The UK Foreign Office regularly issues travel advice for countries around the world. It currently warns against all travel to a number of places, either for whole countries or parts of them. In some cases, the advice is against “all but essential travel”.
The Government department lists all the information on its website. It says: “Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).”
Here is the full list of 36 countries with warnings in place.
Europe and the Middle East
1. Belarus – FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus, citing a significant risk of arrest for activities considered illegal by the Belarusian regime, a low risk of conflict spreading from the war in Ukraine, and severely limited ability to support British nationals if conflict starts.
2. Russia – All travel is advised against due to the risks from Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine, including security incidents such as drone attacks, a lack of flights back to the UK, limited government support, an increased risk of detention of British nationals, and a high likelihood of terrorist attacks.
3. Ukraine – FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Ukraine, including Crimea, within 50km of the border with Belarus in the Volyn, Rivne and Zhytomyr regions, and all other regions except some western ones. It advises against all but essential travel to Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Lviv and parts further than 50km from the Belarus border, due to the war with Russia.
4. Egypt – Warnings cover all travel to within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border (except El Salloum, where advice is against all but essential travel), the North Sinai Governorate, and other areas. All but essential travel warnings apply to parts of the South Sinai Governorate, the Ismailiyah Governorate east of the Suez Canal, the Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil Trapezoid, and the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta, with several exceptions listed.
5. Iraq – All travel warnings cover parts of Anbar, Diyala (except Baqubah City), Kirkuk, Ninawa, Salah al-Din, Jurf al-Sakr town in Babil, Sadr City in Baghdad, within 5km of the Iran border in Wasit, Maysan and Basra, and within 5km of the Saudi Arabia and Kuwait borders. All but essential travel warnings cover many other areas, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
6. Iran – FCDO advises against all travel to Iran. British and British-Iranian dual nationals face a significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention, the website says.
7. Israel – All travel warnings cover Gaza, within 500m of the Gaza border, Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas Governorates (except Route 90), areas north of Route 89 and Route 91 across the Golan Heights, within 500m of the Alpha line, Sheba’a Farms and Ghajja. All but essential travel advice applies to the rest of the West Bank, with exceptions including East Jerusalem, Bethlehem Governorate, Ramallah Municipality, Jericho and areas south, Highway 1, Route 443 and Highway 45.
8. Jordan – All travel is advised against within 3km of the border with Syria, and all but essential travel to Aqaba international airport and seaport.
9. Lebanon – All travel warnings cover specific areas of Beirut and its southern suburbs, South and Nabatiyeh Governorates, and parts of the Beqaa Governorate. All but essential travel advice applies to an area of Mount Lebanon Governorate south of a specified road.
10. Palestine – Warnings mirror those for Israel: all travel to Gaza, within 500m of the Gaza border, Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas Governorates (except Route 90), and other listed areas, with all but essential travel advice for the rest of the West Bank, with the same exceptions.
11. Saudi Arabia – All travel is advised against within 10km of the border with Yemen, and all but essential travel between 10km and 80km from that border.
12. Syria – All travel is advised against due to unpredictable security conditions and the threat of terrorist attacks. Consular support is not available from within Syria.
13. Yemen – All travel is advised against due to unpredictable security conditions. The department says: “If you’re in Yemen, you should leave immediately.”
Africa
14. Burkina Faso – All travel is advised against due to the threat of terrorist attacks and kidnap, and the unstable political situation.
15. Burundi – All travel warnings cover specific communes and roads due to the risk of a rebel group in the Kibira National Park and possible armed incursions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
16. Cameroon – All travel warnings cover the Bakassi Peninsula, within 40km of the borders with Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria (except Garoua), the Far-North Region (with exceptions), the North-West Region, and the South-West Region (with exceptions). All but essential travel advice applies to Limbé and the N3 road, the North Region, and a 20km radius around Maroua.
17. Chad – All travel is advised against to the northern provinces, the western part of Kanem Province, the Lake Chad region, and within 30km of all other borders. All but essential travel advice applies to the rest of Chad, including the capital, N’Djamena.
18. Central African Republic – All travel is advised against to the whole country, except the capital, Bangui, where advice is against all but essential travel.
19. Democratic Republic of the Congo – All but essential travel advice covers districts of Kinshasa south of the main access road to N’djili airport, and other areas. All travel warnings cover within 50km of the Central African Republic border, Haut-Uélé and Ituri provinces, North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, Tanganyika and Haut-Lomami.
20. Ethiopia – All travel warnings cover within 20km of the Sudan border, 10km of the South Sudan border, 100km of the Somalia and Kenya borders in the Somali region, 30km of the Somalia border in Fafan zone (except Wajale and the Jijiga-Wajale road), 10km of the Kenya border, and 10km of the Eritrea border. All but essential travel advice applies to areas between 10-15km from the Eritrea border.
21. Eritrea – All travel is advised against within 25km of all land borders, due to high tensions with Ethiopia and potentially severely limited support in a crisis.
22. Libya – All but essential travel advice applies to the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Al-Bayda and Derna, the Jebel Akhdar area, and the coastal and desert roads between Al-Maqrun and Al-Tamimi, and Misrata.
23. Mali – All travel is advised against due to unpredictable security conditions. The department says: “If you’re in Mali, you should leave immediately by commercial flight if you judge it safe to do so.” Terrorist group JNIM has implemented blockades on key routes, and there is a high threat of kidnapping and criminal activity.
24. Mauritania – All travel warnings cover areas east of a line between specified towns, and within 25km of the Malian border. Other areas are covered by all but essential travel alerts.
25. Niger – All travel is advised against due to reported terrorist and criminal kidnappings, an ongoing risk of attacks, and political instability following the military coup in July 2023.
26. Nigeria – All travel warnings cover Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara States. All but essential travel advice applies to Bauchi State.
27. Somalia – All travel is advised against except the regions of Awdal, Maroodijeh and Sahil, where advice is against all but essential travel, due to the threat from terrorist groups and continuing violence.
28. South Sudan – All travel is advised against due to the risk of armed violence and criminality.
29. Sudan – All travel is advised against due to the ongoing military conflict in Khartoum and other parts, except the Hala’ib Triangle and Bir Tawil Trapezoid, where advice is against all but essential travel.
30. Western Sahara – All travel warnings cover areas within 40km north and west of the Berm boundary line, and territory south and east of the Berm, due to the disputed status and possible cross-border rocket fire.
Americas and Asia
31. Haiti – All travel is advised against due to the volatile security situation. There are no British consular officials in Haiti, and assistance is severely limited. British nationals may get consular services at the mission in the Dominican Republic.
32. Venezuela – All travel warnings cover within 80km of the Colombia border, within 40km of the Brazil border, within 40km of the Guyana border, the area south of the Orinoco river, the Orinoco Mining Arc, and Zulia state. All but essential travel advice applies to the remaining areas.
33. Afghanistan – All travel is advised against due to the volatile security situation and the risk of detention. The department says: “You should not travel to Afghanistan.”
34. Myanmar – All travel warnings cover Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine States, Sagaing and Magway regions, Tanintharyi Region (excluding Myeik township), Shan State North, North Mandalay Region, and areas east of the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway in Bago region. All but essential travel advice applies to Shan State South and East, Mandalay Region, and other areas.
35. North Korea – All but essential travel advice applies, due to high tension on the Korean Peninsula and the security situation changing quickly without warning.
36. Pakistan – All travel warnings cover within 10 miles of the Afghanistan border, Balochistan Province, and specific areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, including Peshawar. A number of areas are covered by all but essential travel advice.
