Syrian visa at Turkish border for Canadian? | Syria - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:21:39 +0000

Syrian visa at Turkish border for Canadian?

Canadian traveler wants to enter Syria from Turkey, but where to get visa?

I am interested in a 3 month Turkey, Syria, Lebanon trip starting in October in Istanbul, crossing the border to Syria, and finally Lebanon, before flying out of Beirut in mid-January.

My question about Syria is visa-related. Lebanon is visa-free for Canadians, but Syria requires a pre-arranged visa, or visa on arrival actually is true? Usually it means a Syrian embassy, which means getting a visa at the Syrian embassy in Istanbul, but is that possible? Some countries insist Canadians obtain tourist visas back in Canada, and not in a neighbouring country, obviously that's not an option. I would really like to visit Syria, after Turkey by bus, or train.

Thanks

ONLINE

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:29:23 +0000

Lebanon isn't visa-free. However the visa is issued hassle-free at any border crossing. According to the General Security website visas should be free, however people often report being charged for them, especially at land crossings.

With Syria things are bit ambigious : Officially visas are only issued at the border to nationals whose country does not have a Syrian embassy. Unofficially however almost everyone that tries ends up getting a visa, although some people (especially US citizens) have to wait for hours for the OK from Damascus. Getting a Syrian visa at an embassy in a neighbouring country is usually not worth the hassle (letters of recommendation etc), as you usually can get it at the border a lot easier.

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ONLINE

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:00:03 +0000

Get it at the border - much quicker, easier and cheaper. It won't be a problem - if you do a search on here you'll see this question gets asked quite regularly (and also recently) - I personally have answered it numerous times. Seriously, getting it at the border is the best way to go and I've not heard of anyone being denied.

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