ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Lebanon on Saturday removed visa requirements for Iraqi citizens wishing to enter the country.
“A decision was issued to grant Iraqis who wish to come to Lebanon a free entry and residence visa for a period of one month, extendable up to three months, for nationals coming for tourism,” Iraqi state media reported.
Iraqi nationals were previously required to obtain a visa-on-arrival. They have also been removed from an article requiring them to possess two thousand US dollars in cash or cheque as a prerequisite for entering Lebanese territory, according to the statement.
Passport Index 2022 ranks the Iraqi passport as the third worst in the world, with only five countries – Iran, Malaysia, Dominica, Haiti, and Micronesia allowing its nationals visa-free entry. The addition of Lebanon raises that number to six.
In August, Iraq agreed to renew a deal to provide Lebanon with fuel for an additional year, after it agreed in 2021 to provide Beirut one million tons of fuel oil to battle power shortages during a crippling economic crisis.
Lebanon in February returned more than 300 ancient cuneiform tablets to Iraq from a private Lebanese museum as Baghdad continues its quest to return ancient artifacts looted during troubled times back to their ancestral homeland.
