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Syria has netted more than US$500 million from passport fees this year, after raising charges for those obtained abroad to bolster foreign exchange reserves, the government said in a report.
The boost in fees comes amid soaring demand for passports, and with Syrians attempting to flee their war-ravaged country for Europe in record numbers.
Damascus earlier this year eased the process for obtaining and renewing passports, while raising the cost of doing so.
Al-Watan newspaper in June said Damascus was receiving some 5,000 passport requests a day from citizens inside and outside the country, a five-fold increase from 2014.
The spike comes despite authorities doubling the cost of the process, requiring citizens abroad pay US$400 for a new passport and US$200 to renew one.
Inside the country, a new passport costs about US$17.
When the government announced it was easing the procedures in June, it said the new fees would be “an important source of foreign exchange”.
And on Monday, Al-Watan said passport fees were bringing in millions of dollars to bolster Syria’s dwindling foreign reserves.
“The revenue (from issuing passports) this year reached US$520 million overseas,” the newspaper quoted the emigration department as saying.
Passports issued inside the country have netted the government US$8 million this year so far, the newspaper added.
The daily said some 829,000 passports had been issued this year at home and abroad, or about 3,000 a day.
 


As thousands flee war, Syria gets US$500m windfall in passport fees

A Syrian refugee displays his passport at Charles-de-Gaulle Airport in France. Demand for the passports has soared, and netted the government much-needed revenue.  Photo: Reuters

Everyone wants to be Syrian: why Europe-bound migrants are ditching their identity documents

Many of the refugees flooding into Europe are Syrian, but some are faking their nationality to boost their chances of being granted asylum. Photo: AP

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