Crossing into Syria from Turkey

The Turkey–Syria land gates are not open to everyone. Passage is limited to Turkish nationals, Syrian nationals and dual nationals; a traveller on a third-country passport cannot enter this way. This page sets out what the people who can cross need to know before they reach the gate.

Who may cross

Turkish nationals, Syrian nationals and dual nationals of the two countries. The rule is applied at the gate and a visa does not get around it: a foreign visitor who already holds a Syrian visa still cannot walk through a Turkish land crossing. That visa works at Damascus and Aleppo airports, or at the Lebanese and Jordanian gates. For a foreigner sitting in Turkey, the practical route is a flight from Istanbul.

Which crossings

There are 10 official land crossings between the two countries and they do not all work the same way. Four carry most passenger traffic: Cilvegozu–Bab al-Hawa (Hatay, Reyhanli district), Oncupinar–Bab al-Salama (central Kilis, facing Azaz), Karkamis–Jarablus (Gaziantep) and Yayladagi–Kessab (Hatay). Cobanbey and Zeytindali are also open. Akcakale–Tal Abyad and Ceylanpinar–Ras al-Ayn run on limited terms, Senyurt–Derbassiyeh is closed, and Mursitpinar–Ayn al-Arab has been shut to passengers for a long time. The status of Nusaybin–Qamishli in Mardin has to be asked separately. This picture shifts several times a year.

What the gate asks for

A passport. Syria is not on the list of countries Turkish citizens may enter on a national identity card. The visa practice on the Syrian side has changed several times since 2025 and two accounts circulate at once: one saying it is issued at the gate, one requiring a consular application. Ask a Syrian consulate before you set off. Syria’s online application system runs at evisa.sy, and applications are reported to take 5-7 days. Gate hours and the queue on any given day are variable — confirm before you travel.

Getting there on the Turkish side

Cilvegozu is reached through Hatay. Hatay airport is 25 kilometres from Antakya; its runway was shortened in the 2023 earthquakes and the schedule narrowed, but domestic flights run. Minibuses and taxis go from Antakya to Reyhanli and on to the gate. Oncupinar sits just south of central Kilis and is reached from inside the town; buses run to Kilis from Gaziantep. The Karkamis gate is in the Karkamis district of Gaziantep. Gaziantep airport is the widest scheduled option for reaching the region. Yayladagi lies in southern Hatay and opens onto the coast through Kessab.

Taking your own vehicle

A vehicle crossing needs the registration document, a driving licence, and compulsory third-party insurance bought on the Syrian side. The insurance is sold at the gate and the amount follows the vehicle class and the length of stay — do not try to pin the figure down in advance, ask at the counter. Do not cross in a hire car: almost every rental contract excludes Syria and your cover ends at the border. If you are driving your own car, read up on fuel, road conditions and checkpoints inside Syria first.

Continuing on the Syrian side

Bab al-Hawa is 50 kilometres west of Aleppo and connects to the city by the M45. Shared taxis and minibuses for Aleppo and Idlib wait on the Syrian side of the gate. The road out of Bab al-Salama runs down to Aleppo through Azaz. From Jarablus the road follows the Euphrates south; from Kessab the coast road leads to Latakia. Agree the fare before you get into anything; the cars parked at the gate quote their own price.

Voluntary return is a separate matter

The return of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey is a different procedure from the journey described here. Returns accelerated after the regime fell on 8 December 2024: by the end of 2025 more than 578,000 people had gone back, and the total since 2016 had reached 1,318,000. In mid-2026 more than two million Syrians were still under temporary protection in Turkey. Return is handled through the provincial migration office, it has consequences for that registration, and the rule has changed several times. The only binding source is the migration authority itself.