Foreign Office issues ‘do not travel’ alert for these 73 countries

The UK Foreign Office has released a range of travel warnings, including cautions against “all travel” or “all but essential travel” to various regions across Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Out of 226 countries or territories with foreign travel advice pages on the Foreign Office Websire, 73 currently have areas deemed too risky to visit because of security threats, health hazards, or legal discrepancies with the UK.

Ignoring Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) guidance can invalidate your travel insurance and might result in limited consular assistance if you encounter trouble abroad. For those planning a getaway, here’s the complete list of countries on the Foreign Office’s ‘do not travel’ roster to consult, the Independent reports.

There are 42 countries where people are told there are areas they should not travel to – including popular destinations like Turkey, Egypt, India and Tunisia. In Turkey FCDO advises against all travel to within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism.

For Egypt FCDO advises against all travel to within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border, except for the town of El Salloum, where we advise against all but essential travel. In India there are a number of restrictions with FCDO advising against all travel within 10km of the India-Pakistan border, except for at Wagah where travellers can cross the border. It also advises against all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir (including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, the city of Srinagar and the Jammu-Srinagar national highway), except for travel by air to and from the city of Jammu, travel within the city of Jammu, and travel within the region of Ladakh.

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the state of Manipur including the capital, Imphal. Curfews and restrictions continue in parts of Manipur following violent ethnic clashes that broke out in 2023. Intermittent incidents have continued and escalated in September 2024.

Here is the full list of countries on the Foreign Office’s ‘do not travel’ list to check before you plan a trip.

FCDO advises against all travel

1. Afghanistan
2. Belarus
3. Haiti
4. Iran
5. Lebanon
6. Libya
7. Russia
8. South Sudan
9. Syria
10. Yemen

FCDO advises against all travel to parts

1. Algeria – all travel to within 30km of Algeria’s borders with Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Tunisia
2. Armenia – within 5km of the full eastern border between Armenia and Azerbaijan
3. Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, Azerbaijan-Armenia border
4. Benin – Northern border regions
5. Burkina Faso – against all travel except to the capital, Ouagadougou
6. Burundi – Cibitoke and Bubanza provinces
7. Cameroon – Bakassi Peninsula and within 40km of Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria borders
8. Central African Republic – against all travel except to the capital, Bangui
9. Chad – Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est and Tibesti provinces, Kanem Province, including Nokou, Lake Chad region and within 30km of all Chad’s other borders
10. Congo – within 50km of the Republic of Congo-Central African Republic border in Likouala Region
11. Côte d’Ivoire – borders with Burkina Faso and Mali and Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia border
12. Democratic Republic of the Congo – DRC-Central African Republic border, Eastern DRC, Kwamouth territory of Mai-Ndombe Province and the province of Kasaï Oriental
13. Djibouti – Djibouti-Eritrea border
14. Egypt – Egypt-Libya border, North Sinai and Western Desert
15. Eritrea – within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders
16. Ethiopia – international border areas, Tigray region, Amhara region, Afar region, Gambella region, Oromia region, Somali Regional State and Benishangul-Gumuz region
17. Georgia – South Ossetia and Abkhazia
18. India – within 10km of the India-Pakistan border and Jammu and Kashmir
19. Indonesia – Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, Mount Sinabung, Mount Marapi, Mount Semeru, Mount Ruang, Mount Ibu
20. Iraq – advises against all travel to Federal Iraq
21. Israel – against all travel to Gaza, The West Bank and Northern Israel. All but essential travel to the rest of Israel
22. Jordan – within 3km of the border with Syria
23. Mali – advises against all travel except to Bamako
24. Mauritania – Eastern Mauritania, Mauritania-Western Sahara border, Tiris Zemmour, Adrar, Tagant, Hodh el Gharbi, Assaba and Guidimaka provinces
25. Moldova –Transnistria
26. Mozambique – Cabo Delgado Province, all but essential travel to the districts of Memba and Eráti in Nampula Province
27. Myanmar (Burma) – Chin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Kayin State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing and Magway regions, Tanintharyi Region, Shan State North, North Mandalay Region
28. Niger – against all travel except to the capital city of Niamey
29. Nigeria – Borno State, Yobe State, Adamawa State, Gombe State
30. Pakistan – within 10 miles of Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Balochistan Province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir
31. Philippines – Western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago
32. Rwanda – Rubavu District
33. Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia-Yemen border and Abha International Airport
34. Somalia – eastern Somaliland and Western Somaliland
35. Sudan – against all travel except to the Hala’ib Triangle
36. The Occupied Palestinian Territories – against all travel to Gaza, The West Bank and Northern Israel. All but essential travel to the rest of the OPTs
37. Togo – Togo-Burkina Faso border
38. Tunisia – Western Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Algeria border and Southern Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Libya border
39. Turkey – within 10km of the Turkey-Syria border
40. Ukraine – Crimea and within 50km of the border with Belarus
41. Venezuela – within 80km of the Venezuela-Colombia border, within 40km of the Venezuela-Brazil border, Zulia State
42. Western Sahara – within 30km of ‘the Berm’ boundary line and south and east of the Berm boundary line

FCDO advises against all but essential travel

With regard to the definition of ‘essential travel’, the FCDO says: “Whether travel is essential or not is your own decision. You may have urgent family or business commitments which you need to attend to. Only you can make an informed decision based on your own individual circumstances and the risks.”

1. New Caledonia – “Given ongoing tensions”
2. North Korea – “The security situation can change quickly with no advance warning”
3. Mayotte – Cyclone Chido

FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts

1. Angola – Cabinda Province, border areas in Lunda Norte Province
2. Bangladesh – Chittagong Hill Tracts
3. Bolivia – Chapare region
4. Brazil – Amazonas State
5. Colombia – borders, Pacific coast, northern and central Colombia
6. Ecuador – seven coastal region provinces and within 20km of the Ecuador-Colombia border
7. Ghana – Bawku Municipality
8. Guatemala – within 5km of the Mexican border and the towns of Santa Ana Huista, San Antonio Huista and La Democracia
9. Kenya – Kenya-Somalia border and northern parts of the east coast
10. Kosovo – Zvečan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic, and the northern part of the city of Mitrovica
11. Laos – Xaisomboun Province
12. Malaysia – Eastern Sabah coastal islands
13. Mexico – Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero, Chiapas
14. Papua New Guinea – Hela and Southern Highlands provinces
15. Peru – within 20km south of the Peru-Colombia border and The Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro River
16. Tanzania – Mtwara Region along the Tanzania-Mozambique border
17. Thailand –parts of the south, near the Thailand-Malaysia border
18. Uganda – Queen Elizabeth National Park and Semuliki National Park