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 $100 and $180. For example, a first adult US passport is issued for $165, and renewals cost $130. In the United Kingdom, online passport applications cost £75.50, or about $95, while an adult passport in France costs €86, or just over $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 $795. However, obtaining a Lebanese passport for expatriates is less expensive, at about $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 $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 $220. In Cuba, anyone hoping to travel will need to be organized, because while a passport can last for six years (and costs 2,500 Cuban pesos, or about $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 $20.
Other expensive passports include the Liechtenstein passport, which costs 256 Swiss francs, or about $260. Meanwhile, the Swiss face a fee of 145 CHF (about $150).
