Visa trouble

This page is about problems that may arise from evidence of travel to or visa for certain territories. For the issue of visas in general, see Visa.

Understand

Nothing in this article here should be considered legal advice. All facts presented here are purely anecdotal. You are strongly advised to talk to embassy officials or a lawyer if you need accurate information.

It is a sad reality that diplomatic conflicts and wars often adversely affect travel. While most of those issues are more or less temporary, some have plagued travelers for decades, and don't show any signs of going away soon. The reason for being denied admission is usually related to travel to a place that is:

  1. not recognized as a country by your national government, or another country that it borders,
  2. has some sort of territorial dispute with the other country, or
  3. has sanctions put in place by the other country (see Americans in Cuba for the most long-lived example)

There are some work-arounds for most of those cases, which will be discussed below.

In some cases (famously for visiting Israel and Cuba) destination country officials may be willing to help the traveler by not stamping their passport or by stamping a separate piece of paper instead, to make it easier to hide evidence of the trip later on.

Israel and Arab/Muslim countries

While the state of Israel is a member of the United Nations, and has been at peace with both Jordan and Egypt for four decades now (and travel between these three is no problem), several Muslim-majority and Arab nations do not recognize the existence of the state of Israel and deny admission to anybody who is Israeli or shows any evidence of having been to Israel (e.g. visa (stamps) in a passport). However, the reverse is not true; travel to Israel with evidence in your passport of travel to one of the countries mentioned below is usually allowed, but you may be selected for especially intense questioning or scrutiny when entering Israel. In 2020-2021, Israel normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Bahrain, and Morocco restored its partial normalization of relations with Israel that had existed before 2002. Tourism by Israelis to the United Arab Emirates began almost immediately despite COVID-19 restrictions.

Countries that are known to deny entry to travelers who have been to Israel

Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen.

You may also have difficulties, but to a lesser extent, entering other Islamic countries, such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iraq, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Ways to avoid proof of having been to Israel

Back in the day the main way of avoiding the Israeli stamp was by having the stamp on a separate sheet of paper or by using an additional passport for those critical Islamic countries.

However, this is no longer a problem since in most cases Israeli passport control no longer stamps visitors' passports. Under a new system, visitors entering Israel are given special entry (and also exit) cards separate from the passport by the passport control. This is true for at least Ben Gurion International Airport, Ramon International Airport and the Aqaba/Eilat border crossing, and may also apply to all other border crossings from Jordan and from Sinai (Egypt) to Israel.

Problems with overland entry/exit to/from Israel

Unfortunately, most countries that ban travel to Israel take a stamp from one of the border crossings in Jordan or Egypt that offers entry to Israel (or even just exit from Jordan/Egypt) as proof of travel to Israel. This is especially true for the specific land border exit stamps, as there is nowhere else that you could enter besides Israel. Therefore, you should try to get stamped for this border crossing in some other way than using the passport you intend to use for travel to countries that deny entry. While many border officials know of this issue, and will accommodate travelers by stamping a piece of paper instead, you may be unlucky on the Jordan or Egypt side.

In this case, you'll have to apply for a second passport, which allows you to have a stamp of any neighbouring countries or even Israel in one passport and travel to Muslim countries with another one. (Inquire at your own embassy.)

Note that Lebanese officials in particular are known to scrutinise your passport stamps very intensely. Even if you get lucky and are not stamped out of Jordan or Egypt, you may be questioned on your lack of exit stamp (or flat out denied on the spot because realistically there’s only one way this could have happened).

Immigration of these countries might also check for luggage stickers from Israel or neighbouring countries on your suitcase or the back of your passport, so remove any leftovers or signs of them.

Getting more than one passport

While this may be illegal or subject to some conditions (frequent travel, business travel), in some countries it is easily arranged for a nominal fee (usually not more expensive than your first passport) and perfectly legal to have more than one valid passport at a time. If you are unsure whether your country allows that, go to the place that issued your passport and ask well in advance of your trip to Israel, as issuing a passport can take months. If you have dual citizenship, you may consider using the passport of one country to visit certain countries and another country's passport to visit those with restrictions.

United States of America

Under new rules passed in 2015, travelers who visited Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 or those who visited Cuba after January 12, 2021 are not eligible to enter under a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) commonly used by visitors to the US from Western Europe. They remain eligible to apply for a regular tourism or business visa – at the expense of more cost and hassle than with the Visa Waiver program. Due to the role of U.S. airports as global aviation hubs, consider whether you want to avoid travel through the United States for as long as this policy is in effect or get a costly and hard to get visa for every time you connect through an American airport.

China

Beginning in the fall of 2016, travellers began to report being denied visas to China because of their previous visits to Turkey and Pakistan. Primarily, the issue appears to be related to staying for an extended period, say more than a month, in those countries. Entry and exit stamps from other countries in the region may also have caused problems.

Applicants for Chinese visas with stamps from these countries have been told to include a written explanation of the purpose of their visit to the countries in question. In addition, some travellers were asked to leave their passports for two months at Chinese missions for "further investigation", precluding any visa application outside their country of residence.

Initially these restrictions were thought to be related to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in 2017. However, as of 2023, reports of visa denials continue and it is likely that the increased scrutiny is related to Chinese government concerns about possible insurgents returning from Iraq and Syria who have passed through Turkey entering China to visit disturbed regions in Northwest China with large Uyghur populations.

Entities with limited recognition

Some territories while de facto being under the control of one administration are considered by others (and often the international community) to be de jure under the administration of another country. While Wikivoyage takes no side on these issues, they can affect travelers.

Transnistria

Tourists entering via Moldova and returning to Moldova should experience no issues, and the same should hold true for tourists entering via Ukraine and returning to Ukraine. However, tourists entering Transnistria via Ukraine and exiting into Moldova may experience some hassle upon eventual exit from Moldova due to having no Moldovan entry stamp.

Passports are not stamped by Transnistrian guards, but a migration card is issued upon arrival at the checkpoint. DO NOT LOSE THIS, as you will need to present this upon departure from Transnistrian territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh

The region is since autumn 2023 a more or less regular part of Azerbaijan.

Northern Cyprus

Since the official position is that the island as a whole acceeded to the European Union, entry stamps and visas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are no longer an issue for later visits to Greece or the Republic of Cyprus-controlled half of the island, both EU members.

In accordance with this policy, arriving into the island through an entry point in the North is also no longer an issue while crossing the 'Green Line' into the South for EU citizens. Those travelling on US and Canadian passports are also reportedly spared from trouble. However, for Turkish citizens, an entry into the island through the North is still considered illegal by the Republic of Cyprus, and they aren't let through the intra-island border into the South.

Abkhazia

Tourists can enter from Russia (Psou border crossing near Sochi), but not from Georgia. On the Georgian side only those with prior permission may be allowed to cross by the Georgian authorities. However those who entered from Russia are considered by Georgian authorities to enter the country illegally and they could be prosecuted if they arrive in Georgia in the future.

South Ossetia

Tourists can enter South Ossetia from Russia only. Just like in Abkhazia, they may subsequently face charges of illegal entry if they come to Georgia.

Kosovo

Serbia regards Kosovo as part of its territory, meaning that entering Kosovo through a border crossing that is not with Serbia is considered to be illegal entry under Serbian law. The official stance is that travellers with stamps or visas from Kosovo will be denied entry into Serbia though enforcement of this rule is sporadic. Entering Serbia through Kosovo, though, will be regarded as illegal entry, and would likely lead to you being arrested at Serbian immigration. For this reason, if you enter Kosovo from Montenegro for instance, and wish to travel onwards to Serbia, you will have to exit Kosovo to a third country (North Macedonia) and from there into Serbia. Note that it is acceptable to do this trip in the opposite direction - you can travel from Serbia into Kosovo (e.g. Mitrovica) and then enter a third country without any issue.

Citizens of European Union and Western Balkan countries can enter Serbia using a national ID card, and thus can avoid disclosing a previous entry into Kosovo to the Serbian border officers. Still, continuing into Serbia directly from Kosovo should be avoided, since there wouldn't be a (digital) record of legal entry to Serbia anywhere, and this would likely to be an issue when attempting to exit the country.

Kosovan passports are not recognized by most Commonwealth of Independent States countries, Ukraine, Georgia, Lebanon, Cuba and Venezuela.

Taiwan

Although China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, there are no additional restrictions on foreigners whose passports contain Taiwanese stamps and visas. Taiwanese passports are, however, not valid for travel to mainland China; you will need to obtain a separate Taiwan Compatriot Pass (台胞证) from the Chinese government for that. In the case of Hong Kong, you can use the Taiwan Compatriot Pass or a Taiwanese passport with online registration. People with Taiwanese passports can enter Macau without a visa.

Border disputes

Crimea and Russian-occupied territories

Entering Crimea from Ukraine requires special permission of the Ukrainian government. Unless you hold a Ukrainian passport, the only way to Crimea is through Russia, and this generally does not leave any imprints in your passport other than a standard Russian visa with an entry stamp from Moscow, St. Petersburg, or some border town (it is not possible to travel directly to Crimea from abroad). However, you might want to avoid talking about your recent visit to Crimea when you arrive at a point of entry to Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials will likely consider this visit an offense and ban you from entering the country. This is also true for other territories that are occupied by Russia such as Donetsk Oblast, Luhansk Oblast and Mariupol.

Home country restrictions

Australian citizens

Under Australian federal law, the Australian Government may declare an area to be a "section-119.2 area" if they satisfied that there are active terrorist activities (especially armed conflict) within these area. Entering or remaining in a current such area can be punished by 10-year imprisonment. However, as of 2024, there are no such declared areas.

South Korean citizens

As part of its travel warning system, the South Korean Government maintains a list of banned destinations to protect its citizens. These banned destinations are usually countries that have ongoing armed conflicts or rampant terrorism. A South Korean passport holder who travels to these destinations without prior permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be punished by imprisonment up to 1 year. This travel ban is actively enforced — in 2023 a YouTuber and veteran who went to Ukraine to fight as a volunteer was jailed for 6 months.

The banned destinations are found here, and are listed as follows (as of 2023):

United States citizens

The United States government restricts its citizens' travel to Cuba and North Korea.

The longstanding restriction on travel to Cuba has an array of official and unofficial exceptions. See Americans in Cuba.

As of 2017, a strict restriction has been placed on travel to North Korea with a U.S. passport; violations may result in invalidation of your passport or felony prosecution. Exceptions can be requested from the U.S. State Department, mainly for journalists and aid workers, however, North Korea in turn often denies admission to journalists. If you don't fall into those categories and you're still dead-set on setting foot in North Korea, the other option is a quick border-hop on a tour to Panmunjeom from South Korea.

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