How do I give a power of attorney for Lebanon from Australia?

Also asked as: “Lebanese consulate Sydney power of attorney” · “Is an Australian power of attorney valid in Lebanon?” · “Does Lebanon accept an Australian apostille?” · “Wakala for property in Lebanon from Australia”

What the Sydney consulate asks for#

The Consulate General of Lebanon in Sydney requires you to come in person to sign, and to bring every document as a printed hard copy^[1]. We read only the Sydney consulate's page. If you live elsewhere in Australia, ask the consulate whether another Lebanese mission in the country can take your POA.

For your own identity you bring one of two sets. The first is a Lebanese ID card with photo or an individual civil-registry extract (ikhraj qaid). The second is a family civil-registry extract (bayan qayd 'a'ili, بيان قيد عائلي) with a valid Australian passport or driver's licence whose names and date of birth match it^[1].

You also bring a printed copy, front and back, of the Lebanese ID of the person you are appointing in Lebanon^[1]. The consulate says Lebanese documents must not be old but gives no age limit, so ask before you order a fresh extract from Lebanon. Lebanese missions ask that a property POA give each party's full names, parents' names, date of birth and registry number^[6,7], so have those details ready for you and your agent.

If you are over 70, you need an original doctor's letter, signed and sealed, confirming you are of sound mind. It must be no more than 7 days old on the day you attend^[1]. Sydney is the only mission page we found that sets a maximum age for the letter, so book the doctor in the same week as the consulate.

Fees and the type of power of attorney#

The Sydney page lists these fees: $145 general, $72.50 special (cash)^[1]. It writes only "$" and does not say whether that means Australian or US dollars. Lebanese law sets fees at embassies and consulates in USD or EUR^[8], so the amount may be in US dollars. Ask the consulate which currency it means, and bring the exact cash.

Kallas Law Firm says a general power of attorney is not enough to sell a property and that an express special mandate to sell is required^[9]. Kallas also says an ordinary POA presented to the Land Registry must be dated no more than five years earlier^[9,10]. Have a Lebanese lawyer or notary read the wording before you sign. More in general and special powers of attorney.

Naming the property exactly#

If the POA is to sell or lease a property, the Sydney consulate says you must have a copy of the deeds^[1]. Other Lebanese missions ask for the property number and location plus a copy of the deed or a Land Registry extract (ifadeh aqariyeh)^[6,11,12]. The Sydney page mentions only the deeds, so ask whether an extract will do if you have no copy of the deed.

A Lebanese property is identified by its registry numbers, not by a street address. To request an extract you give the property's governorate, district, real estate zone, property number, section and block^[13,14], where they apply. In a divided building each apartment has its own unit number added to the plot number^[15]. Here is how to find a property's number, zone and section.

The law-firm site Legalmondo said in June 2025 that anyone may request a property certificate without showing a legal interest^[14], and that the official one is issued only in person at the competent Land Registry office, for USD 5. Copies from OMT or online are unofficial and cannot be used for a transaction^{[13,14,16,17]}. See how to get a Land Registry extract.

For land, the extract tells you what is registered, not where the plot sits on the ground. Where boundaries on the cadastral plan differ from those on the ground, the plan prevails, according to Kallas Law Firm's reading of Decree 188/1926^[18,19]. The Cadastre supervises sworn surveyors, but we found no published procedure or fee for ordering a plan or survey^[20]. Ask the Land Registry office for the area which surveyor can show you the plot against the plan.

Signing before an Australian notary instead#

Australia is a party to the Apostille Convention and issues apostilles for its own documents, but Lebanon is not^[2]. In general, a POA for Lebanon signed before a local notary is authenticated by the local authorities and then legalised by a Lebanese embassy or consulate^[7,11,12,21]. The Sydney page does not say whether the consulate legalises POAs signed before an Australian notary, and we found no published cost or processing time for that route. Ask the consulate in Sydney before you pay an Australian notary.

Kallas Law Firm says documents signed abroad generally pass through the Lebanese mission and then Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs before they are used in Lebanon^[22,23]. No official page we read settles whether that last step applies to a POA. The notary or Land Registry office in Lebanon that will use your POA can confirm. More in apostille or legalisation for Lebanon.