Before You Travel

Read this first. As of August 2026 the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all travel to Syria, and the US Department of State has Syria at Level 4 — Do Not Travel, citing terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict. Britain's embassy services in Damascus are suspended and the US embassy has not operated since 2012, so neither government can offer consular help inside the country.

This guide is written for people who have weighed that and decided to travel anyway, often to visit family. It is not a substitute for the advisories. Read them in full, and check them again close to departure.

Your passport

Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your date of arrival.

Two restrictions are absolute and catch people out. Anyone holding Israeli nationality is refused entry, and so is anyone whose passport shows evidence of a visit to Israel — an Israeli stamp, or an Egyptian or Jordanian land-border stamp from a crossing with Israel. The UK FCDO also lists Iranian citizenship as a bar to entry. If your passport carries any of these marks, resolve it before you book anything.

Visas — where the sources disagree

This is the single point on which official and on-the-ground accounts diverge, so treat it carefully.

The FCDO states that you must obtain a visa before travelling, and that applications take roughly five to seven working days to process.

Tour operators and recent travellers report a visa-on-arrival system at Damascus airport and the land borders, paid in cash US dollars, with fees applying at every entry point since July 2025 — land crossings are no longer exempt. Citizens of Jordan, Malaysia and Mauritania are reported to enter visa-free.

Both accounts are recent. Arrangements have changed more than once since 2024, and what is true at one border in one month may not hold at another. Confirm your own case directly with a Syrian diplomatic mission, or with an established operator who has moved travellers through that specific crossing in the last few weeks — and have a fallback if you are turned away.

Money: bring cash

Assume your bank cards will not work. Sanctions kept Syria outside the international payment networks for years, and while that is changing, it has not finished changing.

• On 4 May 2026 the Central Bank of Syria authorised licensed Syrian banks and payment companies to work with Visa and Mastercard, and reconnection to international systems is reported to be underway through summer 2026.
• Even so, acceptance is thin and uneven. Do not plan a trip around a card working.
• Bring every dollar you expect to need, in cash. US dollars are the most useful, in clean, undamaged notes — worn or torn bills are often refused.
• Change money at licensed exchange offices in Damascus or Aleppo rather than on the street.

Note that Syria has redenominated its currency, so quoted prices may be in "new" or "old" lira depending on who is speaking. Ask which is meant before agreeing a price.

Insurance and health

Most standard travel insurance is void in a country under a "do not travel" advisory. If you intend to be covered you will need a specialist policy that explicitly names Syria, and you should read what it excludes. Check routine vaccinations and country-specific health advice with NaTHNaC or your own national travel-health service well before departure.

Practical preparation

• Carry photocopies of your passport and visa. Checkpoints are routine and will ask.
• Register with your embassy if it offers a service for your nationality — though be clear that neither the UK nor the US can assist you from inside Syria.
• Tell someone at home your itinerary and agree how often you will check in.
• Download offline maps before you arrive.