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Iraq Relaxes Visa Restrictions

The Iraqi government has launched what it describes as “an exceptional programme” to lift the requirement to obtain entry visas prior to arrival in Iraq.

The new scheme will apply to citizens of:

  • Countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council (USA, UK, France, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China);
  • European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands
  • Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.

Citizens of these countries will be able to pay to obtain a visa on arrival at Iraq’s airports and land and sea border crossings, but must comply with all Iraqi preventive health measures as decided by the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety.

Other countries may be added to the list based on Iraq’s economic and other needs.

IBBC Welcomes Iraq’s New Simplified Visa Scheme

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has welcomed Iraq’s decision to lift the requirement to obtain entry visas prior to arrival in Iraq.

In a statement on Tuesday, Christophe Michels, Managing Director of the IBBC, said:

“The IBBC has long lobbied for a simpler access to Iraq for business-people, and this program very much meets our requirements and saves time, cost and disruption for business travelers.

“It will lead to normalisation of business travel and should remove some of the barriers to investment and business activity in the country.”

This program will be applicable to citizens of the UK, EU and USA among others, and represents a considerable reduction in the bureaucracy involved in entering Iraq and a simplification in obtaining access to the country.

Citizens of these countries will be able to pay for and obtain visas on arrival at Iraqi airports, land, and sea border crossings. However, they must comply with all preventive health measures as implemented by the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety.

More countries may be added to the above list based on the economic and other needs of Iraq According to the Iraqi government, this aims to support investment and work in Iraq.