The Trump administration is preparing to reinstate the controversial travel ban that sparked airport chaos and an international backlash during his first presidency.
On Jan 20, 2025, Trump instructed his cabinet to compile a list of countries with insufficient “vetting and screening” processes which should be considered for a new travel ban.
Here is everything you need to know about Trump’s revived travel ban, how a new colour-graded system could work, and how the travel ban could affect British citizens.
What happened in the first Trump travel ban?
During his first presidency, Donald Trump passed a series of executive orders with the aim of restricting citizens of certain nations from entering the United States.
The travel ban sparked disruption at airports (some people had already landed in the United States when they learnt they were barred from entry) and numerous protests.
The policy received a series of legal challenges and underwent two major revisions. The Supreme Court eventually upheld Trump’s travel ban in 2018, impacting nationals arriving into the US from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea.
In previous iterations, nationals from Chad, Sudan, Iraq and Venezuela were also targeted. During his first term as president Trump also tightened up immigration rules for nationals arriving from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Tanzania.
When Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, he revoked most of Trump’s travel bans. The only one that remained was a reverse travel ban prohibiting American citizens from visiting North Korea.
Why was the Trump travel ban controversial?
The travel ban was criticised as most of the affected countries were majority-Muslim nations, leading to the policy being called a “Muslim travel ban”.
Critics say that an anti-Islamic principle underlies Trump’s politics. Donald Trump made immigration a focus during his first election campaign, during which he said that the travel bans would keep radical terrorists from entering the US.
During his first presidency, Donald Trump sought to ban citizens of certain nations from entering the United States – REUTERS
In 2015, Donald Trump said he would “strongly consider” shutting down mosques in the United States in response to terror attacks in Paris. Following a terror attack in Barcelona, Trump responded with a tweet citing a (debunked) story about an American army general who executed Muslim insurgents with bullets dripped in pig blood.
During his second presidential election campaign, Trump said: “Remember the famous travel ban? We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world. We’re not taking them from infested countries.”
On the flip side, Trump proposed “Muslims for Trump” during his 2024 presidential campaign, and in September 2015, he told CNN: “I love the Muslims, I think they’re great people.”
Amnesty International described the travel ban introduced during Trump’s first term as “a licence to discriminate, disguised as a national security measure.”
Is the Trump travel ban coming back?
Trump promised to “restore the travel ban” on day one of his presidency, which did not happen, but he is making moves to reinstate the policy.
On Jan 20, the president issued an executive order directing his cabinet to draft a list of countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
He ordered that list to be compiled within 60 days, meaning we should know more about Trump’s second travel ban around March 21.
Which countries will be banned?
No official list has been issued, and when probed on which countries could be targeted by a fresh travel ban, President Trump responded: “Wouldn’t that be a stupid thing for me to say?”
Reuters reports that Pakistan and Afghanistan will likely be included. It is also expected that some of the countries that faced tighter entry restrictions during Trump’s first presidency could be targeted once again. The New York Times predicts Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen could be included on the list.
Pakistan and Afghanistan will likely be included in any ban, according to reports – E+
A draft recommendation seen by the New York Times suggests that there could also be an “orange” group of countries, whose access will be restricted but not outlawed (business travellers, not tourists, could be permitted entry, for example). There could also be a third “yellow” category of countries which would be given 60 days to make changes, such as improving seemingly inadequate security practices for issuing passports or to stop selling citizenship to people from banned nations.
Will the Trump travel ban affect British citizens?
The Trump travel ban in its first iteration only applied to nationals of the named countries, planning to travel in from that country. So if you were an Iranian citizen, or an Iranian citizen with dual UK nationality, travelling to the United States from the UK, you would not be subject to the travel ban. Likewise, if you were a British citizen hoping to enter the US from Tehran, you would not be turned away (but in both instances, you would have to apply for a full visa, as below).
Do passport stamps from certain countries complicate entry to the US?
The United States prevents British citizens from applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) visa waiver if they have visited certain countries since March 2011. These are Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia (including Somaliland), Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
This, however, is not linked to the Trump travel ban. The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act was signed by Barack Obama in 2015. You also cannot apply for an ESTA visa waiver if you have been to Cuba since January 12, 2021, after Donald Trump designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
If you have travelled to these countries, it is not impossible to enter the United States, but it does mean you need to apply for a full US visa. You will also need to apply for a full visa if you are a UK citizen with dual nationality with Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea or Sudan, regardless of whether you have been present in that country since March 2011.
You can apply for an ESTA (valid for up to 90 days of travel) online for the price of $21 (£16.20). To get a visa, you will need to attend an appointment at the US embassy and pay $185 (£142.80) during the application stage.
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