getting into Syria from Isreal

lady_c2009v........ Ideally it would be best for you to first travel into Syria, and then travel through Jordan and then Israel. You will be denied entry into Syria, if you have any Israeli entry or exit stamps in your passport. (The Syrian's require you to state on the visa application form if you have ever visited Israel, actually they describe it as occupied Palestine). The Israeli border guards may, or may not, choose / decide to stamp your passport, or stamp a loose seperate piece of paper. Are you sure that Dutch passport holders do not need a visa?

Hi Carla

You will not be able to enter Syria if your passport shows ANY evidence of a trip to Israel.

If you plan to visit both countries you should either visit Syria first (as Israel doesn't automatically refuse entry to people have have been to Syria, they just quiz you very thoroughly about it), or alternatively if you MUST visit Israel BEFORE Syria then you would have to 'lose' your passport and obtain a new passport before going to Syria.

Over the last couple of years, Israeli immigration officials have become more and more relucant to stamp a piece of paper instead of passport but if you show them PROOF that you plan to visit Syria afterwards (such as visa, travel tickets, hotel reservations etc) then they will probably accede to your request not to stamp the passport. You should make the request and make sure the person agrees to it BEFORE handing over your passport just to avoid confusion though. Last time I asked an Israeli official not to stamp my passport the request was refused but she said it was because I didn't have proof of my planned trips to such countries after Israel..I didn't have any plans to visit Syria or other hostile countries, I was just hoping to avoid the Israeli stamp but unfortunately it didn't work for me that time although on previous visits I found that some Israeli immigration staff were willing to avoid stamping my passport without seeing evidence of planned travel to enemy countries. Very often it depends on the officer who deals with you, some are nicer and more obliging that others but please be sure to carry evidence of your planned trip to Syria so that you can show it to the Israeli officials if necessary.

then you would have to 'lose' your passport and obtain a new passport before going to Syria.

If you plan on doing that in Jordan, don't think it hasn't been tried before and the authorities are naive enough to go along with it....

There is absolutely no guarantee that Israel won't stamp your passport. You can beg, plead, scream and roll around on the floor as much as you like, but if the immigration officer feels like stamping your passport, which is of course within his rights, there is nothing you can do about it (except drop the idea of visiting Syria). If it's essential that you visit Syria, don't go to Israel until afterwards.

Also any evidence of a past or future visit to Israel (guidebooks, hotel receipts, a carrier bag from an Israeli department store, an Egged bus ticket used as a bookmark...) will guarantee that you don't get into Syria (or Lebanon for that matter).

The problem is not only having/not having an Israeli stamp. Further problems come with the entry/exit stamps the neighbouring countries. Some countries (the US for example) let their citizens have 2 passports specifically for this reason.

Further problems come with the entry/exit stamps the neighbouring countries.

Indeed, yes. If you have an exit stamp from Jordan or Egypt but no entry stamp for that country, it's very obvious that you crossed into that country by land from Israel (assuming you didn't parachute in from Mars!). That is enough to get you barred from entering Syria.

'Bottom line':
Go to Israel after Syria, or don't go at all on this trip.

thanks for all the tips, but given that I have to go to Syria for a month for work after my holidays, I think I will need to skip Israel this time around. And no, I cannot plan my holidays after my assignment in Syria as after that month I immediately have to go to my next assignment in Qatar (I know, life is hard).

Again, thanks for the insights though, at least I was able to make a decision based upon it!

And not just passport evidence! Any loose shekels in your pockets, any souvenir from Israel, any guide book to Israel gets you refused entry. The immigration officials don't have to justify a refusal of entry, in theory they can turn you down because they don't like the colour of your hat!