VZCZCXRO2539
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHTRO #0053 0200527
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 200527Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5711
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 1536
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0171
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0185
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 0040
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 0858
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0977
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 6263

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  1/19/2020 
TAGS: PREL SMIG LY
SUBJECT: NEW VISA RULES FOR BORDERING COUNTRIES LEAD TO EMPTY 
FLIGHTS, SHORT LINES AT LIBYAN PORTS OF ENTRY 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, US Embassy Tripoli, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
¶1. (C) This week, Libya reportedly began enforcing legislation 
from 2009 requiring nationals from bordering states -- Egypt, 
Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, and Tunisia -- to have valid work 
contracts with a Libyan employer or tourist visas issued at a 
Libyan diplomatic mission before entering the country. 
Businessmen must have a letter of invitation from a Libyan 
partner.  Contacts in both the Algerian and Egyptian embassies 
report that while Libyan authorities instructed airlines of the 
change as early as January 12, no official notification has yet 
been made to diplomatic missions accredited to Tripoli. 
Travelers arriving by air from neighboring countries were 
previously allowed to enter the country with a passport and 
evidence of LYD 1000 ($813) to establish tourist status -- a 
loophole used by economic migrants to enter Libya without valid 
work contracts.  Egyptian poloff expressed surprise at both the 
timing of the regulatory change and the lack of official 
notification.  EgyptAir, he said, was notified by fax that the 
policy begain immediately, leading to a normally full flight 
departing Cairo at 20 per cent capacity.  He believed that the 
southern neighbors were included to allow Libya to claim 
security grounds as the reason for the new enforcement without 
embarrassing Egypt and Tunisia, Libya's major overland trade 
partners, who he viewed the measure's true targets.  He 
suspected that high-level talks between the Egyptian and Libyan 
governments would have to take place in order for the regulation 
to be waived, and posited that Tunis would likely develop a 
similar tack in response to Libya's action. 
 
¶2. (C) Emboffs who visited the Libyan-Tunisian border January 
15-17 observed that vehicular lines on both the Tunisian and 
Libyan side of the main Ras al-Jadiir border crossing, 
approximately 100 miles west of Tripoli, were significantly 
shorter than usual .  Tunisian-plated vehicles, which normally 
line the road for several miles on the Libyan side, were notably 
absent, and lines at filling stations in Zliten -- where 
vehicles from both countries routinely take heavy loads of 
$.18/liter petrol before traveling the 10 miles to the Tunisian 
side, where gas sells for seven times the price -- moved 
quickly.  While entering from Tunisia on January 17, poloff 
noticed no discernable upgrades to security or changed entry 
procedures for Tunisians -- though the unusually light traffic 
on the highway suggests that word of the regulation change had 
spread quickly and dissuaded travelers without proper 
documentation from attempting the crossing. 
 
¶3. (C) Comment: Libya's sporadic enforcement of existing 
immigration laws is sometimes driven by political disagreements 
with neighboring countries.  At other times, short periods of 
selective enforcement serve to upset the status quo enough to 
dissuade migrants from setting down firm roots in the 
Jamahiriya.  The current regulations were enacted shortly before 
Libya hosted the July 2009 African Union Summit in Sirte, but 
enforcement was delayed after several neighboring countries 
protested.  While the timing of the Libyans' re-implementation 
of the regulation may have been unexpected, the action itself 
should come as no surprise.  Notably, Libya depends on foreign 
labor for its multi-billion dollar development sector, but it 
does not have efficient mechanisms for registering guest 
workers.  Should enforcement of the new regulation continue for 
an extended period of time, both the Libyan economy and 
bilateral relationships with labor-providing neighbors are 
likely to deteriorate.  End comment. 
 
CRETZ