Crossing Irak, a few questions
 

Hello.

Right now I am planning to cross Iraq this year.

There are a few questions about this:

When I was watching Itchy Boots video, she went in from Turkey to the Kurdistan part and left also there close to Erbil.

So my main question is:

Is it possible to cross from Erbil to Baghdad or is this not possible?

I would like to do the blue route, but have no idea, if it is possible, so I am trying to gather informations about Irak.

So blue route possible, or only red route?

With the Kurdish visa you get on arrival from Turkey - red route is possible.

For the blue route you need a proper Iraqi visa, the one you get when entering from Iran to Iraq (or basically any border not entering Kurdistan). If you noticed, Itchy also exited Iraq and then went back in order to get the visa. Once you get that one there is no limit, since that visa is valid for both Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq.

There is an option that does not include Iran, an Estonian TV travel show did that when they were traveling on 4x4s... it's complicated but possible:

1) Arrive in Iraqi Kurdistan from Turkey, get the Kurdistan VoA;

2) Take a local flight from Erbil to Baghdad;

3) Get a federal Iraq VoA at Baghdad airport arrivals;

4) Turn around and fly back to Erbil;

5) Pick up your vehicle and drive into federal Iraq, since you now have the correct stamp in your passport.

Thanks, that was the information I was looking for.

This was the reason why I was wondering why Itchy Boots left from Kurdistan.

Another question:
Would it be possible to obtain an Iraqi Visa in an embassy like in my homecountry?

Check also this thread

https://caravanistan.com/forum/viewt...14597&start=20

Thank you, this is very helpful

It was recently announced on the Facebook Middle East Overland Group that the old rule of the KRG visa-on arrival only being valid for Kurdistan, is no longer valid.

So, according to that, you could do the blue route. But I would have a look though the group posts to check that it has been confirmed. I think there was a link posted to an official source for the information, or at least a press release.

I have not heard of anyone crossing the Kut/Mehran border crossing into Iran, but it should be possible.

In January 2022 I entered Iraq from Iran at Shalamcheh and spent 3.5 weeks in the country. Aside from time spent at highway checkpoints, it was a wonderful experience, very inetersting country and amazingly welcoming people.

My understanding is that some people were successful in the past few years entering kurdistan by land and flying to federal iraq to get their visa while others were questioned and denied on the basis that they were not permitted to leave without there vehicle. I have also heard about this new development about the new visa regulations that may potentially allow people to enter kurdistan overland and continue to federal iraq on the same visa but so far havent seen any solid reports of people who have successfully done this.
Hopefully this will become clear as more people attempt to do this and it may even normalize this overland route. I think if you are intent on doing it best bet is to keep abreast of developments and reports and try your luck. These rules or interpretations of the rules can change from one week to the next and one traveller or immigration officer allows and another can be denied. Another possible solution is people have tried to get a federal iraq visa at an embassy during their travels. Apparently this is only possible if you do not qualify for a visa on arrival still possibly worth trying. Hopefully though the new visa regulations will end up being as good as they sound and it will simply be a matter of entering through Kurdistan and continuing along your journey. I suppose there may even be some chance that depending on what happens with the situation in Syria it may be at some point possible to cross through there and enter federal Iraq directly at a border that gives VOA.

hope we could get iraqi federal visa at ibrahim khalil border , more easy to travel through Iraq . do we need a cdp for federal Iraq?

You won't get an Iraq visa, but recent accounts are saying that the Kurdistan visa is valid for travel throughout Iraq. That's unlikely to change unless there are major political changes in the country.

But it is possible to apply for an Iraq eVisa

https://evisa.iq/en

Another question:

Is there a map where I can find the border points between Kurdistan and federal Iraq?

Because of what I found till now, it is not 100% sure where these borders are.

Iraq is full of checkpoints, they are at the edges of cities and at the boundaries of different governorates. I highly doubt that the Iraqi authorities publish the whereabouts of all these checkpoints. To further complicate this, the areas which are controlled by the Kurdish authorities do not match exactly the borders of governorates.

In my experience the 'border' checkpoints between Kurdish-controlled areas and the rest of the country are no different from any other large highway checkpoint.

If you really need to know this information for some reason, have a look at Google Maps. The checkpoints are quite obvious and there will most likely be a queue of vehicles.

Thanks.

Main Reason is my planning for this year.

I would like to set the POI in Basecamp, so I know where to expect the borders.

Hi...
Some serious changes happening with Iraq visa last few days...
Did someone recently (after March 1st) travel from Turkey all the way down to Jordan or Kuwaut with only Kurdistan VOA?
Thanks