Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Amr Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday the renewal or issuance of Egyptian expats' passports necessitates a valid national ID, provided the applicant is 16 years or older.

In a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry, Abbas said the ministry's recently-announced facilitations were exceptional and limited to Egyptians living abroad who needed to renew their passports while having expired national IDs, given that some countries require the validity of the passport for at least two years to grant residency.

In this exceptional case, Abbas said, the passport will be renewed with limited validity of non-renewable three-year period, until the citizen obtains a valid ID, in a manner that does not contradict with the instructions for the military status for males.