Tripoli, 23 January 2013:
All foreign visitors to Libya will require visas in future and there are to be no exceptions.
The decision . . .[restrict]by Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail, was announced on TV on Wednesday by the ministry’s spokesman, Magdi Al-Arafi. It is expected to hit Tunisians, Turks and Jordanians. Until now, they have not required visas to visit Libya.
The move, designed to combat illegal migrants, is part of a wider clampdown on immigration. On Tuesday, Arafi announced that there would be a ban on all foreigners, other than Egyptians, using the eastern border crossing at Musaid to enter the country. Those affected would henceforth have to travel by air
Meanwhile, the head of the immigration service said in a radio interview today that any company planning to bring foreign workers into the country would have to submit an request to the Interior Ministry which would check to see if the company was genuine and that the workers were needed.
The objective is to crack down on illegal migrants — both those hoping to stay and work in Libya and those planing to use the country as a staging post en route for Europe. [/restrict]
