Cyprus Requires Biometric Lebanese Passports for Visa Applications

Cyprus is now accepting only biometric Lebanese passports for new visa applications submitted through its embassy in Beirut, aligning the application process with Lebanon’s decision to cancel older non-biometric travel documents.

The requirement took effect on September 1 and applies to Lebanese citizens seeking a visa for travel to Cyprus. Applicants must present a valid biometric passport when filing through the embassy’s visa application center.

Cyprus has preserved a transition arrangement for travelers who already hold a valid long-term Cypriot visa in a cancelled non-biometric passport. They can continue using the visa if they present the old passport containing it together with a new valid biometric passport.

The embassy says the change follows the Lebanese General Directorate of Public Security’s cancellation of non-biometric passports. The policy separates the status of the old passport as a travel document from the continuing validity of a Cypriot visa already placed inside it.

Applicants aged 12 and older must also appear in person at the visa center to provide biometric data. That collection requirement is part of the visa application process and is distinct from the biometric chip built into the Lebanese passport.

A biometric passport stores the holder’s personal details and facial image in an embedded contactless chip protected by cryptographic security. Border authorities can use the chip to check that the document was issued by the stated government and has not been altered.

Lebanon has been working to make the documents more accessible to citizens outside the country. Its General Directorate of Public Security recently expanded biometric passport enrollment for Lebanese citizens abroad, beginning with a service in Paris.

The visa change also comes as Cyprus shifts toward automated biometric border processing. The country has been replacing conventional passport scanners at its airports with gates that combine electronic travel-document reading and facial verification.

Lebanese applicants remain subject to the embassy’s existing visa documentation and appointment requirements. The new rule changes the passport format accepted for an application and does not replace the separate assessment used to determine whether a visa should be issued.

The embassy directs applicants to submit through its external visa center and warns travelers not to separate a valid Cypriot visa from the old passport in which it was issued. Both passports must be carried when using the transition arrangement.

Sources: Embassy of Cyprus in Beirut, Cyprus News Agency

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team