Beirut Entry Requirements

Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport greets you with the scent of strong cardamom coffee drifting from the tiny kiosk beside baggage claim and the low hum of taxi engines under a concrete overpass. Most visitors receive a free tourist stamp on arrival: the officer tears the carbon copy, staples half into your passport, and waves you toward the scrum of luggage carts without a second glance. Lines move faster after midnight, when the humid air cools and the neon duty-free signs stop flickering. Have your hotel address printed in Arabic to show the final customs desk, because cell reception inside the terminal is patchy. Entry rules shift with little warning, so carry crisp passport photos, proof of onward travel, and at least two blank pages. The immigration hall echoes with rolling suitcases and the crackle of the PA announcing "last call for Istanbul"; above the booths, giant portraits of cedar trees remind you that Beirut still guards its borders carefully. Expect a single-file queue, a quick fingerprint scan, and the metallic smell of disinfectant left over from peak-COVID days. Yet the whole procedure rarely lasts more than twenty minutes if your papers are in order.