Libya deports 3 OFWs over passports without Arabic translation

Three overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were deported to the Philippines by the Libyan government recently for possessing passports that did not carry an Arabic translation, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

In a report to Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, Labor attache Nasser Mustafa said the workers were returning to Tripoli after vacationing in the Philippines when they were denied entry and sent home.

Mustafa claimed that the workers arrived in Libya at the time the country was already implementing the new policy.

“The three OFWs were not allowed to re-enter Libya because the first page of their passports, which gives the personal circumstances of the bearer, had not been translated from English to Arabic language,” he added.

The new rule, issued by the Great Libyan Arab Jamahiriya General People’s Committee for Transport and Telecommunication, took effect last Nov. 11. 

It covers all foreign and local nationals coming in and going out of Libya.

The members of the diplomatic corps, senior government officials, and VIP guests of Libya are exempted from this regulation.

“Considering that the Libyan airport authorities have been strictly enforcing the policy, it is important that all concerned, particularly OFWs, should be aware of the guidelines in order to preclude adverse consequences,” Mustafa said.

Mustafa claimed that Libya-bound OFWs should have “the required translation done by the proper issuing authority of the country of origin, or any legal translation offices accredited to the country of origin, which are in both instances the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), or the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA).”

“The translation should be imprinted or stamped in a page of the passport and not as a separate document, and the page should show the seal of the proper issuing authority,” he added.