Anyone who holds a British passport has the ability to travel to more than 180 countries and territories across the globe. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
When choosing your next holiday destination, it’s important you check the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) regularly updated list of no-go zones. Whether its because of conflict, natural disasters or risk of arrest for certain groups, the list is a roundup of all the places deemed unsafe for Brits to land in.
If travellers do decide to travel to any places on the FCDO’s no-go list, they won’t be able to get holiday insurance. That means that if anything goes wrong, they won’t be able to get the same kind of support they would elsewhere.
In the summer there were 73 countries on the list, but that number has now gone down to 55. Places no longer on the list include New Caledonia and Mayotte, which was previously included due to Cyclone Chido. Rwanda, Mexico and Mali have also been removed.
The list is split into three categories: advising against all travel, against all but essential travel, and against all travel to only certain parts. Right now, the UK government advises against all travel to the likes of Afghanistan, Haiti, Russia, Belarus while it warns that Brits shouldn’t travel to certain parts of Thailand, Armenia, Turkey and India.
When it comes to ‘essential travel’, the FCDO says: ‘Whether travel is essential or not is your own decision. You may have urgent family or business commitments which you need to attend to. Only you can make an informed decision based on your own individual circumstances and the risks.’ These are all the countries on the FCDO’s no travel list as of December 2025 and why.
FCDO advises against all travel
- Afghanistan – ‘The security situation is volatile’
- Belarus – ‘You face a significant risk of arrest’
- Burkina Faso – ‘Due to the threat of terrorist attacks and terrorist kidnap’
- Haiti – ‘Due to the volatile security situation’
- Iran – ‘British nationals are at significant risk of arrest’
- Mali ‘Due to unpredictable security conditions’
- Niger – ‘Due to the rise of reported terrorist and criminal kidnappings’
- Russia – ‘Due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine’
- South Sudan – ‘Due to the risk of armed violence and criminality’
- Syria – ‘Ongoing conflict and unpredictable security conditions’
- Yemen – ‘Unpredictable security conditions’
FCDO advises against all travel to parts
- Algeria – all travel to within 30km of Algeria’s borders with Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Tunisia
- Armenia – within 5km of the full eastern border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the M16/H26 road between the towns of Ijevan and Noyemberyan
- Azerbaijan – within 5km of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border
- Benin – northern border regions
- Burundi – Cibitoke and Bubanza provinces, former Kayanza province, former Bujumbura Rural province and the RN5 road north of Melchior Ndadaye airport
- Cambodia – within 50km from the border with Thailand
- Cameroon – Bakassi Peninsula, parts of the Far-North Region, North-West Region and South-West Region and within 40km of the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria borders
- Central African Republic – against all travel except to the capital, Bangui
- Chad – Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est and Tibesti provinces, Kanem Province, including Nokou, Lake Chad region and within 30km of all Chad’s other borders
- Congo – within 50km of the Republic of Congo-Central African Republic border in Likouala Region
- Côte d’Ivoire – within 40km of borders with Burkina Faso and Mali
- Democratic Republic of the Congo – within 50km of the border with the Central African Republic, the province of Kasaï Oriental, the Kwamouth territory of Mai-Ndombe Province and provinces in Eastern DRC
- Djibouti – Djibouti-Eritrea border
- Egypt – within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border and the North Sinai Governorate
- Eritrea – within 25km of Eritrea’s land borders
- Ethiopia – international border areas, parts of the Tigray region, Amhara region, Afar region, Gambela region, Oromia region, Somali region, Central, Southern, Sidama and South West regions and Benishangul-Gumuz region
- Georgia – South Ossetia and Abkhazia
- India – within 10km of the India-Pakistan border and Jammu and Kashmir
- Indonesia – Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, Mount Sinabung, Mount Marapi, Mount Semeru, Mount Ruang, Mount Ibu
- Iraq – advises against all travel to parts of Anbar province, Basra province, Diyala province, Kirkuk province, Ninawa province, Salah al-Din province, Sadr City and within 30km of federal Iraq’s borders with Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
- Israel – against all travel to Gaza, parts of the West Bank and Northern Israel
- Jordan – within 3km of the border with Syria
- Kenya – Kenya-Somalia border and northern parts of the east coast
- Lebanon – areas in Beirut and Mount Lebanon Governorate, the South and Nabatiyeh Governorates, the Beqaa Governorate, the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, the Akkar Governorate, the city of Tripoli and Palestinian refugee camps
- Libya – advises against all travel to Libya except for the cities of Benghazi and Misrata
- Mauritania – Eastern Mauritania and within 25km of the Malian border
- Moldova –Transnistria
- Mozambique – Cabo Delgado Province
- Myanmar (Burma) – Chin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Kayin State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing and Magway regions, Tanintharyi Region, Shan State North, North Mandalay Region
- Nigeria – Borno State, Yobe State, Adamawa State, Gombe State, Kaduna State, Katsina State, Zamfara State and the riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states
- Pakistan – within 10 miles of the border with Afghanistan, areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and the Balochistan Province
- Philippines – western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago
- Saudi Arabia – within 10km of the border with Yemen
- Somalia – advises against all travel except the western regions Awdal, Maroodijeh and Sahil
- Sudan – against all travel except to the Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid
- Palestine – against all travel to Gaza, parts of The West Bank and Northern Israel
- Thailand –parts of the south, near the Thailand-Malaysia border, the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line and within 50km of the whole border with Cambodia
- Togo – within 30km of the border with Burkina Faso
- Tunisia – parts of Western Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Algeria border and Southern Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Libya border
- Turkey – within 10km of the Turkey-Syria border
- Ukraine – all regions of Ukraine with the exception of some western regions
- Venezuela – within 80km of the Venezuela-Colombia border, within 40km of the Venezuela-Brazil border, Zulia State
- Western Sahara – within 30km of ‘the Berm’ boundary line and areas south and east of the Berm boundary line
FCDO advises against all but essential travel
- North Korea – ‘The security situation can change quickly with no advance warning’
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