Bureaucracy heavy in Libyan visas acquisition

Maltese entrepreneurs doing business with Libya are finding that applying for a visa is not the piece of cake they were led to believe it would be.

Although they were told during a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce last week they only had to complete an application form at the Libyan embassy, they were now being told that they had to be in possession of an invitation to visit the country.

This invitation had to be sent to the Immigration Office in Libya which would then pass it on to the Libyan Embassy in Malta. Only then would a visa be issued. Some businessmen are complaining that this process took a long time. One businessmen told The Times yesterday that several people had applied for a visa last Thursday but on Monday their passports were returned without the visa and they were asked to produce their invitation.

The embassy confirmed that an invitation was being requested. A spokesman said that any Maltese visitor to Libya, whether on holiday or business, required a visa and there had to be an invitation from the Libyan business counterpart or a travel agency.

Another businessman, representing a company operating in Libya, said that what should have been a very plain sailing operation had turned out to be a laborious procedure - so much so that he was not able to send an employee to Libya on time.

He said that during the Chamber of Commerce meeting, which had been attended by both Libyan and Maltese officials, businessmen had been originally told that an invitation would only be required for a six-month visa but this was now required for all types of visas.

Libyan nationals requesting a visa to visit Malta were not being asked for an invitation.