PARIS, May 10 — When it comes to applying for a passport or requesting a renewal, the cost of the operation can be an extra headache when it comes to taking care of this administrative task — especially in Lebanon, Syria and Australia, it seems...
As well as the paperwork and the sometimes lengthy waits involved in obtaining a passport, this travel document also comes with a certain price tag, often between US$100 and US$180 (RM438 and RM789). For example, a first adult US passport is issued for US$165, and renewals cost US$130. In the United Kingdom, online passport applications cost £75.50, or about US$95, while an adult passport in France costs €86, or just over US$90.
CNN looked into the price of passports around the world to find out where this document costs the most to travel-hungry nationals. In Lebanon, for example, a passport costs 1,200,000 Lebanese pounds, or about US$795. However, obtaining a Lebanese passport for expatriates is less expensive, at about US$600. And this is not the only country where this identity document costs a hefty sum. CNN reports that Syrians living abroad have to pay US$300 for a passport. Not only is the document only valid for six years, but it is also one of the world’s least powerful passports, according to a separate annual ranking where it comes 110th in a list that counts 112 places...
In Australia too, the passport process is expensive, at 308 Australian dollars, or about US$220. In Cuba, anyone hoping to travel will need to be organised, because while a passport can last for six years (and costs 2,500 Cuban pesos, or about US$105), it still has to be renewed it every two years to remain valid, for a fee of 500 Cuban pesos each time, or just over US$20.
Other expensive passports include the Liechtenstein passport, which costs 256 Swiss francs, or about US$260. Meanwhile, the Swiss face a fee of 145 CHF (about US$150). — ETX Studio
