Libyan visas

[Jasper]

Sahara-overland.com states that Libyan visas are very difficult to obtain and you should go to Algeria instead! However, perseverance has paid off and I (we) have found a relatively simple way to obtain independent travel visas for Libya.

You do indeed need at least 4 people to make your initial application but it seems that these people do not need to travel together or even at the same time. If you really wanted you could probably make up another 2 names although it would be rather expensive.

Anne and I met 2 other Libya potential tourists through this forum and decided to apply as a 4. We contacted Arkno Tours in Libya, and dealt with Jamal Fteis, jamal@arkno.com, www.arkno.8m.com.
tel 00218 21 441452
fax 00218 21 3330530
mobiel 00218 91 214 0262

If you go to their web site then they have all the details that they require for you to send for a letter of application. They don’t request Nationality or sex but I included both anyway. Nationality is needed.

Arkno charge $100 per person for the letter and $200 for paperwork at the border when you cross.

10 days after sending our details I received a scanned copy of the letter of invitation from Jamal. During this time I called him a couple of times from the UK and found him available and helpful. Phone connections were not a problem. I had the letter translated by a friend of mine and it was very normal. They seemed to get my wife’s nationality wrong, but it did not hinder anything later.

With the letter I then contacted Kalifa Hamed at Visa and Translating Services in London. He was very helpful and friendly also. His contact details are :-
Britannia House
1-11 Glenthorne Road
Hammersmith
London
W6 0LH
Tel: 020 87489898
Fax: 020 87484250
Mob: 0786 0620078
hamed@btinternet.com

He posted up some visa application forms and said that he could get the visas for us. All 4 of us used him. Another option was Thames Consular who didn’t seem to have a clue and didn’t even recognise my invitation letter when I faxed it to them.

As I live in Aberdeen it is fairly difficult to get translation stamps in passports etc so I decided to use Hamed for everything. He stamped, translated, applied for and dealt with everything for me and posted our passports back for £100 each. Sounds a lot but he provided a good service.

Our visas took 3 weeks to get but that was over Christmas and New Year and it usually takes 2 weeks apparently. The other couple were in more of a hurry and were in London at the time and Hamed dealt with theirs within a week i.e. Monday start and complete by Friday! Cost was more but I don’t know how much.

The other couple have now crossed into Libya successfully and are in Tripoli. They reported no problems at the border. An Arkno man met them and dealt with everything with minimum fuss. There was no search, no money changing necessary and it was over in an hour. They have not had to take a guide and it seems do not have to for the time being.

We will be setting off ourselves in a couple of weeks, if we get our passports back from the Sudanese Embassy, and hope things go as smoothly.

If you’re out there Charles and Jo, hi, and let us know how you’re getting on.

I hope this helps those that want to but were finding it difficult. Any further info needed, get in touch

Happy travels

Jasper


[This message has been edited by Jasper (edited 04 February 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Jasper (edited 04 February 2002).]