List of citizenships refused entry to foreign states

Some sovereign states refuse entry to all citizens of certain states. These restrictions differ from travel visa requirements, which require travelers to obtain permission to enter a country in advance of their travel. With few exceptions, citizens of the states in this list are prohibited from entering the corresponding listed states. Such prohibitions are often referred to as travel bans, although that term can have other meanings.

List of travel bans by refused citizenship

CitizenshipRefused byNotesReferences AbkhaziaAll except:Abkhazia has limited recognition. Abkhazians may also apply for a Russian passport. Afghanistan United States Armenia AzerbaijanDue to a state of war with Armenia, the government of Azerbaijan has banned the entry and transit of Armenian nationals, as well as citizens of any other country who are of Armenian descent (including Armenian Russians), to the Republic of Azerbaijan. Bangladesh Sudan Chad United States Equatorial Guinea Bangladesh LibyaSince April 2017, nationals of these countries are banned from entering eastern Libya, which is under control by the Tobruk government. Other nationals who do not possess a valid visa or residence permit will also be refused entry. Iran Pakistan Sudan Syria Yemen Belarus Ascension IslandStarting from May 2015, the Ascension Island Government no longer issues entry visas to 13 nationals. This restriction also applies to e-visas introduced in 2018. China Egypt Hong Kong Iran Libya Macau North Korea Russia Syria Taiwan Ukraine Vietnam Eritrea United States Ethiopia KuwaitSince 2018, domestic workers from Ethiopia have been able to work in Kuwait. Haiti Suriname United States Iran Libya Syria UAE United States Israel Afghanistan Algeria Bangladesh Brunei Iran Kuwait Lebanon Libya Syria Yemen Israeli nationals, including Israeli Arabs, are refused entry into these countries. These countries do not recognize the State of Israel; therefore Israeli passport holders are denied entry, yet some countries that do not recognize the State of Israel do not deny entry of Israeli citizens (e.g. Indonesia or Somalia). Citizens of foreign countries with passports containing Israeli stamps or Egyptian/Jordanian stamps issued at border crossings with Israel are also refused entry into certain countries. IraqExcept Iraqi Kurdistan. Maldives Temporarily measure put in place since 15 April 2025 by the Maldivian government, in response to the Gaza war. Malaysia Unless a clearance permit is obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Oman Except for transit. Pakistan Unless a visa and police registration are obtained. Saudi Arabia Except for religious and business purposes. Kosovo SerbiaSerbia does not recognize the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence and Kosovan passports are invalid for entry to Serbia; however, Kosovo identity cards are allowed to enter and exit both Serbia and Kosovo. Azerbaijan Belarus Cuba Georgia Hong Kong Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Seychelles Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan VenezuelaThese countries and territories do not recognise the independence of Kosovo and therefore, Kosovo passports are not recognized as legitimate and legal passports. Although not recognizing their independence, some countries, such as Ukraine, allow entry for the holders of Kosovo ordinary passports. Libya United States Myanmar Northern CyprusAll except:Northern Cyprus is only recognized as a sovereign state by Turkey. Northern Cypriots may also apply for a Turkish passport and a Cypriot passport. North Korea JapanJapan has banned North Korean citizens from entering as part of sanctions against North Korea imposed by the Government of Japan, since February 2016.Sanctions against North Korea Republic of the Congo Russia Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland Iceland Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland SlovakiaAs a result of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Russian citizens are refused entry into specific countries for tourism, culture, business, sports, etc., unless they hold a residence permit issued by the countries listed above. However, they can transit through legally by obtaining a Schengen Visa from countries such as France, Germany or Spain, provided they hold tickets to their destination in the country that issued the visa. Somalia PakistanUnder the New Visa Policy initiated by ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, Somalia remains in the B-list. Somali citizens coming from abroad will no longer qualify for visas from embassies of Pakistan. Somali students and families living in Pakistan must possess a recommendation letter and visa extended permission from the government of Pakistan. Police registration is required within 7 days of getting a visa from the government. Australia Canada

New Zealand

United StatesIn addition, ordinary passports issued by Somalia are not recognized in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Benelux countries), Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Sweden and Switzerland. These countries only recognise Somali diplomatic passports issued after 2014, according to the EU's Public Register Of Authentic Travel And Identity Documents Online (PRADO). SomalilandAll except:Somaliland is not internationally recognized. Somalilanders may apply for a Somali passport. South OssetiaAll except:South Ossetia has limited recognition. South Ossetians may also apply for a Russian passport. Sudan United States Syria Egypt Libya Mali Taiwan Georgia MoldovaAdditionally, some countries do not recognize Taiwanese passports, which makes it difficult for Taiwanese passport holders to obtain visas from those countries, despite Timatic suggesting that Taiwanese citizens can enter. Venezuela and Cuba are one of the noticeable examples in 2024. TransnistriaAll except:Transnistria has limited diplomatic recognition. Transnistrians may also apply for Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan and Romanian passports. Ukraine Mali Transnistria https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg9eked5vgo United States Burkina Faso Chad Mali NigerIn response to restrictions on Burkinabé, Chadian, Malian, and Nigerien citizens from traveling to the United States by the Trump administration. Yemen United States

See also Executive Order 13769 (United States) Executive Order 13780 (United States) Travel ban

References