Foreign Office warns Brits against travel to 55 locations in 2026 – full list

The Foreign Office said travelling there could invalidate your holiday insurance and be dangerous

Certain destinations worldwide are regarded as high-risk, with travellers advised to take specific safety measures to prevent potential dangers.

Yet just 55 locations appear on the Foreign Office’s ‘do not travel’ list, carrying an official warning. Those visiting these destinations will invalidate their travel insurance, leaving them without cover should problems arise. Authorities additionally warn that personal safety could be at risk, and securing local consular help may prove extremely challenging.

For particular nations, the Foreign Office recommends against all but essential travel, suggesting holidaymakers should think twice about their plans. The Foreign Office states: “Get advice and warnings about travel abroad, including entry requirements, safety and security, health risks and legal differences.”

It added: “No foreign travel can be guaranteed safe. FCDO publishes travel advice to help you decide if it’s safe enough for you to travel to a particular destination. In some instances, we also give information about how to reduce the risks you may face there. All environments contain some level of risk and you should consider what precautions you should take.”, reports the Mirror.

“You must take personal responsibility for your own travel. Only you can decide whether you should travel to a country or stay there, and what activities to take part in.”

Individuals may encounter varying risks depending on their: The Foreign Office provides tailored guidance for different types of travellers to help clarify potential risks abroad.

The FCDO occasionally issues formal warnings advising British nationals against ‘all but essential travel’ or ‘all travel’ to certain destinations.

It stated: “Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from FCDO. We only advise against travel if we think the risk to British nationals is unacceptably high. For example, this could be due to:

armed conflict
military coups
civil unrest
disease outbreaks
natural disasters

“For terrorist threats, we only advise against travel:

in situations of extreme and imminent danger
where the threat is sufficiently specific, large-scale or widespread to affect British nationals severely

“We may advise against travel to:

a whole country
parts of a country

“The ‘Warnings and insurance’ section of each travel advice page lists all the areas where we advise against travel. If you want to know about changes to travel advice for a specific country, you can sign up to receive email alerts about updates.”

armed conflict
military coups
civil unrest
disease outbreaks
natural disasters

“For terrorist threats, we only advise against travel:

in situations of extreme and imminent danger
where the threat is sufficiently specific, large-scale or widespread to affect British nationals severely

“We may advise against travel to:

a whole country
parts of a country

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

With regard to the definition of ‘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.”