ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Tuesday approved the launch of a federal electronic visa service that will issue entry visas alongside mandatory health insurance coverage, extending its implementation to the Kurdistan Region.
“The Council of Ministers approved the adoption of a federal e-visa platform as the single portal for issuing entry visas to Iraq,” read a statement from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s office. The new system will also unify all documents and services related to the management of foreign residents and visitors.
Under the initiative, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will no longer issue visas independently and will be required to mandate health insurance certificates obtained through the federal platform. The statement added that all relevant ministries and the “KRG Representation are required not to issue any entry visa without the health insurance certificate.”
Fees collected through the platform will be directed to Iraq’s Health Insurance Authority, which will also be responsible for issuing insurance certificates to categories not covered by the e-visa system, according to the statement.
In March, Iraq’s interior ministry announced it would begin issuing electronic visas for select countries instead of visas-on-arrival. The eligible countries include European Union member-states, as well as Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The KRG had launched its own e-visa portal in February 2023 as part of a wider effort to digitalize services and boost tourism and investment. However, that system was only valid for entry into the Kurdistan Region and could not be used to travel into federal Iraq.
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