Daily Star - Mp Says Green Card Can Solve Womens Nationality Dilemma

By The Daily Star

BEIRUT: A green card might be the solution for children and husbands of Lebanese women married to foreigners, according to a draft law presented by Kesrouan lawmaker Neamtallah Abi Nasr.
The green card would give the women’s husbands and children all civil rights except political rights, such as the right to vote and to acquire the Lebanese nationality.
Lebanon’s current nationality law allows men to pass on their nationality to non-Lebanese wives and children but prohibits Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese from doing the same. Over 18,000 Lebanese women are married to non-Lebanese living in Lebanon.
To qualify for the green card, applicants must meet several combined conditions. The Lebanese wife or mother must have maintained her Lebanese citizenship; the couple must be married for over five years while the husband and children must have been living in Lebanon, even irregularly, for over three years; and the husband must not be divorced from his Lebanese wife.
Furthermore, the applicant must not have any convictions for a crime or felony or any attempted criminal act, and his/her native country must have similar regulations in place for members of the Lebanese Diaspora.
Abi Nasr’s suggestion would give applicants who fulfill these conditions the right of residency in Lebanon, valid for five years and renewable every five years. It would also allow them to enter Lebanon without a visa and work in the private sector without a work permit.
The holders of the green card would also benefit from the services provided by national ministries, public institutions and the National Social Security Fund, and would be guaranteed the right to invest and to establish businesses and firms.
The holders of the green card would also be able to enroll in public schools and universities and would enjoy priority in benefiting from all services provided by diplomatic delegations and consulates.
Nonetheless, the green card would not allow its holders to acquire Lebanese citizenship, qualify for jobs as civil servants, vote in elections, or run for local or parliamentary positions. It would also deny them the right to form or participate in political parties and the right to exercise any profession regulated by a syndicate. – The Daily Star