The Assad regime continues to make life difficult for Syrians to the best of its ability – even when they are no longer living inside their country.
Last month, the regime’s parliament passed a bill that included the amendment of the consular fee for granting and renewing passports and travel documents for Syrian citizens outside the country.
Article 1, paragraph (a), of the draft law stated that “the consular fee for a passport or travel document issued immediately and urgently for Syrian citizens residing outside the Syrian Arab Republic is $ 800 USD.”
Paragraph (b) of the same article stated that “the consular fee for granting or renewing a passport or travel document for Syrian citizens who are outside the Syrian Arab Republic within the role system is $ 400 USD.”
As a result of the raise in price, Syrian passports are far and away the most expensive passports in the world. Especially considering that each renewal was only good for two years.
Then on Sunday April 23rd, the regime announced the suspension of renewals of all passports held by Syrians in Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait and Sudan beginning on Monday April 24th.
The regime’ embassy in Jordan said on its website that "the extension of the passports of Syrians residing in Jordan and abroad will be suspended from Monday 24/4/2017 until further notice.”
The regime’s consulate in Istanbul posted on its website that "as of 23/04/2017, work on the extension of passports and travel documents has been stopped permanently.”
Although Assad’s ’s media outlet, SANA, is claiming that the action was motivated by the regime’s concern for the difficulties Syrian citizens residing abroad face, Syrians, especially those in countries where Syria has no diplomatic or consular representation, aren’t buying their story.
And who can blame them?
After more than six years of dodging barrel bombs and struggling to survive in foreign lands it is impossible to believe that Assad and his cronies are the least bit interested in making their lives any easier by “facilitating their affairs and protecting them from resorting to brokers and transactors” as they claim.
In reality, passports are one of the few remaining means the regime still has of controlling Syrians outside their homeland and its ‘so-called’ efforts to overcome the obstacles facing citizens amounts to nothing more than a search for sources that provide additional revenues to the regime’s treasury.
Syrians are angry, especially the ones outside Syria. Many have expressed on social media pages that the "government" ought to be more cooperative with the people in the light of the current economic and financial crises in the country.
The monthly average income for people inside Syria is around $ 60, and some families live on $ 30 a month and all the while prices have continued to rise, doubling 10-13 times in the past six years.
As for people residing outside the country, most of them send money to support their families and relatives back home in an attempt to help them improve their living circumstances.
Six years ago, the Assad regime used waves of immigration and Syrians wanting to travel to Europe to earn a big profit by providing them with travel documents.
Passports were issued for $ 400 and renewed for $ 200. The cost for those inside Syria is only $ 25.
In March of last year the World Atlas ranked Syria as having the most expensive passport in the world – even before the exorbitant price increase.
Unfortunately the high price tag does not make it valuable.
According to the Henley & Partner ranking, the Syrian passport ranks 101st in terms of power out of 104 passports on the index, followed only by the passports of Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan -- all four of which are the weakest in the world because of the lack of countries willing to grant visas to those who hold them.