The technical delegation from Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced that it began issuing laissez-passer (emergency travel documents) on Wednesday, October 22, for citizens wishing to return from Libya to Syria.

Issuance will start on October 23 and continue for three days, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the ministry said on Facebook.

Applicants are asked to bring:

• An identity document (passport, national ID card, family record extract, family book, or birth certificate).
• Two personal photos.
• The applicant in person, or a first-degree relative.
• For those under 18, the father must be present.

Applications are received at the Darb al-Tatweer Company headquarters in Abu Nawas area, behind Al-Quds Private University, in Tripoli (Libya).

The delegation noted that passport renewals will begin early next week, with the location to be announced later.

Addressing “pending files”

The technical delegation began providing some services in Libya on October 18 to enable members of the Syrian community to benefit from the waiver of fines and fees decision.

Speaking to the state news agency SANA on October 17, the delegation said it would issue or extend laissez-passer documents in Tripoli and Benghazi (Libya), and follow the technical and administrative steps needed to reopen the Syrian Embassy in Tripoli.

Once the embassy resumes operations, Syrians in Libya will be able to obtain consular services, especially issuing and renewing passports, as soon as possible.

The delegation also referred to pending bilateral files that require fundamental solutions in coordination with the Libyan side. It described the missing persons file as one of the most complex, calling it a “deep wound” for families, and said the Syrian government would spare no effort to clarify their fate in cooperation with Libyan authorities.

The ministry is working with international organizations to facilitate voluntary returns for humanitarian cases among Syrians in Libya, with a joint program to be implemented in the coming period, according to the delegation.

It added that no Syrian state forces are operating outside Syria’s borders, and that Libya’s stability and development are matters for the Libyans themselves to decide.

Syrians are missing or detained in Libya in connection with irregular migration to Europe or prior participation in local armed conflicts.

8,000 transactions completed previously

In August, the technical delegation completed about 8,000 procedures for Syrians in Libya, including passport extensions, issuance of laissez-passer for return to Syria, and authentication of official documents.

At the time, the delegation said its visit aimed to regularize the status of the Syrian community in Libya, reopen the Syrian Embassy in Tripoli in the first phase, and then establish a consulate in Benghazi.

It is also working to secure temporary premises for the mission until Syria formally regains its main embassy compound, and to activate air travel between Damascus and Tripoli, expressing hope that the first flight from Tripoli to Damascus would begin soon.

The delegation mentioned a package of proposals to strengthen Syrian-Libyan relations, including mutual visa exemptions, inviting Libyan investors to Damascus, and creating a joint working mechanism between the two countries, in addition to 43 existing agreements. The Libyan Embassy in Damascus informed the visiting delegation that a visa system would be activated soon.

The number of Syrians in Libya is estimated at 30,000–50,000, most of whom arrived after the Syrian uprising in 2011, according to unofficial figures from local relief organizations.