International Parental Child Abduction

Lebanon

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL.

Dual Nationality

Under Lebanese law, children born to a Lebanese father inside or outside Lebanon are considered citizens of Lebanon. However, children born to a Lebanese mother may not be considered Lebanese citizens unless the father is naturalized Lebanese either by:

1. Residing in Lebanon for five consecutive years.
2. Marrying a Lebanese woman and residing in Lebanon for one year after marriage.

Enforcement of Foreign Court Orders

As a general rule, enforcement of foreign custody orders is recognized under Lebanese Laws, and is granted by the Appellate Court provided that it is not subject to any litigation nor contravenes any imperative rule of law or violates a rule of public order. Therefore, as a practical matter, foreign custody orders are generally recognized in Lebanon, unless a lawsuit is already pending before a Lebanese court of justice, and the Lebanese court declares otherwise. (Please note the information provided below in the section pertaining to Travel Restrictions.)

Right of Custody and Custody Disputes

1) In Lebanon, custody issues, like issues of marriage and divorce, remain dependent on the laws of each religious community. In general, however, courts usually award custody to the mother for the boys until the age of seven years and for the girls until the age of nine years, then custody rights are transferred to the father if he so wishes.

The Christian

Maronite church theoretically applies a different rule which awards custody to the mother for the child until the age of two. Otherwise custody decisions are taken in the child's best interest.

The above general rule shall apply provided that the custodial parent is deemed fit to raise his/her children by the court.

2) Travel of the children outside of Lebanon is usually settled in the Lebanese custody decree rendered by the court. In the absence of an explicit reference to this matter, the authorities will require the authorization of both parents before issuing a Lebanese passport for the child. Once this is done, there is no travel ban on the children unless a court order mandates otherwise. The courts have discretionary power over custody matters. (Please note the information provided below in the section pertaining to Travel Restrictions.)

3) In cases of civil marriage (which must take place outside of Lebanon) between spouses of different religions or nationalities, Lebanese civil courts rather than religious courts will have jurisdiction over divorce and custody matters. However, spouses or parents may choose to submit voluntarily to the jurisdiction of a religious authority.

4) Finally, custody issues may, at the request of one of the parents, be reviewed by the Lebanese courts at any time and be amended based on a change in the situation, which motivated the initial decision.

Right of Visitation

There are no specific rules pertaining to this issue and it is entirely left to the discretion of the courts. The divorce and custody decrees generally fix the right of visitation depending on each case.

Father's Permission

Children under a certain age (generally, 18 years for boys and girls alike) are not allowed to leave Lebanon without the permission of their custodial parent. Generally, the permission is deemed granted with the issuance of the passport.

Travel Restrictions

Lebanese Immigration Officials (Surete General) allow a father to place a travel "hold" on his wife and his minor children (under eighteen). This requires no court order or legal determination. A simple administrative procedure (with Surete General or General Prosecutor), authorizes a "blacklist" entry that expires after six months if not renewed. However, this entry can be extended "indefinitely" by the father or by anyone acting on the father's power of attorney. Often, placing a hold on a child has the effect of stopping the departure of the child's mother.

Visa Stamps

A Lebanese visa entitles its holder to stay within the Lebanese territory for a maximum of 15 days, and can be obtained at any Lebanese embassy abroad, or at any Surete General post at the Lebanese border. Residency visas are given for a maximum period of six months, which can be extended to a total of one year from the entry date. American citizens wishing to reside in Lebanon for over one year are granted one-year residency permits, which can then be renewed for additional three-year periods.

Departure: Immigration officials will prevent departure of any individual whose passport lacks a "valid entry stamp and residency visa." Upon loss or theft of a current passport, a new passport plus a police report of loss or theft are required for obtaining a replacement "entry stamp and/or a residency visa." This process must be followed by an adult bearer of the passport, and by parent(s) for minor children provided that immigration authority's records indicate the bearer's "legal" status in Lebanon.

Issuance of Lebanese Passports

Under Lebanese Law, no child under 18 years of age can obtain a Lebanese passport without the permission of his/her guardian or custodian parent.

For further information on international parental child abduction, contact:

In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. When situations in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department issues Travel Warnings which recommend U.S. citizens avoid traveling to a country. Both of these documents are available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov.

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