been told they are not issueing visas.Being he is a citizen and I am his wife there is no problem I am able to come and go there, This was the word from the consular. He has to go again and will call the embassy here while there and have it clarified. Lets see what happens on Thursday when he goes. Should be interesting.