‘Gov’t to lower renewal fees of Gazans’ two-year passports’

AMMAN — Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi on Thursday said the government has decided to lower the renewal fees of the two-year passports for Gazans from JD200 to JD100 and the five-year passports to JD200, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The remark came during his meeting with the Lower House Palestine committee to discuss various issues related to Gazan residents in Jordan.

The committee’s members said they appreciate the decision, which indicates the government’s responsibility towards the issues of this segment of society, Petra reported.

Zu’bi said that Gazan residents in the Kingdom are part of the Jordanian community.

The government’s decision to raise the renewal fees of passports was a necessity to overcome a “tough” economic situation, with avoiding any impacts on other vital sectors in the state.

Among several economic measures, the government had recently decided to raise the renewal fees of passports for Gazan residents in Jordan from JD25 to JD200.

For their part, the committee members commended the government’s cooperation and response in reducing the fees to ease the economic pressure on Gazans.

They also briefed the minister on a numbers of concerns that are related to Gazans and residents of the West Bank, in addition to agreeing on holding more meetings.

The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend the validity of Gazans’ temporary passports from two to five years.

The validity of passports was increased from two to five years after the second renewal.