The Lebanese General Security (SG) announced on Friday that passport applications will no longer require appointments made in advance as of March 6.
Applications will be made directly at the SG premises.
The GS had implemented an electronic appointment system to manage the high demand for travel documents since the onset of the economic crisis in 2019. But with waiting times stretching up to a year or more, the SG made the decision to discontinue the appointment system.
“The new passports will be issued within 25 days,” the SG said in a statement, following the receipt of a “certain amount of biometric passports.”
From March 1, the electronic platform will be available only for individuals needing an urgent passport. Applicants must register for an appointment within five days, although the GS has not specified how soon these urgent passports will be issued.
In late January, GS director Abbas Ibrahim announced that the online appointment process would be discontinued “within a month.” The SG’s statement on Friday confirmed this, enabling Lebanese citizens to more easily obtain travel documents.
A few months ago, prices for Lebanese passports increased by almost double.
