Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Procedures in 2005-2006

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate on 6 February 2014, a consular officer at the Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa said that there has not been much change in the general procedures for Palestinian refugees to obtain Lebanese travel documents and, to his knowledge, it is the same procedure as was used in 2005-2006 (Lebanon 6 Feb. 2014).

2. Requirements and Procedures for Palestinians to Obtain Travel Documents
2.1 Within Lebanon

The General Directorate of General Security identifies itself as being responsible for the administration of travel documents for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (ibid. n.d.a). According to information posted on its website, Palestinians who are registered with the [Lebanese] Directorate of Refugee Affairs, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Directorate of General Security, may be granted or may renew a travel document, valid for one, three or five years (ibid. n.d.b). Palestinians who are registered with the Directorate of Refugee Affairs, but not UNRWA, may be granted or may renew a travel document, valid for one year (ibid.).

According to the General Directorate of General Security, applicants are required to submit the following documents when applying for a new travel document or renewing an existing travel document:

• identity card for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
• civil status extract not more than three months old
• UNRWA ration card or attestation from the UNRWA that the individual is not registered with it
• certificate of residence from the mayor of the locality, with photocopies of the identity cards of the witnesses
• four 4 x 4 cm photos, certified by the local mayor
• old travel document (if a renewal)
• fee: 60,000 Lebanese pounds (LBP) [about C$44 (XE 13 Feb. 2014a)] for one year; 180,000 LBP [about C$131 (XE 13 Feb. 2014b)] for three years; 300,000 LBP [about C$219 (XE 13 Feb. 2014c)] for five years (Lebanon n.d.b).

2.2 From Abroad

According to the website of the Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa, a Palestinian applying for a travel document must complete a travel document form, and submit the following documents:

• Palestinian blue ID card with two photocopies
• UNRWA refugee card with two photocopies
• "Actual" travel document with one photocopy [if renewal]
• two fingerprinted Palestinian identification cards
• four photos (passport size)
• Canadian landed immigrant paper
• The amount of C$40 for one year, or C$200 for five years
• self-addressed stamped Express Post envelope with phone number (ibid. n.d.c)

The fingerprinted Palestinian identification cards can be completed in one of two ways (ibid.). An applicant applying in person can fill out the two cards and stamp his or her right thumb in front of the consular officer (ibid.). An applicant residing outside Ottawa can arrange for two Palestinian identity cards to be mailed to them, and the form can be completed and the thumbprint verified by a notary public, who must complete the following statement:

Before me, a notary public, in and for County of ________________, personally appeared Mr./Mrs.____________________________________, holder of holder of travel document or Palestinian I.D. (Tazkarat Al-Hawiya) No._____________________, issued Date:________________________, Place:__________________, who signed and affixed his/her right hand thumb on the annexed identification cards . In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name at (County) ______________________________, (date)__________________(Seal) (ibid.)

The embassy in Ottawa issues travel documents valid for either one or five years (ibid.; ibid. 6 Feb. 2014).

The consular officer at the Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa said that it usually takes 4-6 weeks for travel documents for Palestinian refugees to be processed, and it requires approval from authorities in Beirut (ibid.). However, he indicated that some applications for renewal of a travel document, if accompanied by all the proper identification, may be processed by the embassy itself in two to three days (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a country specialist for the Fahamu Refugee Programme in Oxford, England, who is also the Director of the Lebanese Emigration Research Center, said that holders of travel documents issued before 1990 must have their applications forwarded to authorities in Beirut prior to approval and that the waiting time is two to three months (Country specialist 10 Feb. 2014).

3. Screening for Criminal Charges

According to the country specialist, whether applicants are screened for criminal charges or outstanding arrest warrants prior to being issued travel documents is not information that is released to the public by the General Directorate of General Security (10 Feb. 2014). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, however, a sociology professor at the American University of Beirut said that all Palestinians requesting official papers in Lebanon are subject to a security clearance (Professor 6 Feb. 2014). Without providing details, the consular officer indicated that there is an internal "blacklist" that they check as part of the security clearance when processing an application for a travel document (Lebanon 6 Feb. 2014). Further information about screening applicants for criminal charges or outstanding arrest warrants could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country specialist. 10 February 2014. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

Lebanon. 6 February 2014. Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa. Telephone interview with a consular officer.

_____. N.d.a. General Directorate of General Security. "About GS / Functions of the General Security." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. General Directorate of General Security. "Pour les Palestiniens / Documents de voyage et Laissez-Passer." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2014]

_____. N.d.c. Embassy of Lebanon in Ottawa. "Palestinian Travel Documents." [Accessed 31 Jan. 2014]

Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Media Studies, American University of Beirut. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate.

XE. 13 February 2014a. "XE Currency Converter." [Accessed 13 Feb. 2014]

_____. 13 February 2014b. "XE Currency Converter." [Accessed 13 Feb. 2014]

_____. 13 February 2014c. "XE Currency Converter." [Accessed 13 Feb. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Lebanon – Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of General Security; United Nations – UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.

Internet sites, including: Daily Star; ecoi.net; Factiva; Forced Migration Review; Human Rights Watch; Internal Displacment Monitoring Center; Keesing's Document Checker; Lebanon – Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, DC, Ministry of Interior, Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee; Middle East Consultancy Service; Middle East Media Research Institute; United Nations – Refworld, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.