Syrian government loosens travel restrictions on Christian clergy
The Syrian government has waived border fees for Christian church leaders entering the country.
The Syrian Cabinet issued Nov. 30 a decision exempting some categories — including Christian clergy, such as patriarchs, bishops and their drivers, priests, deacons, monks and nuns — from paying $100 in exchange for Syrian currency when entering the country provided that they carry a paper slip proving that they are on a church mission between Syria and Lebanon.
This came following a decision that obliges Syrians to exchange $100 before entering Syria, which places them in the face of major challenges and exacerbates their living crisis. Such decisions aim to supply the treasury with hard currency, despite the alleged exceptions.
On June 14, the Syrian government raised the exchange rate for the $100 imposed on Syrians entering their country from 1,256 to 2,500 Syrian pounds.
This decision is linked to another decision to increase the exchange rate for remittances in a bid to have more foreign currency. This is while the Syrian Central Bank maintains a rate of 1,250 pounds per dollar in its official bulletins.
