- Iran has implemented visa-on-arrival for Lebanese citizens at all airports following a diplomatic rift.
- The policy change follows Lebanon’s decision to reinstate visa requirements for Iranians to enhance national security.
- New fees are set at €20 for tourism and €10 for religious pilgrimages under the revised rules.
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) – Iran introduced a visa-on-arrival system for Lebanese citizens on May 4, 2026, after Lebanon ended a long-standing bilateral entry arrangement and restored visa requirements for Iranians.
The change means Lebanese travelers now require a visa to enter Iran, but they can obtain it on arrival at all Iranian airports, according to the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon. Tourism visas cost €20, and religious or pilgrimage visas cost €10.
The embassy said it adopted the measure to “make travel simpler despite the policy change” after Lebanon’s cabinet decided in March 2026 to reinstate visa requirements for Iranian citizens. The move marked a sharp shift in travel rules between two countries that had long operated under easier entry terms.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon restored visa requirements to “tighten border control” and “prevent any activity that could undermine security.” His government took that step after allegations that the IRGC was directing Hezbollah’s operations within Lebanese territory.
Lebanon’s decision came during a widening diplomatic rupture between Beirut and Tehran. Under the current anti-Hezbollah coalition led by President Joseph Aoun and Salam, Lebanese authorities have moved to distance the state from Iranian influence.
That effort included Lebanon’s decision in April 2026 to declare the Iranian ambassador persona non grata. Iran’s new airport visa policy does not restore the old arrangement, but it lowers the barrier for Lebanese citizens who still plan to travel.
The fees are modest, but the practical change is immediate. Lebanese travelers who once relied on the bilateral deal now face airport processing and screening on arrival in Iran.
The timing also lands amid a broader regional crisis. The United States and Israel have been engaged in an ongoing military conflict with Iran since late February 2026, adding pressure to every diplomatic and border decision in the region.
Iran’s response stopped short of matching Beirut with a full conventional visa process through consulates. Instead, Tehran kept travel open through airports while making clear that the previous visa-free or simplified arrangement no longer applied after Beirut cancels the entry deal.
The fallout reaches beyond bilateral travel. U.S. policy has also tightened sharply for Iranian and Lebanese nationals this year, creating a second layer of restrictions for people with immigration cases or travel plans involving the United States.
Presidential Proclamation 10998, effective Jan 1, 2026, fully suspends the issuance of all immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for Iranian nationals, including F-1 student visas, according to a [DHS carrier liaison bulletin](https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2026-Jan/CLP-Bulletin-10998.pdf). That proclamation remains the primary U.S. policy governing Iranian entry.
USCIS also placed an indefinite hold on final adjudication of virtually all immigration benefits for nationals born in or citizens of Iran and Lebanon under Policy Memorandum PM-602-0194, effective Jan 1, 2026. The hold covers benefits including Green Cards, `Form I-485`, and work permits, `Form I-765`.
“USCIS may continue to process affected applications during the hold period, but final decisions are deferred until the hold is lifted or modified.” USCIS set out that policy in the memorandum dated Jan 1, 2026.
That means Lebanese and Iranian nationals with pending U.S. cases can see paperwork move forward without receiving a final decision. People outside the United States face a separate barrier if they are Iranian nationals covered by Proclamation 10998.
Lebanon also remains designated for Temporary Protected Status in the United States, a designation in effect since Nov 27, 2024. Its current TPS designation expires on May 27, 2026, according to [USCIS TPS information](https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status).
On the same day Iran announced the airport visa policy for Lebanese citizens, DHS terminated Temporary Protected Status for Yemen. The Yemen move, dated May 4, 2026, ended protections for thousands of Yemeni nationals.
U.S. consular operations in Lebanon have also narrowed. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut suspended all routine consular services, while the State Department in March 2026 issued a “DEPART NOW” order to American citizens because of the risk of “airstrikes, drones, and rocket attacks.”
The State Department’s [Lebanon travel advisory](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Lebanon.html) remains one of the clearest public signs of how severely the regional security environment has deteriorated. That backdrop helps explain why a visa measure that once might have been treated as a routine administrative update now carries diplomatic weight.
Inside Lebanon, Salam’s stated rationale focused on security and state authority rather than reciprocity alone. His language, “tighten border control” and “prevent any activity that could undermine security,” tied the cabinet’s visa decision directly to domestic sovereignty concerns.
Inside Iran, the answer carried a different tone. By offering a visa-on-arrival at all airports and setting the fee at €20 for tourism and €10 for pilgrimage, Tehran signaled that it would answer the Lebanese move without closing the door to Lebanese visitors.
That leaves travel possible, but changed. Lebanese citizens can still go to Iran, yet they now do so under a paid visa regime announced by the Iranian Embassy, not under the older bilateral understanding that had governed movement before the dispute.
The policy also carries symbolic force because movement between Lebanon and Iran has never been a purely consular matter. The visa shift comes as Beirut repositions itself politically, and as Tehran faces deeper isolation across the region.
Lebanon’s move, followed by Iran’s airport visa offer, amounts to a public acknowledgment that the previous framework has broken down. Travelers will feel it first at the airport counter, where the new rules now start with a fee, a visa stamp, and a fresh layer of scrutiny.
