Damascus / SANA – The Minister of Tourism, Muhammad Rami Martini, announced the launch of online visa service starting from next month.

The launch of the electronic visa platform aims to overcome the difficult circumstances that Syrian tourism is going through, especially in countries where there are no embassies or consulates,” Minister Martini explained in a statement to SANA, indicating the possibility of those wishing to come to Syria to obtain an e-visa as of the beginning of next May.

Martini attached great importance to this step in reducing time and effort of both citizens and tourists wishing to come to the country.

The platform will also contribute to increasing the number of people coming to the country, he noted.

Regarding collecting service fees for countries that do not have an online payment system when applying through the Arabs and Foreigners Portal, Minister Martini said: “The system currently provides two options for paying the visa fees, via e-payment if available, otherwise, the concerned party will have to postpone paying the fees until they arrive at the border crossings where the money is collected in an integrated manner; including visa and military service exemption fees.

Work on the platform was carried out in coordination among the Ministries of Tourism, Interior, Foreign Affairs, in addition to Communications and Technology, so that those wishing to come to Syria do not need to visit embassies or consulates, but rather submit their application to obtain a visa through the platform itself, with them getting the result within a maximum period of 72 hours, Minister Martini added.

Applications from inside Syria can be submitted through the tourist offices associated with the Ministry of Tourism, or via submitting applications through the “Anjez Sourya” platform (anjez.gov.sy).