NFO Announcements

Read about the travel policies and
procedures for new faculty members.

Home > Pre-Arrival Checklist

 

www.beirutairport.gov.lb New Faculty Pre-Arrival Checklist (AY 2008 - 09) As you are preparing to move to Beirut, please make sure you go through this condensed pre-arrival checklist, complete the outlined items, bring the documents listed below, and keep the following tips in mind:

Activating Web Account	Outfitting Allowance
Airport Pickup and Hotel Reservation	Photo ID for Spouse and/or Children
Baggage Allowance	Policies and Procedures
Campus Tours	Reimbursement for Medical Bills
Documents to Bring with You	Shipping and Airfreight
Education  for Children	Travel Policies and Procedures for New Faculty
Housing	Work Entry Visa
Housing Packets
Money

Activating Web Account

Make sure you activate your AUB net account by clicking on this link. The ID required for activation can be found on the covering letter of the Director of Human Resources sent to you along with your letter of appointment. If you face any problems, please contact Ms. Romy Arslan of the Computing and Networking services at rarslan@aub.edu.lb; alternatively, you can visit this website http://www.aub.edu.lb/cns

▲Top

Airport Pick Up and Hotel Reservation

As soon as you have confirmed your reservations, please send me your detailed flight itinerary so that I can make arrangements for airport pick up and for hotel reservations (when applicable). I also need to know your flight number and time of arrival in Beirut as well as the number of people accompanying you (if applicable), so that I can reserve a suitable taxi. (I need this info at least one month in advance to make suitable arrangements for all concerned)

▲Top

Baggage Allowance

The baggage allowance for  eligible appointee is equal to $ 1000, for spouse is equal to $ 500, and for each eligible child is equal to $ 300. For further details, please check out the website on Benefits and Reimbursements at http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/university/academic/bluebook/148020005.html

You could also contact Ms. Tania Haddad , executive officer , Comptroller's Office , extension 2488 for further details regarding reimbursement . You could also contact Ms. Bahia Saadeh, Travel Office in Beirut, at bs09@aub.edu.lb regarding tickets and routing.

▲Top

Campus Tours

The Visitors' Bureau on campus, located right under the Main Gate, provides individuals with tours of AUB. You can contact them before you arrive to arrange for a personal tour, or instead you can just walk in when you arrive. You can also visit their website.

▲Top

Documents to Bring with You

Send official credentials or copy of highest degree certified by the concerned university (official transcripts) to AUB. If you were hired prior to completing your degree, you will need to bring your diploma in order to get the work permit. 

It will be more convenient and will expedite the processing of your paperwork if you submit 6 identical passport photos to HR upon arrival.  Bringing extra photos which might be needed will also be helpful. 

You will need to bring along your marriage certificate (when applicable) for the processing of some official papers such as the residence permit and medical insurance for your spouse and children.

▲Top

Education for Children

Faculty are responsible for enrolling their children in a local school.  AUB will provide you with contact information for schools, so that you may directly get in touch  with the relevant person at each school about your own child/children.

Many faculty children attend two schools, which are both adjacent to the AUB campus.  Both have programs for pre-K through High School and the Lebanese Baccalaureate Program. Both schools may also fill their classes before the end of the summer, so it is advisable to contact them as soon as you begin planning to come to Lebanon.  Make it clear that you are coming newly to AUB. 

1. The International College offers three program tracks-- Arabic, French, English—culminating in the Lebanese Baccalaureate   Diploma, the International Baccalaureate Diploma, High School Diploma, or French Baccalaureate Diploma.   Their  website contains full information for parents: www.ic.edu.lb
    

   Application deadlines:

   Pre-school: February 1

   Elementary school: February

   Middle school: mid-April

   Secondary school: end of April
   
   You may contact the administration by e-mail: proffice@cyberia.net.lb. 

2. The American Community School offers the American high school program, the Lebanese Baccalaureate program, and the International Baccalaureate program.  Their website contains full information for parents: www.acs.edu.lb
   Application deadline: Applications for the following year are accepted for consideration beginning in February (and continuing on a rolling basis until classes are full).
    

3. Saint Mary's Orthodox College: http://www.educalys.edu.lb/smoc

There are other schools in Beirut offering programs in French, Arabic, German, and a few schools (but none close to AUB) which have programs for children with special needs. For more information, you can download this file.

Please not that the New Faculty Information Handbook has additional information about schooling for children.

▲Top

Housing

AUB Housing Department should contact you shortly by e-mail.  If you haven’t heard from them, contact the Director of Housing, Mr. Antoine Chahine, at chahinea@aub.edu.lb

If you prefer off-campus housing, you can visit http://www.lebanonmaps.net to see the location of the furnished apartment buildings you are interested in. Set "Mohafaza" and "Kadaa" to "Beirut", and then choose the "furnished apartments" category.

▲Top

Housing Packets

The AUB Housing Department provides new faculty members with an optional housing packet which provides you with the necessary housing items to help you get settled before you go shopping. This packet contains:

4 Pillows
4 Pillow cases
1 Bed sheet (double)
2 Bed sheets (single)
1 Blanket (double)
2 Blankets (single)
2 Hand towels (small)
2 Bath towels
6 Plastic plates (medium)
1 Cutlery set of 4: (spoons, forks, knives)
6 Plastic cups
1 Pan (medium)
1 Pan (small)

Tentatively, the price is set at $143 (USD) per packet. For more details please contact Mrs. Rima Iskandarani at ri02@aub.edu.lb

▲Top

Money

It is good to arrive with a small amount of savings because it takes time to be reimbursed and to receive your first paycheck although you can get an advance on payment from the Human Resources Office.  If you are planning on transferring money to Beirut, you need to bring a banker's check. Credit cards are widely accepted in Beirut. Many banks have automatic teller machines (ATM) linked worldwide that can be used by all credit cards holders. Also traveler's checks are widely accepted.

▲Top

Outfitting Allowance

The letter of appointment to the post of regular full-time professor, associate professor, or assistant professor of an individual whose home at the time of appointment is not in Lebanon may provide for a one time allowance to cover a portion of the miscellaneous costs of establishing a household in Beirut at the beginning of the appointment (outfitting allowance).

For further information, check the following link:     
http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/university/academic/bluebook/148020008.html

▲Top

Photo ID for Spouse and /or Children

Members of the university community, alumni, visitors, campus residents, their dependents, and household help must complete an application for a Campus ID card. (see http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/general/access/179910064.html). The forms are available at the Office of Campus Protection and the Visitors' Bureau at the Main Gate, the Office of Business Services in the Old Pharmacy Building, the Housing Department in Faculty Building II, the Development Office in College Hall, and at the ID Center in Ada Dodge Hall.

For further information, please read the section on Obtaining and Revalidating a University ID at: http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/general/access/179910063.html

▲Top

Policies and Procedures

Please familiarize yourselves with AUB policies in the on-line Handbook for Faculty. Also make sure you save the receipts for any costs you incur for reimbursable items. For more information, check the policies in the AUB on-line handbook.

▲Top

Reimbursement for Medical Bills

Check with your physician to complete the medical examination form. Note that you need to save your original receipts as these will be reimbursed for the amount indicated (usually up to $300).

For further information, check the following link:     
http://pnp.aub.edu.lb/university/academic/bluebook/148020038.html

▲Top

Shipping and Airfreight

If you are considering sending personal books and teaching/academic materials, you could use Regular Parcel post service or via Airfreight Cargo; however, with the latter method you will need to deal with a local forwarding agent in your hometown.

If you are sending parcels through the postal service, you need to address them in the following manner:

Faculty Member's Name

Name of Department

American University of Beirut

P.O. BOX 11-0236

Riad El Solh, Beirut 1107 2020

Lebanon

You will have to pay a customs fee at the Beirut LibanPost office, downtown; moreover, if you do not pick up your packages within a certain timeframe, you will be charged a storage fee.

Airfreight shipment is recommended for personal effects and belongings such as clothing, books, tools, kitchenware, etc. which do not exceed 300 kilograms. Otherwise, it is preferable to ship your belongings by sea freight as Less than a Shipment Container Load (LCL). In both cases you should deal with a local forwarding agent that will handle the shipping formalities. Please use the following address:

Faculty Member's Name

Name of Department

American University of Beirut

Bliss Street-Hamra

Beirut-Lebanon

For further questions please contact Mr. Richard Fawaz on AUB extension 2185 during office hours. Summer Hours: 7:30-3:00, Winter Hours: 8:00-5:00

A detailed packing list describing the contents of each numbered box should be issued. It’s preferable to put the AUDIO CDs, DVDs, and Video tapes in a separate box because those items will be inspected by the general security.

Please bear in mind that the following items are prohibited in Lebanon:

All kinds of firearms, ammunition, drugs, narcotics, and pornographic materials, swords, knives (even the decorative ones). Alcohol is allowed in small quantities.

Remember to make all your shipping arrangement early on. And remember that shipping by sea from North America takes 6-8 weeks door to door. Also make sure that you arrive at least two weeks before your shipment does; otherwise, you will  pay land charges at the port. For information regarding shipping, please check out the New Faculty Information Handbook.You can contact the Materials   Management-Campus Department at this e-mail mmdc@aub.edu.lb to  coordinate your shipping issues with them.

▲Top

Travel Policies and Procedures for New Faculty

For new faculty members traveling to Beirut:

AUB will provide one-way airfare at the average yearly economy rate for eligible faculty members hired from abroad, and for those dependents intending to reside in Beirut, and who travel with him or her within a three-month period. This travel allowance will be determined by AUB, and will be fixed for the year of hire as the average economy airfare from the international airport closest to the faculty member’s point of departure, to Beirut. Please note that in some cases a return ticket may be cheaper than a one-way ticket.

There are two options for obtaining tickets:

1. The faculty member will purchase his or her own ticket(s). The amount of the ticket(s), as determined by AUB (see below), will be reimbursed to the faculty member after arrival,. This usually takes place seven working days after the Office of the Comptroller receives the Travel and Baggage authorization from the Human Resources department.

2. Faculty members may request that AUB book and purchase the ticket(s). In this case they will be reimbursed for baggage allowance only. If AUB is to obtain the ticket(s), the faculty member must inform HR or his or her Faculty Dean’s Office of this preference.

NB: New appointees must have a work entry visa before a ticket is purchased, in order to know when to buy the ticket. The work entry visa is obtained by AUB, and will show the period within which the person may enter Lebanon as an employee of AUB. In order that AUB obtain the work entry visa, the appointee must send a colored copy of his or her passport, valid for two years, to the Human Resources Office. When the work entry visa is granted (this may take up to two months), HR will send a copy of it to the faculty member.

HR, or the dean's offices, will inform the new faculty who need work permits and work entry visas, of the earliest date possible for travel to Lebanon. This will depend on the date that AUB secures the permits and visas. Candidates wishing to have AUB buy their tickets must then inform the AUB travel office of their preferred dates of travel within the specified time.

The Travel Office at AUB may be contacted as follows: Email: hy15@aub.edu.lb (Hala Yanni) and bs09@aub.edu.lb (Bahia Saadeh) Telephone: AUB extensions 2370/1/2/5 Fax: 961 1 774-471

It is important that the appointee bring the copy of the work entry visa with him or her for entry to Lebanon, and present it to the visa section at Beirut Airport. It is not recommended that an appointee arrive on a tourist visa. Accompanying family members--those with citizenship from the USA, Canada, or EU countries—may enter on a tourist visa, obtained at the airport, upon arrival. The HR Office should be contacted for visa information regarding all other nationalities.

Upon receipt of the work entry visa, HR will notify the Travel Office of the travel dates. The Travel Office will purchase the ticket and send it electronically to the appointee, or as a PTA ticket (a paper ticket picked up by travelers at their originating airport).

When the new faculty enters Lebanon with the “work entry visa”, HR will begin to process the Lebanese residence permit.  Accordingly, faculty members must not leave the country until they have their residence permit in hand. If they do, all previous paperwork will be cancelled, and the process must be repeated.

The Average Pre-Set Price Per Ticket for ADULTS

Here are some of the average prices per ticket (either one- way or two-way) from miscellaneous destinations (USA, Europe and others) which are pre-set for reimbursing new appointees with. However, please note that prices are under review by the Travel Office, due to the new surcharges being applied as a result of the increase in fuel prices.

* Eastern Europe includes Athens and Istanbul
** Western Europe includes Paris, Rome, Geneva, London, Berlin and Frankfurt

Please note that the price for tickets for a child (under the age of 12  )is usually 75% of the adult fare . Moreover , the price for a ticket for an infant ( less than 2 years) is usually 10% of the adult fare.

▲Top

Work Entry Visa

Make sure you have sent Human Resources (HR) a copy of your updated CV, a clear colored copy of your passport which should be valid for at least the next two years, and a copy of your highest degree so that HR can process your Work Entry Visa which you should present at the visa section of the Beirut Airport upon your arrival. Processing residence permits usually takes between six to eight weeks. Please note that you and your family members will need residence permits once inside Lebanon. If you have any questions related to your Work Entry Visa and your payroll number, please contact Ms. Maroussia Khoury, the Records Manager in HR at ms02@aub.edu.lb

▲Top