Trump travel ban 2025: These 19 countries banned, restricted from entering US

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a new executive order imposing travel bans and restrictions on citizens from multiple countries, reviving a controversial policy from his first term.

The move, which takes effect Monday at 12:01 am, targets 12 nations with outright bans and imposes restrictions on seven others, citing risks from inadequate vetting, high visa overstay rates, and terrorist threats.

In a video message, Trump pointed to a recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, as a key motivator, blaming “foreign nationals who are not properly vetted” and visa overstayers for posing “extreme dangers” to the US.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said, criticising what he called “Biden’s open door policies” for allowing “millions and millions of these illegals” into the country.

1. Afghanistan
2. Chad
3. Equatorial Guinea
4. Eritrea
5. Haiti
6. Iran
7. Libya
8. Myanmar
9. Republic of the Congo
10. Somalia
11. Sudan
12. Yemen

1. Burundi
2. Cuba
3. Laos
4. Sierra Leone
5. Togo
6. Turkmenistan
7. Venezuela.

The list may be revised if conditions improve or new threats emerge, Trump noted.

The decision follows a January 20 executive order directing the departments of State and Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to assess “hostile attitudes” and national security risks from certain nations.

The review considered factors such as terrorist presence, lack of cooperation on visa security, poor identity verification, inadequate criminal record-keeping, and high visa overstay rates.

“Afghanistan lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures,” Trump said in the proclamation, citing a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report showing a 9.70% business/tourist visa overstay rate and a 29.30% rate for student, vocational, and exchange visas.

Haiti, newly added to the ban, was flagged for lacking a central authority to share law enforcement data and for high numbers of illegal entries.

The ban makes exceptions for Afghans holding Special Immigrant Visas, typically granted to those who aided the US during the two-decade war there. The inclusion of Afghanistan, however, drew criticism from supporters of resettlement efforts for its people.

Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of #AfghanEvac, said the executive order banning Afghan nationals from entering the US is not about national security but about political theatre.

"Let's call it what it is: a second Muslim Ban, dressed up in bureaucracy, and rushed out in the aftermath of a tragedy to disguise its intent," he said in a statement, claiming the administration had the policy prepared weeks ago and was rushed out in the aftermath of a tragedy to disguise its intent.

"And to include Afghanistan—a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years—is a moral disgrace. It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold," VanDiver added.

The policy echoes Trump’s January 2017 travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries—Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

The executive order sparked chaos at airports as travellers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the US or detained at US airports after they landed. The new order’s delayed start may avoid similar confusion and chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide.

“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm, and nothing will stop us from keeping America safe,” Trump said, vowing to prevent “what happened in Europe” from occurring in the US.