Syria: Requirements and procedures to obtain a passport from abroad, specifically for a Syrian citizen living in Jordan as a temporary resident; information contained in the passport (2012)

1. Requirements and Procedures to Obtain a Syrian Passport Abroad

According to the website of the Embassy of Syria in Australia, Syrian citizens wishing to renew an existing passport should apply to the embassy six months prior to the previous passport's expiration date (Syria n.d.). The embassy states that applicants must provide the following:

Two completed information forms and include their Syrian ID number;

Four colour photos, taken against a white background, without glasses, with any religious head covering in a dark colour;

A consular registration form with two photos and a money order of 9.00 Australian dollars (AUD) [C$9.00 (XE 14 May 2013a)] (except for students);

Date and place of "civil record";

The old passport, a residence document in Australia, a document providing proof of career, an address and telephone number in Australia, and an address and the "military department" to which the applicant is subject in Syria;

The passport fee of 181 AUD [C$ 182 (XE 14 May 2013b)] (Syria n.d.).

Syrian citizens wishing to replace a lost passport must provide all of the information described above, plus: photo identification; a police report and three newspaper ads indicating that the applicant has looked for the passport; proof of military service status (whether it has been completed, whether the applicant is exempt, etc.); a "written pledge for saving the passport from loss," and a lost passport fee of 61 AUD [C$ 61 (XE 14 May 2013c)] in addition to the regular passport fee (Syria n.d.).

Further information on the procedures and requirements for applying for a new Syrian passport from abroad, including for a Syrian citizen living in Jordan as a temporary resident, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, the following information on the ability of Syrian citizens to apply for a passport from abroad may be of interest.

The BBC, providing the text of an Al-Jazeera video, indicates that Syrians living in Jordan in 2012 were "forbidden from renewing their passports and other administrative documents," although the Syrian embassy in Amman denied this (26 June 2012). Arab News, an English-language newspaper founded in Saudi Arabia in 1975 (Arab News n.d.), reports that in 2012 some Syrian expatriates "said they were unable to renew their passports at the Syrian diplomatic and consular missions" in Saudi Arabia for various reasons, including a fear that, according to one source quoted in the article, "many of the Syrian diplomatic or consular staff had connections with the Syrian intelligence and that part of their duties was to keep an eye on Syrian expatriates" (13 June 2012). The Associated Press reports the case of one Syrian expatriate's attempts to renew his passport in 2012, stating that the embassy in Cairo was closed, the embassies in Libya and Tunisia could no longer issue passports because they were loyal to the opposition, and the embassy in Algeria suggested that he return to Syria (29 Sept. 2012). Corroborating information on the ability of Syrians to renew passports from abroad could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Information Contained in a Syrian Passport

According to Keesing Reference Systems, the Syrian passport contains the bearer's name, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, signature, gender, personal number, the document number, the period of validity, the date of issue, and issuing country (n.d.b). Photographs, provided by Keesing Reference Systems, of the front cover, the photograph and bearer's data, and the second spread for a sample Syrian passport issued in 2002 are attached to this Response. Corroborating or further information on the contents of a Syrian passport could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Issuing Authority and Validity

The US Department of State Country Reciprocity Schedule for Syria states that passports are issued by the Department of Immigration and Passport in the Ministry of Interior (n.d.). Keesing Reference Systems states that the Syrian passport is valid for six years (n.d.a). In 2007, the Danish Immigration Service, quoting an official in the Immigration and Passports Department of the Ministry of Interior, states that passports are valid for six years, with the exception of passports issued to men who have not completed their military service; these passports are valid for two years (Denmark Apr. 2007). Information about whether the issuing body and validity period of Syrian passports was still valid as of 2012 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Arab News. 13 June 2012. "Syrian Expatriates Fear Going Home." [Accessed 13 May 2013]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 14 May 2013]

Associated Press. 29 September 2012. "Loss of Family, Home, and Nation: Syrian Refugees in 4 Countries Talk of Pain, Fear." [Accessed 13 May 2013]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 26 June 2012. "Embassy Denies Syrians Living in Jordan Not Allowed to Renew Passports." (Factiva)

Denmark. April 2007. Danish Immigration Service. Syria: Kurds, Honour-Killings, and Illegal Departure. Report From a Fact-Finding Mission to Damascus. [Accessed 14 May 2013]

Keesing Reference Systems. N.d.a. "Syria - SYR - National Passport - General." [Accessed 10 May 2013]

_____. N.d.b. "Syria - SYR - National Passport - Data Positions." [Accessed 10 May 2013]

Syria. N.d. Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic, Canberra, Australia. "Obtaining or Renewing a Passport." [Accessed 14 May 2013]

United States. N.d. Department of State. "Syria." Country Reciprocity Schedules. [Accessed 14 May 2013]

_____. 14 May 2013a. "Currency Converter Widget." [Accessed 14 May 2013]

_____. 14 May 2013b. "Currency Converter Widget." [Accessed 14 May 2013]

_____. 14 May 2013c. "Currency Converter Widget." [Accessed 14 May 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives and officials from the following were unsuccessful: Amnesty International; Canada - Embassy in Jordan; Syria - Embassy in Australia, Embassy in France, Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, Embassy in the United Kingdom, Honourary Consulate in Michigan, Honourary Consulate in Texas. Representatives from the following were unable to provide information: Professor of Middle East Studies at Oklahoma University; Syria - Consul General in Montreal, Embassy in Jordan, Embassy in the United States.

Internet sites, including: Al-Arabiya; Asharq Al-Awsat (London); Caritas; ecoi.net; Factiva; Forced Migration; Freedom House; Front Line Defenders; Human Rights Watch; Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre; The New York Times; Syria - Embassy in Belgium, Embassy in Sweden, Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, Embassy in the United Kingdom, Embassy in the United States; United Kingdom - Home Office; United Nations - High Commissioner for Refugees, Integrated Regional Information Networks, International Organization for Migration, Refworld, Reliefweb, World Food Programme.

Attachment

Keesing Reference Systems. N.d. "Syria - SYR - National Passport - General." Front cover, Photograph and Bearer's Details, and Second Spread. [Accessed 10 May 2013]