How to get into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Jun 5, 2009
Above: "Welcome to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region" sand a Kurdish flag await you at the border crossing into Iraq from Turkey.
For anyone looking to vacation in Kurdistan, here is drill:
1) Bus it from Diyarbakir to Cizre or Silopi
If you are entering from Southeast Turkey, from Diyarbakir catch a bus to either Cizre or Silopi. Silopi is about 40km closer, but the bus doesn't go there until noon. I suggest catching the 8:30am bus to Cizre and trying to share a taxi to the border with other people from the bus. Most people will be going there. The bus to Cizre was 18 Lira (about $15).
2) Take a taxi from Cizre or Silopi to the border
The taxi driver will take care of everything, so be sure to find one that you trust your passport with. The fare from Cizre to the border was 15 Lira (about $12).
3) Crossing the border
First you have to cross the Turkish check point and get your exit visa. Second, you will come to the Kurdistan Visa Office where your passport will be thrown onto a pile with 30 others. If you are American, they are currently making you visit a doctor due to the swine flu. This consisted of a doctor taking my temperature from my cheek and asking, "Are you sick?"
They might ask you a quick question about why you are going to Kurdistan, but this time they just let me in. I think it was because I already had my stamp from last year.
After this, the taxi driver needs to file some paperwork and then have the car inspected.
Once across the border, the taxi will drop you off at the taxi garage. There is a cafeteria here, but I would probably stick to the rice and beans. From there, you can catch a taxi to anywhere you are looking to go. Remember though that shared taxis are cheaper and a very common method of transportation. Basically the car is one price to go from one city to another whether it is you alone or split three or four ways.
4) And finally, the Residency Visa...
The bane of my existence in Kurdistan. if you are planning to stay in the region for more than ten days, you need to obtain a residency visa. This process took two full days last year in Sulaimaniyah with the help of a Kurdish person. However, I recommend that you go on your own to the Residency Office in Erbil. The fact that I had an American Passport and didn't speak any Kurdish got me in and out of the office in two hours!
No matter what though, it will be a crazy maze of office visits, stamps, and signatures. Here is what I went through this trip to give you an idea:
Entrance desk - Looked at my passport and documents. Told me to go get photocopies of specific pages.
Photocopy desk - Made three photocopies
Back to Entrance Desk - The guy filled out paperwork on me and sent me to Room 21
Room 21 - Got a folder to which the initial paperwork was stapled. Sent to Room 14
Room 14 - Got a stamp and a signature on the new folder. Sent to Cpt. Haller in Room 11
Room 11 - Got a stamp and a signature on the initial paperwork. Sent to Room 21
Room 21 - Simply labeled "Interrogation." Was asked "Why you are here?" Then told to wait outside. Twenty minutes later, a soldier wearing fatigues with a Harley Davidson patch on the shoulder where you would normally find military insignia, gave me back my folder and sent me to Room 6
Room 6 - Had more of a formal interview asking questions regarding my education, job, and marital status. Sent to Room 3
Room 3 - Finally got a stamp in my Passport, but was then given a piece of paper and sent to Room 8
Room 8 - Paid a few dollars for the stamp. Sent back to Room 3
Room 3 - Given my Passport back. Sent to Room 19
Room 19 - A soldier takes my folder and Passport and enters a room. Ten minutes later he returns, hands me my passport, and says "Tammam" (OK).
There has to be a more efficient way.
All images and content © 2010 Jon Vidar. All rights reserved. Web site made possible by Movable Type, PhotoShelter, and Media Temple.
3 Comments
Hi Jon...very useful information, your above details would help greatly the foreign visitors to Kurdistan.
Wow. Sounds worse than the DMV. I didn't think anything could be worse than the DMV! That is why i got AAA. Don't they have an equivalent of AAA, there?
Hey Jon,
Seems like the Kurdistan and the Costa Rica/Nicaragua crossings were developed by the same bureaucracy!
Let's get that margarita at Malo when you get back. Stay safe.
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