First: Situation

Some employers request “departure certificates” for domestic workers or workers under their sponsorship who have already left, while still holding valid annual residency permits. They also request to prohibit these workers from re-entering Lebanon based on those valid residencies.

Second: Implementation

When a sponsor submits a request to obtain a departure certificate for a domestic worker or any worker under their sponsorship, the following procedures are applied:

• It is verified that the domestic worker or worker has already left the country, even though their residency is still valid at the time of the request.
• In this case, a notice is issued prohibiting the entry of the domestic worker or worker under the validity of their existing residency permit. The sponsor’s name, address, and phone number are included in the notice. This notice is automatically cancelled upon expiration of the residency permit.
• The sponsor (or their representative) is required to provide a notarized undertaking to cover the costs of repatriating the domestic worker or worker in case they return to Lebanon using their valid residency permit. Alternatively, this undertaking can be completed using an Internal Security Forces template, stamped with financial stamps worth 50,000 Lebanese pounds and duly validated according to procedures.
• A departure certificate is then issued.
• If the domestic worker or worker enters Lebanon, they are detained at the relevant department or border checkpoint, and the sponsor (or their representative) is summoned to provide a return ticket to send them back to their country of origin. Their residency and work permit (if any) are then withdrawn.

Third: Legal Fees

• A fee is collected for each departure certificate issued at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport General Security office.
• Applications for departure certificates can also be submitted at regional centers corresponding to the applicant’s place of residence and at the General Secretariat, without payment of a service fee.