Local Laws

CRIMINAL PENALTIES: While you are traveling in Syria, you are subject to Syrian law. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different from our own.

For example, under the Narcotics Act, article 39, Syria imposes the death penalty for drug trafficking or cultivation. Women who are arrested under suspicion of immoral behavior (e.g. being alone in a room with a man who is not the woman’s husband, or being in a residence where drugs or alcohol are being consumed) may be subjected to a virginity test. In addition, the Syrian government monitors the activities of all groups, including religious groups, and discourages proselytizing, which it deems a threat to relations among religious groups.

There are also some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but still illegal in the United States. You can be prosecuted in the United States for engaging in sexual conduct with children or for using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country regardless of the legality of these activities under that country’s laws. Counterfeit and pirated goods are illegal in the United States and if you purchase them in a foreign country, you may be breaking local law as well.

Arrest notifications in host country:  While some countries automatically notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate if a U.S. citizen detention or arrest in that country, others may not. To ensure that the United States is aware of your circumstances, request that the police and prison officials notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate as soon as you are arrested or detained overseas.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Syrian customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from Syria of items such as weapons, narcotics, alcohol, tobacco, cheese, fruit, pharmaceuticals, modems, cosmetics, and some electrical appliances. Please refer to our Customs Information page for additional information.  You are also welcome to visit the website of the Syrian Arab Republic Honorary Consulate in Montreal, Canada.

Although Syria is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Syrian authorities generally do not notify the U.S. Interests Section of the arrest of a U.S. citizen until weeks after the arrest, if at all. Moreover, security officials have also in the past not responded to U.S. requests for consular access, especially in cases of persons detained for “security” reasons.

Syrian customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from Syria of items such as weapons, narcotics, alcohol, tobacco, cheese, fruit, pharmaceuticals, modems, cosmetics, and some electrical appliances. You should review the website for the Embassy of Syria in Washington, D.C. for specific information regarding customs requirements. Please refer to our Customs Information page for additional information.

Foreign currencies can be exchanged for Syrian pounds only by licensed money changers, the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS), the Real Estate Bank, and at private banks, some of which maintain offices inside four and five star hotels. Four and five star hotels and high-end stores in Syria generally accept credit cards, although most restaurants, stores and shops operate exclusively in cash. Foreigners visiting Syria are required to pay hotel bills in U.S. dollars, Euros or other non-Syrian hard currency. Traveler’s checks are not accepted in Syria and banks will not cash them unless the traveler has an account at the bank in question. There are no U.S.-based banks operating in Syria. There are fourteen private banks operating in Syria, with branches and ATMs in most major cities. These ATMs usually honor major debit/credit systems. U.S. banks are restricted by law from transacting business with the largest public bank in Syria, the CBS, and therefore U.S. banks will not process ATM transactions from CBS branches. Funds may be transferred into Syria through Western Union. Wiring of funds through private banks is possible only if the traveler already holds an account with the bank in Syria; transferring funds through the Commercial Bank of Syria is not possible due to U.S. sanctions. Restrictions on wire transfers from Syria to locations abroad and restrictions on withdrawing U.S. dollars have changed several times in 2011 because of the fluctuating political situation; private citizens seeking to transfer funds outside of Syria or to withdraw U.S. dollars from a bank in Syria should check with the relevant financial institution for the most up-to-date regulations.

Syrian-American and Palestinian-American men who have never served in the Syrian military and who are planning to visit Syria despite the U.S. Department of State’s Syria Travel Warning should contact the Syrian government prior to traveling concerning compulsory military service. 

Effective June 1, 2011, the period of mandatory military service for men who have completed the fifth grade is 18 months. The period of mandatory military service for men who have not completed the fifth grade is 21 months.

U.S. citizen men over the age of 18, even those who have never resided in or visited Syria, and whose fathers are of Syrian descent, are required to complete military service or pay the exemption fee. Possession of a U.S. passport does not absolve the bearer of this obligation. The amount of the exemption fee depends upon a combination of factors:

• For Syrians (including U.S. citizens of either Syrian or Palestinian origin) born outside of Syria and residing abroad until the age of 18, the fee for exemption from military service is $500;
• For Syrians born in Syria, but who left Syria before reaching the age of 11 and who have resided outside Syria for more than 15 years, the fee for exemption from military service is $5,000;
• For persons who do not meet the above criteria, but who reside abroad, the fee for exemption from military service is $6,500.

Consult Syrian government authorities if you seek additional information.

Since May 11, 2004, measures imposed in accordance with the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act have prohibited the export to Syria of products of the United States other than food or medicine, and prohibit any commercial aircraft owned or controlled by the Syrian government from taking off from or landing in the United States. Under the authority provided in Section 5(b) of the Act, the President has determined that it is in the national security interest of the United States to waive the application of these sanctions in certain cases and for certain products, as specified in the Department of Commerce's General Order No. 2. “For additional information about the exportation of U.S.-origin dual-use items to Syria, consult the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury web sites.”

Terrorism List Government Sanctions Regulations prohibit U.S. persons from receiving unlicensed donations from the Syrian government. You can review the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Syria Sanctions page for more information. Additionally, U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in financial transactions which a U.S. person knows or has reasonable cause to believe pose a risk of furthering terrorist acts in the United States. For additional information about Terrorism List Government Sanctions Regulations, consult the terrorism brochure on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) home page or via OFAC's info-by-fax service at (202) 622-0077.

WOMEN TRAVELER INFORMATION: If you are a woman traveling abroad, please review our travel tips for Women Travelers.

LGBT RIGHTS: Syrian law criminalizes consensual same sex conduct under penal code article 520, which states that each sexual act "contrary to nature" is punishable by as long as three years imprisonment. For more detailed information about LGBT rights in Syria, you may review the State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices . There are open source reports indicating that LGBT individuals could be murdered for engaging in homosexual acts in ISIL-controlled areas. For further information on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) travel, please read our LGBT Travel Information page.

ACCESSIBILITY: While in Syria, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what you find in the United States. Syrian law protects persons with disabilities from discrimination in education, access to health, or provision of other state services; but the government has not effectively enforced these provisions. Sidewalks are generally unevenly paved and often blocked by parked cars. Stairs must be used to access many public buildings, restaurants, cafes and other tourist spots.