With the introduction of the eVisa system in 2024, travel to Libya is easier than it has been in years! However, because it is still new, there are still some issues with the website. In this blog, I’ll take you through who can apply, how to use the evisa website step-by-step, as well as what to expect after you apply. I’ll explain some of the common issues with the site, including formatting problems that you can simply ignore.
Who can get a Libya eVisa?
The short answer is almost anyone can get a Libya eVisa, however you must have an LOI and sponsor, which usually means arranging your Libya travel through a tour agency. For all of our group tours and private tours we arrange an LOI and provide you with the necessary details, so reach out to us at [email protected] if you’re looking to travel to Libya and don’t have your LOI and travel plans sorted.
Libya provides visa on arrival for 23 countries, meaning passport holders for these places do not need to apply for an evisa ahead of time. If you have a passport from one of the following countries, you can get a visa on arrival, though you will likely still need to fill out some paperwork and pay a visa fee at immigration. The 23 countries are: Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Lebanon, Macao, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.
There are a few countries that will struggle to get a visa for Libya and will most likely be denied entry. Passport holders from Israel, or anyone with evidence of having visited Israel will be refused entry to Libya. Passport holders from Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen will also most likely be rejected, but you should consult your nearest Libyan embassy if you have a passport from one of these countries and wish to travel to Libya.
How to use the eVisa site:
First of all, be sure to use the correct website. There is only one official website, so any other link is a 3 rd -party site. Be sure to use the following web address:
Get familiar with something you’ll likely see several times, the “system is busy now” error box. This message may pop up right at the beginning of your application, or even at the very end after you’ve spent time entering all of your information. When you see this message, it usually means that unfortunately you’ve been logged out of the system and will need to start over. It can be frustrating, so get comfortable with the fact that you will likely need to apply two or three times before the system accepts your application. It usually takes us 2-3 attempts still and we’ve used this site many times for my visits to Libya.
Step 1- Create an account
The first thing you’ll do is create an account. Be sure to save your password somewhere as you will need to be able to log in to check your application status and download your evisa once it has been approved.
Step 2- create application
Now it’s time to create your application. Be careful to only use letters and numbers when entering your information. Adding punctuation like full stops and commas can trigger a system error. First, you’ll enter your personal details such as your name, nationality, marital status, occupation, etc. For the “qualifications” section of the Libya evisa application, just put what level of education you have received, such as secondary school or a university degree. You will also need to enter your parents’ names regardless of whether they are alive or deceased. When you review your application, you will likely notice that your father’s name has become your middle name, as this is a common naming practice in Libya. This is just the way the system is set up, so you can ignore this even if it doesn’t match your middle name on your passport.
Next, you’ll enter your birth data, address, and passport details. When you review your application, you will probably notice another glitch here. The site will most likely use the passport expiration date for both the issue date and the expiration date. There is no logical explanation as to why the system does this, but the visa office is aware and it should not impact your application. When you receive your actual approved evisa, only the expiration date is listed on the document, so it will not cause an issue at immigration either.
For the next steps, you will enter your general visit details and sponsor information. Here, you will only have one option for “City to visit”. Though you may be visiting more than one city, just put “Tripoli” as this is likely where you are starting and ending your journey.
If you are booked on a group tour or private tour with SAIGA, we will provide the sponsor information and subsequent documents for you to upload. You will need your sponsor’s contact details and a copy of their ID. This is also the section where you will upload your Letter of Invitation. Upload your LOI to the “Sponsor Extra Document” box. For both the ID and the LOI, only jpeg files are accepted and they cannot exceed 2048 MB.
Next, you’ll mark if you’ve visited Libya on a prior occasion. If you’ve been to Libya before, you’ll run into a bit of a fallacy here. The website won’t let you put dates in that are before today’s date. However, if you’ve been to Libya before, then logically, it would follow that the dates of that trip were in the past…which the website will not accept. The only way to move forward is to select “no” regardless of whether you’ve visited Libya before.
After this, you’ll enter your visa information for your desired dates. Select the dates you plan to enter and depart the country. If you are on a SAIGA group tour, you will select “single entry.”
The final information you’ll enter for your application is about your work and residence permits. Answer these questions as they relate to you, and you can keep your explanations brief or simply “yes” or “no”. You’ll also need to select the button declaring that you have sufficient funds for your Libya trip.
Finally, you’ll need to upload 2 images: a passport/visa photo (headshot), and a photo or scan of your actual passport. For the passport/visa photo, be sure that this has a plain white background and that there are no shadows across your face or in the background. This does not need to be professionally done and can be taken on a phone camera with a good light source and a friend or tripod to take the photo for you. The images must be jpeg format. The passport/visa headshot cannot exceed 1024 MB, and the photo of your passport must not be larger than 2048 MB. There can be some push back from the website here. For example, if the background of your passport photo is cream instead of white, it might not be accepted and you’ll need to use a program or app to lighten the background then try to upload again. This seems to be a case by case basis, so try with what you have on hand and go from there.
When your image uploads, there will be a red “X” at the upper right corner of the image. This “X” might look ominous, but it is not saying that your file has been rejected. It is simply there in case you want to delate that file and upload a different one. For the preview of your passport photo, it might only display a small corner of your image instead of the full image in the thumbnail. This is normal and your full image has most likely been uploaded, it is just not displayed.
Finally, you’ll click submit, and if completed successfully, you’ll see the following message:
Step 3 - Payment
The next step is to pay for your visa. Currently the cost of the visa is $63. If your visa is rejected for any reason and you need to reapply, you will unfortunately need to pay this fee again.
Depending on your payment method, you will most likely be redirected to a banking site to enter your payment information.
Once your payment is complete, you will be redirected back to the evisa site where you should see the following message:
Step 4 - Application Review
At this stage, you’ll be able to review your information. Here is where you will spot some of the formatting issues I mentioned previously, such as your father’s name becoming your middle name and your passport issue date being the same as your passport expiration date. These glitches are normal and can be ignored. You can select “finish”.
You’ve applied for your Libya evisa, what now?
Now that you’ve applied for your Libya evisa, you must wait to find out if you’ve been rejected or approved. We have experienced approvals in as little as 24 hours before, but typically you should expect to wait about a week. Keep in mind that the Libya visa office is closed on Fridays and Saturdays, so if you have an urgent inquiry you will not get a response on these days. You might not receive an email when your application has been approved or rejected, so it’s best to log in and check the site itself. When your evisa is ready, you will be able to download it. You’ll print it out and bring it to Libya with you to present to immigration, but you do not need to do anything else at this stage. Your approved evisa should look something like this:
Arrival in Libya
When you arrive in Libya, you will present your evisa to immigration. Your sponsor will also need to meet you at immigration to confirm that they are actually your sponsor and that the requisite tourist police is in place to escort you. This means that even if you have somehow faked sponsor details or have tricked a tour company into giving you an LOI then cancelling your tour after you got your evisa then you try to enter the country independently (has this happened to us? I won’t confirm or deny…but it made us very sad) you will not be able to enter the country without your sponsor collecting you at immigration. This is why you must organize your plans ahead of time. Independent travel is not currently allowed in Libya.
If you are booked on one of our tours, we are always happy to help and give our expertise if you encounter any issues with the evisa process. If you’re interested in visiting Libya with us, check out our group tours here ! Only have a few days to spend in Libya? No problem! We can arrange a custom private tour to suit your needs.
