The new restrictions will take effect on January 1, 2026, and will apply to 20 countries and territories, effectively doubling the previously existing list. A complete travel ban is being imposed on citizens of Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Syria, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan, as well as on individuals holding travel documents from the Palestinian National Authority.
Partial restrictions will be introduced for citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Gabon, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Tonga.
The US administration noted that these measures pertain to countries with serious security and information-sharing issues.
At the same time, Washington has eased visa restrictions for Turkmenistan by lifting the ban on the issuance of non-immigrant visas; however, immigrant visas are still not being issued. The administration emphasized that Ashgabat is "productively engaging" with Washington and showing progress on identification and data-sharing issues.
Previously, Trump had already imposed similar restrictions during his first presidential term, affecting citizens of Cuba, Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. These measures were lifted by the administration of Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the previous ban was "extremely successful" and helped prevent terrorist attacks on US soil.
After his return to the White House in June 2025, Trump reintroduced entry restrictions for citizens of 19 countries. The complete ban covers Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea, while partial restrictions apply to Burundi, Venezuela, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan. Notably, Syria and North Korea were not included in this list.
