Ministry of External Affairs issues advisory for Indians travelling to five provinces of Iraq

External Affairs Ministry has said that Indian nationals may now consider travelling to Iraq except to the five provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin, Diyala, Anbar, and Kirkuk.

In a travel advisory, the Ministry said, these five provinces remain unsafe due to the prevailing security situation in the country.

Those Indian nationals wishing to travel for employment and already having work permits and appropriate visas may return to their jobs in the safe areas in Iraq.

They may inform the Embassy of India in Baghdad



or the Consulate General of India in Erbil prior to travelling to Iraq. Those Indian nationals wishing to travel for religious purposes and having an appropriate visa and return air-ticket may also travel for a pilgrimage to the holy places of Najaf and Karbala.

However, they have been advised to not extend their religious pilgrimage to neighboring Syria. In its travel advisory on the 8th of last month, India had asked its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Iraq due to the escalation of tension.