The Lebanese agency responsible for issuing passports announced on Thursday the suspension of appointments for renewal due to a shortage of stocks following high demand.
Since 2020, passport renewal requests have increased tenfold compared to previous years, which has “affected the stock of available passports”, General Security said in a statement.
“Consequently, General Security has been forced to suspend appointments for passport renewal on its online platform from April 27,” the agency said in its statement, while specifying that people who have already made an appointment are still eligible to renew their documents.
According to the agency, this suspension will remain in effect until the Lebanese authorities have paid the necessary funds to the contracting company responsible for producing the new passports.
Lebanon has been going through an unprecedented economic crisis since 2019, one of the worst in the history of the world since 1850, according to the World Bank.