Al-Rahi Urges Axing Budget Article Granting Residence Permits to Foreigners
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday reiterated his warning over a state budget article granting residence permits to Arabs and foreigners who buy apartments in Lebanon.
“The Lebanese remain concerned over the impact of Article 49 of the state budget which grants a residence permit to every Arab or foreigner who buys an apartment in Lebanon,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.
“He and his wife and minor children would benefit from this residence permit and the subsequent rights, which all would come at the expense of the Lebanese people,” the patriarch cautioned.
He called for “abolishing this article and amending and suspending the foreign ownership law,” noting that the numbers of Arabs and foreigners “have currently exceeded half of Lebanon's people.”
“The current situations do not allow granting any residence permits, citizenship or naturalization,” the patriarch warned.
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