Several Syrians wishing to obtain new passports from the Syrian consulate in Istanbul complained about brokers’ offices and individuals scamming them by selling them fake appoints. The complaints emerge as its remains impossible for Syrians to register for an appointment on the consulate’s online system.
Speaking to Eqtsad, several Syrians said they obtained their appointments from brokers' offices in Istanbul for amounts ranging between 250-350 US Dollars (USD). They were surprised when they got to the consulate to find the appointments were forged and invalid.
Shadi Mahmoud said, “Although I received permission to obtain a new passport from the Immigration Department in Damascus, I could not reserve an appointment on the consulate's website, so I went to a broker's office in Istanbul and got an appointment for 300 USD.”
“I was surprised when I went to the consulate at the designated time that according to the consulate guards, the appointment I had was forged. They did not let me in, and they asked me to get a new appointment,” he continued.
Shadi accused the consular staff of colluding with the brokers to scam Syrians and force them to pay large sums of money in exchange for a new passport.
Mahmoud Abu Khalaf, the owner of the brokerage office in Istanbul, acknowledged that there are cases where Syrians are scammed and being sold fake consular appointments. He pointed out that the price of a genuine appointment is around 400 USD. He continued that this price is for people close to the brokers and not for the public who will pay higher even higher fees for the appointments.
Using social media sites, many Syrians demanded that other Syrians not deal with the consulate on the basis it is part of the scam. One person commented, “My brothers, the price of the non-urgent passport is 300 USD, and you need an appointment before which costs 300 USD. That means you need to pay 900 USD other than getting a fraudulent appointment which means paying another 300 USD.”
Speaking to Eqtsad, a consular official said, “The brokers are scamming Syrians by selling them fake appointments.” The source, who declined to be identified, said that the consulate routinely publishes the names of offices and people who are scamming Syrians on the pretext of providing them with consular services. The source denied that any of the consular staff are connected to these offices.
Many Syrians argue that the consulate staff must be involved as the lack of sufficient appointments via the consular website forces Syrians to resort to the black market.
A recent decree issued by the regime set the price of an urgent passport at 800 USD and a non-urgent passport at 300 USD. The decree ended the practice of consulates renewing passports on the pretext there are fraudulent extension stickers available on the black market. The regime’s decree has made the Syrian passport one of the most expensive passports in the world while still being one of the least respected especially as it can only be used to enter a handful of countries without a visa
