By Shella Abdulhalim
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Maya Younes stood in a snaking queue outside Damascus’ Immigration and Passport Department after she was able to book a turn on the online government platform three months ago, hoping to get a passport.
Like thousands of Syrian young ladies, Maya Younes, 22, is engaged to a young man living outside Syria, they need to meet in a third country so they can start reunification procedure.
Long queues and severe overcrowding persist at Immigration and Passport Department branches across Syria, despite the introduction of an online platform aimed at addressing the issue.
In the queue, Maya was joined by laborers, university students, doctors, public servants, and housewives, some of whom camped out overnight, all looking forward to get passports and leave Syria.
“I must finish my travel documents within a week, otherwise, my KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] visa will expire, I had already waited for more than three months,” she told North Press.
Delay
Passport processing appears to be severely halted with no explanation from authorities. Syrians are facing difficulties in reserving passport appointments, arriving with paperwork but being turned away without explanation or having to pay big amounts to facilitate the process.
While she was standing in line waiting for her turn to provide her papers, an employee told her that the normal passports which were scheduled to be issued that day would be delayed until six months forward. It was the second time that Younes’ passport had been delayed.
“I was surprised that the dates to receive passports were postponed by sex months, I had already waited for a long time,” she said.
Syrian government officials have partially attributed the delays in passport issuance to international sanctions. They claim that these sanctions have restricted access to the necessary paper material needed to print the passports.
However, this claim may be questionable, as brokers have repeatedly managed to obtain passports by offering substantial bribes to government officials.
After Younes failed to get a normal passport and because she had to be in Erbil within a week, she restored to a broker to get her an instant passport, as she paid him $900 as he exploited her dire and urgent need. Remarkably, he was able to secure an instant passport for her in less than 24 hours.
Brokers
The Syrian government launched an online platform for passport applications and appointments in November 2021. However, instead of resolving the problems of overcrowding and delays, this platform has simply introduced additional opportunities for corruption and brokerage.
An employee at the Immigration and Passport Department in Hasakah, northeast Syria, preferred not to be named, told North Press that “The new platform lacks the capacity to keep up with demand; it has failed to solve the crisis of crowding, and instead opened up new avenues for corruption and brokers.”
He assumed that government officials are involved in the corrupt practices of taking a substantial portion of the passport booklets and providing them to brokers in exchange for bribes.
“State employees resort to accepting bribes to supplement their insufficient salaries, viewing bribery as a primary means of livelihood,” he added.
He further explained that there is a specific number of passport booklets distributed daily, whether they are normal or expedited passports, which is insufficient to accommodate the high volume of applicants.
In particular, the role of brokers, who charge large sums of money in collusion with Immigration Department employees to secure both spots in line via the online platform and passports, has grown.
Mahmoud Youssef, 40, paid $3,300 to a broker in Hasakah to obtain an expedited passport and have his name removed from the military service wanted list.
“Although I was wanted for military reserves duty, the broker was able to get me a passport the week before the deadline,” he said. “I did not have to go to Immigration and Passports branch in person.”
“Now I can travel through Syrian airport freely,” Youssef told North Press.
Brokers actively seek out customers on Facebook groups, providing their services to individuals who are seeking passports, whether they are inside, outside the country or wanted by the government.
Mutaz al-Hammad, a pseudonym for a broker, told North Press that brokers charge up to $300 for expedited passport, $400 for the instant one and $3,300 for a passport for military service wanted individuals.”
High demand
Syrians, both inside and outside the country, are striving to get passports despite countless interruptions, skyrocketing costs, and complicated procedures.
The majority of those seeking to get a passport is the youth as they need it to migrate, driven by high unemployment rates, the economic crisis, and security chaos, as well as to avoid mandatory military service.
With the surge in illegal migration from Syria, the Syrian passport has become a means to leave the country and reach certain destinations such as Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania, which serve as transit points to European countries.
Furthermore, Syrians in refuge countries need valid passports to extend temporary residencies, extend their temporary protected status annually, and apply for citizenship.
Obtaining a Syrian passport becomes crucial for those seeking legal recognition, access to services, and opportunities for resettlement abroad.
Many Syrians who have managed to flee the country seek to reunite with their families who may be residing in other nations. A Syrian passport enables them to navigate immigration processes and increase their chances of being reunited with loved ones.
Regarding the monthly average of passports, the slow processing rate ranges from 23,000 to 25,000 passports, while the fast processing rate ranges from 4,500 to 5,000 passports. The number of passports issued varies by governorate. Damascus ranks first, with the normal passport rate reaching up to 28,000 passports and the expedited one rate reaching 6,000. Aleppo follows in second, while Hama has the lowest rate.
Skyrocketing costs
Passport fees provide an extra source of foreign exchange for the financially strained Syrian government, which has recently adopted various policies to generate revenue from the people, as the passport application fees differ inside the country and outside according to its type whether normal or expedited passports.
The cost of a normal passport is 65,000 SYP. With online booking, it costs from 150,000 to 250,000 SYP, while brokers ask for $100. The processing time to obtain it is between five and nine months, and only 1,000 passports are printed per day.
The fees for obtaining an expedited passport are 1,005,000 SYP (about $70), while brokers ask for $300. Approximately, 200 to 300 passports are printed daily, and the processing time to obtain them is three to five days.
In November 2021, Syria’s Ministry of Interior introduced an instant (same day) passport service inside Syria for $111, while brokers ask for $400.
While those living abroad who are seeking to renew their passports, they need to pay $300 for the normal and $800 for the expedited passport.
Syria’s passport is the third-worst in the world followed by Iraqi and Afghani at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index. Its bearers are only allowed to enter 30 countries without a visa.