CAIRO: The fees of issuing or renewing passports will increase to reach LE 250, more than triple the old fees, under a new draft law that was approved by the Shoura Council this week.
Under the new law, the fees for issuing replacement passports – for lost or damaged ones – would doubled to reach LE 500. The draft law is pending the People’s Assembly’s final approval.
“The changes are aimed at funding the rise in public sector salaries and pensions [announced by President Hosni Mubarak last month], said Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah, Member of Parliament affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party.
“The society must contribute to social support, he added.
Under the draft law, parents won’t be able to include their children on their passports as was the case before. Instead, a passport has to be issued for each family member.
At Tahrir Square’s Mogamma, the government building responsible for issuing official documents including passports, citizens were on board with the pending law.
“In the past we used to have a large and old passport with low issuance fees, but now we have a better-looking electronic passport so the increase in fees is natural, said a 25-year-old man who preferred to remain anonymous.
Also at the Mogamma gates, another man in his 50s, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, had a different explanation for the increase in fees.
“Any person traveling naturally has the expenses needed. When I travel abroad and show them my new electronic passport instead of the old rusty passport, they will show me some respect.
Others were dismayed but said they had no option but to follow the law once it is applied.
Near the Saudi embassy in Cairo, one man, who specializes in helping visa applicants finish the required paperwork, said “it is a law and we have to follow it whether we like it or not.
Aside from the increase in fees, the draft law also penalizes those holding more than one valid Egyptian passport. It sets a jail sentence of between three months to one year and a fine of LE 1,000-5,000.
The new smaller electronic passports have been issued since January 2008.
