I plan on going to Syria next month and am wondering if any Americans have been recently. The proper procedure according to both governments is to do this in person only at the DC Syrian embassy. I'm overseas and will not be back in the US before next month, so I am wondering if anybody knows how likely it is for me to be granted one either at the Turkey border, or the Jordan border, or at the Damascus airport even? I have read in the LP that some people have been rumored to be granted at the border but this is less likely for Americans etc. Any advice on how to go about obtaining a visa while in the region would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!
Reply to this Hello Amy,
Four years back I was in your very same situation: I was in Istanbul, I was planning to travel to Syria and I hadn't got the Syrian visa beforehand.
I went to the Syrian consulate in Istanbul and they told me they only issued visas for people coming from countries with no Syrian consulate. That wasn't my case as there is one in Rome, still they were quite understanding and told me they would grant it to me anyway with a "reccomandation" letter written by the local italian consulate. I finally didn't get the visa 'cause my fellow countrymen at the italian consulate were the worst unsympathetic bastards on earth and didn't offer any form of cooperation. But that's a different matter.
Crossing illegaly was possible, I heard lots of stories about that when I eventually travelled to eastern Turkey, but we would be talking about bribes, not legal visas.
Hope this will help.
marco
Reply to this Hi. We have alot of colleagues travelling into Syria for work and they all have to DHL their passports back to DC for visas. Sorry, but don't risk it.
Reply to this just in case anybody picks up on this thread with the same question, i did cross from turkey to syria from antaklya. i just kind of showed up at the border and waited for a visa. the bus company i took said i would have to wait awhile, but there are no doubts that you can get one at the border. they just don't officially tell you that anywhere...
Reply to this amyuyma - May I ask what nationality the passport that you traveled to Syria on was? I would expect a tougher time for U.S and British (like me) than other nationalities so your specific details will help explain the situation regarding visas on the border. Also the cost for a multiple entry Syrian tourist visa in London is £50 (GBP) - is the amount payable on the border comparable?
Yours,
Greg
Reply to this hi greg
i'm american. it took longer for mine to be processed than for example the new zealander on my bus, but it was processed. i dont actually know if my visa was multiple or single entry at the border, i would guess single, but it definitely did not cost me 100 USD, i want to say something like 20. it wasn't expensive enough to remember. Usually visas on site are much cheaper than arranged through an embassy beforehand, for anywhere.
hope this helps! - amy
Reply to this Hi Amy,
That's great time and money saving information, thank you.
All the best and happy travels,
Greg
Reply to this So I know it's been a while, but did you cross over the Syria successfully? I'm hoping to take a land border from Turkey into Syria too.
Reply to this Asad,
Your question may have been addressed at Amy but I will share my experience anyway.
I entered Syria firstly from Turkey - very simple though my UK passport was the last one to come back to the bus.
I also did a trip to Lebanon which meant I re-entered Syria over that border. As I had my multiple entry Syrian visa I had absolutely no problem, in fact I cleared the formalities including a test for swine flu faster than a Lebanese couple in my vehicle. However I met a Brit travelling with an American in Lebanon. The American wanted a visa at the border and after many hours waiting was refused one and returned to Lebanon.
I hope this is useful,
G
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