We have many American friends who have been waiting for years to be able to visit the amazing country of Syria, and the time has finally come that some of you might be able to do it!
Tourism in Syria only resumed in around 2017 , after being completely stopped during the war. At first Americans were treated the same as everyone else – as long as you were booked on a tour and kept to the guidelines of where you were allowed to go (for your own safety – basically just stay away from the active combat), you were just as welcome as anyone else.
Then in 2019, they decided that Americans would have to travel in separate groups from other nationalities. So we began having groups that were open to anyone, and groups that were for only Americans!
And then later that year they began rejecting all Americans’ visas . At first it seemed like it would be a short-lived thing, and it was still worth trying for anyone who wanted to, but by the end of that year it was clear that they were not approving any Americans.
Then at the start of 2020 we were told that Americans would be able to visit again , and they’d even be able to be part of any group and didn’t have to have their own separate groups. And then this thing happened that you might have heard of – COVID-19. And all tourism was closed for everyone , American or not.
When tourism resumed again after COVID, we went back to the late 2019 situation where no Americans were getting visas, except this time they actually just said they weren’t even accepting applications.
And this brings us to now.
Some of you may have already heard of an American getting in to Syria as a tourist recently. So far there have been just a few cases, like single digits (and if you’re one of those people – congrats!), but it is starting. Very slowly, but it’s starting. They are accepting applications and whilst there is still an incredibly high chance of rejection, there is also now some chance of approval.
So you’re American and you want to visit Syria – what should you do?
Get in touch with us. We can speak about the specifics of your individual case with you, and work together on your visa application to try and have the highest chance of approval as possible.
You’re American and you’re not sure about visiting, but you might want to in the future, what should you do?
Also get in touch with us. We can keep you in the loop by adding you to our mailing list, or our list of Americans interested in travelling to Syria, so that if and when you do want to give it a try, you know what the situation is.
