Syrian Visa - Irish & Swedish Passport Holders (Multiple Entry)

Hi all,

I'm flying into Damascus in October, however I've read that if your country doesn't have a Syrian Embassy, it's possible to get a visa on arrival. There is a Syrian visa in London which processes Irish passports however I wonder if this is necessary or whether I could obtain this in the airport in Damascus?

Also, my total trip is about 3 and a half weeks and I'll be travelling with a friend from Sweden. The embassy in Stockholm tell her she can only get a single entry 2 week visa. We're planning on leaving Syria and returning (hoping to get to Iraqi Kurdistan via Turkey) so I wondered whether we might be able to use the two weeks and just get a second visa at the land border when crossing back to Syria? Is there any way of obtaining a multiple-entry visa for Swedish passport holders which extends beyond 2 weeks before travelling?

Likewise, with my Irish passport, do I need to get a multiple entry visa from the outset or could I just get another visa when returning to Syria from Turkey?

Cheers

Visas at lander border are normally not a problem,.
When flying in the airline is your main concern, as visas are not officially issued there to nationals whose home country has a Syrian embassy (like Sweden),. Thus airlines often refuse to board people without pre-issued visas.
Embassies do issue multiple entry visas without too much hassle, so if you apply at an embassy just apply for a multiple entry one. This is usually cheaper than buying two single visas, even if those bought at the border, as e.g. the embassy in Stockholm charges the same fee for single and multiple entry visas (200 SEK or roughly 20 €)

Thanks! Do you know if you have to do anything particular to apply for the multiple entry visa with the Swedish embassy? My friend who's applying through Stockholm has been told that she can only get a single entry for 2 weeks with their embassy. Would this mean that the information she's been given is incorrect?

Single entry or two trips for ٍٍٍSwedish, Alien's passport or travel documents, (Svenskt pass,Främlingpass eller Rese document) 200 SEK

this is on the syrianembassy.se page.

at the Jordan/Syrien landboarder nobody needed a visa in advance Nov 07. There was a big yellow blackboard with the tarifs for some 80 passports. the procedure took only some minutes.
The visa comes with a remark : contact public security within 15 days
of course only if you like to stay longer than 15 days.

My friend who's applying through Stockholm has been told that she can only get a single entry for 2 weeks with their embassy. Would this mean that the information she's been given is incorrect?

I don't know why they would day that. Other Syrian embassies definately issue multiple entzry visas and I would be very surprised if the Sweidsh one (in contradiction to their website) didn't.

The visa will be valid for 15 days, however in reality the visa is valid for 30 days - I know that this fact is confusing but it unscorded by the fact that people are rgualrly refused visa extension when applying "early" (i.e. after 12-13 days). This has been discussed at length here on the forum.

{quote:title= george5 wrote:}{quote}
Visas at lander border are normally not a problem,.

You mentioned visas at land-borders are usually not a problem. In November I'll be travelling down to Syria from Turkey - do you know if it's possible to get a visa on arrival, even if I could have got a visa from the London embassy?

I'm reluctant to visit the Syrian embassy website as Google (& my browser) spit-out a security warning, detailing all sorts of Russian viruses which could contaminate the computer!

Many thanks.

With Syrian visas there is the official and the unofficial : Officially visas are only issued at the border to people from countries that do not have Syrian embassies. Unofficially all people can get one at the border, although waiting times do vary and seem to be particulary long for US Americans. However they also stand to gain the most by pplying at the border as the fees there fort Americans are a lot cheaper than those of the embassy in Washigton. For most Europeans it isn't really worth the insecurity and delays of getting it at the border unless you have a problem with getting your passport to your local Syrian embassy.