Kurdistan Implements Visa-Free Entry for 53 Countries

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced that nationals of 53 countries can now enter Kurdistan visa-free. 

The new visa exemption applies to many European nationalities, as well as to citizens of a number of countries in Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

“Under this new policy, eligible travelers simply need to present their passports at any border entry point, where they will be issued an electronic visa, allowing them immediate access to the region”, the KRG said in a statement.

Visa-exempt travelers to Kurdistan will need to have a passport valid for at least 6 months to be granted entry at the border.

The Kurdistan region is part of Iraq, although the KRG clarified that the electronic visa is only valid for entry into Kurdistan. It cannot be used to travel to the rest of Iraq.

Countries Exempt from a Visa for Kurdistan

The nationalities that are newly visa-exempt for Kurdistan include citizens of the following European countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, Vatican City.

Nationals of the following 13 Asian and Middle Eastern countries are also now visa-exempt:

Bahrain, China, Iran, Japan, Bahrain, China, Iran, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.

Additionally, citizens of Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the US are also included in Kurdistan’s new visa exemption policy.

While the region now allows over 50 nationalities visa-free entry, very few of these nations offer reciprocity to Kurdistan in their visa policies. Kurdistan residents need to meet visa requirements for citizens of Iraq to travel internationally.

The Iraqi passport is currently ranked 107th by the World Passport Index. At present, Iraqi citizens are only granted visa-exemption or entry with a visa on arrival to around 30 countries worldwide.

Kurdistan Hopes New Visa Policy Will Boost Tourism

The introduction of the new visa policy for Kurdistan is likely to aid the KRG’s plan to attract 20 million tourists to the region by 2030.

However, official data suggests that the number of tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region has already significantly increased recently, with Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok reported as the most popular travel destinations.

Kurdistan received about 4.2 million tourists in 2021, which increased by around 2% to over 6 million in 2022. By May 2023, the region had already been visited by about 5 million tourists that year, of which 25% were foreigners.