libyan passport tranlsation

[tom cruiser]

I'm traveling to Libya in december and I have to translate my passport into Arabic. Does anyone know how is with the translation - does it have to be a certified translation or it can be translated by anyone who know arabic.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
Tom

[Roman]

Tom,

When I was speaking to a guide (Alarbi of Sahara Stars) he insisted that the Arabic translation should be provided by a certified person. In London you can get it from the Arab - British Chamber of Commerce, who also affix their own stamp on the translation page.

[tom cruiser]

Roman I guess you are right - I also checked sahara-overland site and it looks like there must be a special stamp in your passport which is actually a form for translation.

So I guess I will have to get a certified translation...

Tnx,
Tom

[strimstrum]

Tom

I have an Arabic translation in my passport - I'm off to Libya next week. I got a template stamped in my passport at my local passport office and then it was filled in by an arabic speaking person from a mosque. So there are two actual processes - get a template stamped in your passport and then get an official to complete the details in Arabic.

I'm not sure how the Slovenian passport authorities deal with this but you could ask them about a stamp in your passport.

[Piotr]

Hi there !
I'm leaving for Libya in less then 2 weaks and got a translation in my passport with the stamp of the certified interpreter and that's it.

br
Piotr

[Chris Scott]

Strim is correct, two processes: get a stamp and then get it filled out by someone who can read and write Arabic.
I cant see how anyone could tell an overpriced 'certified translation' from 'a guy at the mosque'.

More details here: Sahara Overland ~ Libya visa information

Ch

[aurel]

I went to Libya by bike this summer and I had to translate my passport also to get my transit visa (no guide). The Libyan consulate in Marseille (France) told me they were accepting translations from only one man (a friend of the consul...).

I went to this man' office (his house actually with his children, wife, friends, etc) and I paid 45euros (in cash only) for a 1min job...

Already a taste of middle-east even before you leave

[Birdy]

If you didn't want to pay for a certiified translation, I would be happy to knock you one up.

Joel

[tom cruiser]

I turned out that in Slovenia there is only one person in charge for the translation and he charge 42 EUR per passport ... so it is a bit chipper then Marseilles :-)

Thank you all for your answers

Regards,
Tom

[TobyW]

Following Roman's mention of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, we've just used their passport translation service. They were quick; I sent four passports to them on Friday, they arrived back with me first thing on Tuesday. They provide the translation stamp, fill in the blanks and stamp it with their own crest. The cost was £25 per passport plus a self-addressed special delivery envelope. Contact:

Therese Bebawi
Library/Visa/Translation
Arab-British Chamber of Commerce
43 Upper Grosvenor Street
LONDON
W1K 2NJ

020 7659 4861

HTH,
Toby

[Sam Rutherford]

Our translations are done by a friend, never had a problem. Others have paid Eur15 at the chamber of commerce, but there's no difference (no additional stamp).

Start hanging around your nearest mosque!

Sam.


PS you might want to check what has been written though - somebody could otherwise have a great joke at your expense !

[eightpot]

That chamber of commerce deal sounds very reasonable - when we were going we recommended it was done by a bloke in London who was linked to the Libyam consulate in some way, who wanted £80 per passport to do the translation.

I sent my passport to the passport agancy, and they provided the stamp (which just says name,occupation, date of birth etc in arabic), and sent the passport back to me by recorded delivery free of charge. I then went to a local language school and got one of the arabic teachers to fill in the details for £20.
There were lots of stories floating about at the time that there had to be official stamps, it had to be done by certain people etc etc, but at the end of the day all that mattered was the guys on the border could read the passport - to be honest they barely did that - I think it was the swiftest border crossing I have ever done. We had more hassle leaving Tunisia than entering Libya. (by the way, don't fall for the Tunisian border guards telling you to hand over all Tunisian currency before you leave the country..tuck it away and play dumb.)

[aurel]

Originally Posted by eightpot

by the way, don't fall for the Tunisian border guards telling you to hand over all Tunisian currency before you leave the country..tuck it away and play dumb.

One of them tried to convince me it was forbidden to exit Tunisia with Tunisian currency...

[zurstadt]

Whoever said what is above me: that is, in fact, quite illegal. You don't want to get caught doing that.

[aurel]

Originally Posted by zurstadt

Whoever said what is above me: that is, in fact, quite illegal. You don't want to get caught doing that.

I just checked the Central Bank of Tunisia website and indeed it's illegal... my mystake...