US puts travel ban on 7 more countries, limits entry from 15 others

Published on: 17 Dec 2025 at 01:14 PM

Published by: Fact News

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation imposing a complete travel ban on seven more countries and Palestinians, and entry restrictions on 15 others citing national security, public safety, weak vetting systems and high visa overstay rates. With this, 20 additional countries have been added to the list where America has imposed a travel ban or entry restrictions, thereby expanding the same to a total of 39 nations.

According to a White House fact-sheet, the new proclamation imposed a travel ban on five countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Those holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents (Palestinians to be precise) have also been included in the list. Besides, the proclamation imposed a complete travel ban on Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial entry restrictions.

The expanded ban and restrictions are set to take effect on January 1.

The announcement came two weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the Trump administration is planning to widen its current travel ban from 19 to over 30 countries. She, at the time, had not confirmed the exact number or mentioned the names of the countries.

The US has already banned travel from 12 countries – Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The latest move by the Trump administration marks a sharp escalation in the immigration crackdown, following the November 26 killing of two National Guard members in Washington DC. The attacker, an Afghan national who once worked with a CIA-linked unit, entered the US after the 2021 withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and was granted asylum earlier this year after vetting. The Trump administration has pointed to the case to press for tighter immigration controls.

Furthermore, it came after two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter were killed in an Islamic State ambush attack in Syria on December 13.

PARTIAL ENTRY RESTRICTIONS ON 15 NEW NATIONS

The latest proclamation introduced partial restrictions on 15 more countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Partial entry restrictions will continue for nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela.

Turkmenistan is the sole country to see a partial easing under the new order. The proclamation has lifted restrictions on non-immigrant visas for Turkmenistan nationals.