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The Trump administration is currently considering adding Nigeria and 35 other countries to its US travel restrictions, according to a State Department memo reported by The Washington Post.
The extensive list includes 25 African nations, alongside several Caribbean, Central Asian, and Pacific Island states. Among them, Nigeria — Africa’s most populous country with over 200 million people — stands out as the largest and most significant by population.
60-day deadline for compliance
The memo, signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and circulated to US diplomats, sets a 60-day deadline for the affected governments to address specified concerns. Each country is expected to submit a preliminary action plan by 8 a.m. on Wednesday, demonstrating its ability to meet new benchmarks outlined by the State Department.
The document highlights several issues fueling the administration’s consideration for additional bans. Some countries are described as lacking “a competent or cooperative central government able to produce reliable identity documents or other civil documents.” Others are alleged to suffer from “widespread government fraud” or high numbers of citizen visa overstays.
Additional factors cited in the memo include the ease of acquiring citizenship through investment without requiring physical residence and reports of “antisemitic and anti-American activity” by individuals from those jurisdictions. However, the document notes that a country’s willingness to enable the transfer of third-country nationals removed from the US or to enter “safe third country” agreements may help ease these concerns.
The administration has yet to clarify when or if the new restrictions will be implemented if the specified conditions are not met.
Full list of affected countries
The 36 countries currently under consideration for additional bans include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This expansion would follow the administration’s previously implemented bans, which prohibit entry from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. In addition, restrictive measures remain in place for Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.