Dubai: The Syrian consulate in Dubai is rejecting passport renewal applications saying its stock of passport booklets has run dry, Gulf News has learnt.
Thousands of Syrians who approached the consulate to renew their expired passports have been turned away by the Syrian consulate of late.
Officers from the Syrian consulate in Dubai told Gulf News that no passports will be renewed for Syrians living abroad because they have received no new shipments of replacement booklets given the ongoing strife in the country
“We put on hold issuing or renewing passports,” the officer confirmed. “We have no passports available here and no passports are yet coming to us from Syria.” he said.
The officer said Syrian airlines cannot bring passports out of the country because of the prevailing security situation there. “Who will bring the passports to the airport in Syria in order to bring them here? The road to Damascus airport is very dangerous,” he said.
The officer said he has no idea when passports will be issued again in Dubai from the consulate. “If we shut the doors of the consulate here and we left to Syria, what people will do,” he asked.
Gulf News asked the official what the consulate is doing to help Syrians in the UAE whose passports are due to expire and how they were expected to continue to work or go to school. He replied that there is nothing that can be done for the moment until fresh stocks of passport booklets are obtained.
Sameer, who works for a private company in Dubai, was waiting in a queue with others to have his passport renewed. “I have to get my passport renewed in order to renew my residency visa,” he said.
Sameer said his company was not ready to keep him on its sponsorship if he ceased to be a legal resident. “There are rules and regulations here and any company will not allow illegals to be on its sponsorship,” he said.
Sameer said he has been living in the UAE for many years and he himself is sponsoring his parents, wife and children. “This will ruin my life and my family’s life,” he said, adding that it has been one and a half months since he applied to renew his passport.
Ali Mohammad, who works as a taxi driver, also said his company would not allow him to stay on in the job if his visa expired but he was not having any success in having his passport renewed. “My company will not have me any more without having my residence visa renewed,” he said.
Hala had applied to renew her son’s passports. “I applied to renew my son’s passport in December,” she said.
She said she had failed to get the passport renewed despite repeated visits to the consulate. “Every time, they say later on, but they never renew it,” she said.
Hala said her son was born in the UAE and he had never been to Syria at all, but his residence visa expired on February 1. “My son must go to university in US but we are not getting his passports renewed,” she said.
“Me and his father will have our passports running out in less than a month and we both work and are sponsored by our companies,” she said.
Iyad, a prisoner at Dubai central jail, said he applied to renew his passport six months ago. “I got a pardon from Dubai government six months ago and I was to be deported but I’m still stuck in jail because the Syrian consulate and embassy are refusing to renew my passport,” he said.
Iyad said the consulate said he would be issued an outpass. “I’m afraid to go back to Syria with the outpass,” he said.
