KRG and Iraq strike visa deal, plan to drop entry fees
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq (GOI) on Thursday reached an agreement on visa issuing powers and on the lifting of entry fees imposed on Iraqis entering the Kurdistan Region.
Delegations have traveled back and forth between Erbil and Baghdad in recent months as relations between the KRG and the GOI continue to improve.
Iraq’s recently appointed Minister of the Interior Yassin al-Yasseri arrived in the Kurdistan Regional capital on Wednesday accompanied by high ranking civilian and security officials.
On Thursday he met with his KRG counterpart Rebar Barzani.
“Important topics were discussed concerning the work of the two ministries,” Yasseri told a joint press conference following the meeting.
“The first topic was the topic of passports, visas, citizenship documents, and identity cards, and opening a number of national card bureaus to get this vitally important project done in the Kurdistan Region,” he added.
Saad Maan, spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior, said the minister “authorized” the KRG to issue visas for tourism, short visits, and emergency cases that would apply to all Iraqi provinces.
Work and business visas would therefore appear to be excluded.
No timeframe was given for when this could be implemented. There were also no details on the cost or any restrictions.
The KRG interior ministry is yet to issue a statement of its own.
Previously, the KRG and the GOI operated rival visa policies. Foreigners coming to the Kurdistan Region would be granted a visa that was only recognized inside the Region but not in the rest of federal Iraq.
Foreigners holding a visa from Baghdad also had a hard time coming into the Region because the KRG did not recognize it.
The dispute over visa recognition may now be resolved.
“We also discussed the lifting of the 10,000 [entry] fee [into Kurdistan Region], and the brothers promised us to remove the fee and facilitate the entry of Iraqi brothers into the Kurdistan Region,” Yasseri told the press conference.
Iraqi Arab tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region had to pay an entry fee of 10,000 Iraqi dinars at the Erbil-Kirkuk checkpoint.
Iraqis have regularly complained the fee is uncalled for since the Kurdistan Region is part of Iraq.
Maan said the KRG Prime Minister had given the agreement his blessing after meeting with Yasseri.
Both ministers for the interior are part of a committee formed between Baghdad and Erbil to address the issue of security and administration in the disputed territories claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
However, the issue of the disputed territories does not seem to have featured in Wednesday’s discussions.
The ministers did however discuss cooperation in the implantation of arrest warrants that would see arrested individuals sent to Baghdad to be tried in the federal courts.
Erbil-Baghdad relations have generally improved since Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi took office in late 2018.
Ties between the two sides suffered a blow on October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces led an offensive into the disputed territories, forcing the Kurdish Peshmerga to withdraw.
Several outstanding issues remain over independent oil sales, the KRG’s share of the federal budget, and the administration of the disputed territories.
Improvements in the relationship were noted by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, in her quarterly briefing to the UN Security Council.
Hennis-Plasschaert told the Security Council she is hopeful the two sides can resolve their differences now that both governments have been formed.
“This has created a positive momentum to advance negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil, also demonstrated by the establishment of a High-Level Joint Committee,” she said.
“And I cannot deny: the expectations are high, in particular on key files – including Kirkuk, Sinjar, and revenue sharing,” she added.
Delegations have traveled back and forth between Erbil and Baghdad in recent months as relations between the KRG and the GOI continue to improve.
Iraq’s recently appointed Minister of the Interior Yassin al-Yasseri arrived in the Kurdistan Regional capital on Wednesday accompanied by high ranking civilian and security officials.
On Thursday he met with his KRG counterpart Rebar Barzani.
“Important topics were discussed concerning the work of the two ministries,” Yasseri told a joint press conference following the meeting.
“The first topic was the topic of passports, visas, citizenship documents, and identity cards, and opening a number of national card bureaus to get this vitally important project done in the Kurdistan Region,” he added.
Saad Maan, spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior, said the minister “authorized” the KRG to issue visas for tourism, short visits, and emergency cases that would apply to all Iraqi provinces.
Work and business visas would therefore appear to be excluded.
No timeframe was given for when this could be implemented. There were also no details on the cost or any restrictions.
The KRG interior ministry is yet to issue a statement of its own.
Previously, the KRG and the GOI operated rival visa policies. Foreigners coming to the Kurdistan Region would be granted a visa that was only recognized inside the Region but not in the rest of federal Iraq.
Foreigners holding a visa from Baghdad also had a hard time coming into the Region because the KRG did not recognize it.
The dispute over visa recognition may now be resolved.
“We also discussed the lifting of the 10,000 [entry] fee [into Kurdistan Region], and the brothers promised us to remove the fee and facilitate the entry of Iraqi brothers into the Kurdistan Region,” Yasseri told the press conference.
Iraqi Arab tourists visiting the Kurdistan Region had to pay an entry fee of 10,000 Iraqi dinars at the Erbil-Kirkuk checkpoint.
Iraqis have regularly complained the fee is uncalled for since the Kurdistan Region is part of Iraq.
Maan said the KRG Prime Minister had given the agreement his blessing after meeting with Yasseri.
Both ministers for the interior are part of a committee formed between Baghdad and Erbil to address the issue of security and administration in the disputed territories claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
However, the issue of the disputed territories does not seem to have featured in Wednesday’s discussions.
The ministers did however discuss cooperation in the implantation of arrest warrants that would see arrested individuals sent to Baghdad to be tried in the federal courts.
Erbil-Baghdad relations have generally improved since Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi took office in late 2018.
Ties between the two sides suffered a blow on October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces led an offensive into the disputed territories, forcing the Kurdish Peshmerga to withdraw.
Several outstanding issues remain over independent oil sales, the KRG’s share of the federal budget, and the administration of the disputed territories.
Improvements in the relationship were noted by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, in her quarterly briefing to the UN Security Council.
Hennis-Plasschaert told the Security Council she is hopeful the two sides can resolve their differences now that both governments have been formed.
“This has created a positive momentum to advance negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil, also demonstrated by the establishment of a High-Level Joint Committee,” she said.
“And I cannot deny: the expectations are high, in particular on key files – including Kirkuk, Sinjar, and revenue sharing,” she added.