Syria removes visa restrictions on U.S. travellers after backlash

Syria has lifted restrictions on the entry of U.S. citizens imposed several days ago, an official told AFP on Friday (November 13, 2026), after the limits sparked uproar online. The current Syrian government, in place since Islamist-led fighters overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has allowed Westerners to obtain entry visas at Damascus airport or border crossings.

However, this week, several U.S. citizens complained on social media that they had been turned away on the grounds they needed a visa in advance. "The entry procedures for U.S. citizens travelling to Syria have returned to their earlier state, after the cancellation of the obligation to obtain prior authorisation, which was imposed temporarily by the interior ministry," Mazen Allouch, an official with the ports and borders authority, told AFP.

He said there had been no change for citizens of other countries, including Europeans. According to Syria's Tourism Ministry, 719,000 tourists, excluding travellers from Arab nations, visited the country in the first six months of 2026, despite its struggles to recover from more than a decade of civil war and the sectarian and ethnic tensions that followed its end.

That figure was a sharp increase on the number from 2025, which was just 131,000. International flights have resumed to Syria, while Western nations including the United States have lifted sanctions imposed on Damascus during the Assad years in an effort to help it rebuild.