hello north korea
[Music]
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
hardest countries for americans to visit
they ask us questions
more than they make her as a reservation
most people when they purchase their
ticket they are purchasing the
non-refundable ticket for this list
we'll be looking at various countries
around the world that have the strictest
rules regarding visitors from the united
states we'll be focusing on limitations
prior to the coven 19 pandemic so
coronavirus related bans are not
included have you ever visited a country
on our list how hard was it for you to
get in let us know in the comments
number 10. russia with the russian
invasion of ukraine visiting russia is
pretty much off the board for americans
but even before this conflict americans
often needed to jump through hoops to
cross the border i'm announcing that we
will join our allies in closing off
american airspace to all russian flights
visas are only granted prior to arrival
and you need an invitation letter from
someone in the country to even apply for
a visa once acquired you then fill out a
lengthy visa application it requires you
to indicate every country you've visited
for the last 10 years your education
history parents names where you've
worked and even professional
organizations that you're a member of
after all that you hope your passport
comes back with a valid visa
what do you suppose i do in the meantime
drive faster number nine bhutan
landlocked between india and china the
country of bhutan is a place that some
tourists may want to visit but get stuck
in the details of how to get in
may good fortune be with you the country
has no embassy of any kind with the
united states as a result the only way
to obtain a proper visa to enter the
country is through a tour agency jesse
can't go to bhutan
it's just for a couple of weeks
the visa application itself is not all
that complicated but having to go
through a tour operator severely limits
the amount of visas issued to anyone
wishing to come in this unusual policy
does however keep the sheer number of
visitors down allowing your experience
to be that much more special tourism was
only allowed starting in the 1970s the
amount of foreign visitors each year is
strictly limited to protect bhutan's
culture and environment number eight
iran relations between the u.s and iran
have been strained for decades and
worsened during the trump administration
there had been allegations from donald
trump that sunimani had been
actively plotting against us interests
in the region this resulted in iran
outright banning any u.s citizens from
entering the country the ban has since
been lifted but travelers still need to
go through several processes to be
allowed to visit imagine it's about 40
years after iran's revolution a lot of
people that they are here their
relatives getting older and older
initially they need a travel
authorization number once acquired then
they can obtain a visitor visa however
visitors cannot travel solo within the
country so tourists need to work with a
guide to acquire their number and the
visa in order to spend any time within
the borders of iran there's a lot of
students in medicine that have been
caught and you know can't come back they
have you know pending residencies
pending
degrees waiting for them but they can't
return
it's not fair at all number seven nauru
this island nation is known as the least
visited country in the world it's also
the third smallest at just eight square
miles economically nauru relies heavily
on australia in exchange for hosting an
extremely controversial immigration
detention center unsurprisingly it isn't
easily visited by tourists americans
need to email naoru immigration to
obtain an application form for a visa
replies can take time applicants must
provide a certified copy of their
passport identity pages proof of an
onward flight and a hotel reservation or
a sponsorship from a local resident the
process is cumbersome and can be very
long
wannabe visitors then have to make their
way to brisbane australia to fly to
nauru the only accepted currency is the
australian dollar and make sure to bring
a lot of cash before arriving because
the atms often run out number six
turkmenistan similar to other entries on
this list u.s visitors to this part of
central asia will need a
government-sanctioned letter of
invitation
it's essentially a letter form of
sponsorship which allows the government
to control how many visitors come into
the country probably one of the worst
places to live in the in the world
absolutely no freedom of the press
absolutely no way you could voice any
kind of opinion although the process can
be arduous you're far more likely to get
in this way than through other means
some people have tried acquiring a
transit visa which allows you to pass
through the country but not have an
extended stay valid for three days many
of the embassies don't issue these and
will force you to go through the proper
steps to get a real tourist visa oh
how's it going in turkmenistan
not great number five eritrea eritrea is
perhaps not as familiar named to
americans as some other countries on
this list but that doesn't make it
easier to visit yet another place that
has excessive visa paperwork you'll need
a lot of patience to get it sorted out
an estimated 5 000 people leave eritrea
every month aside from the typical forms
you have to provide proof of flights a
bank statement showing you have money to
be there and a plea document it's
essentially a letter asking you to
explain why you want to visit and
possibly name drop someone over there to
help sway officials into thinking you
know someone within a country
i told you once
my man turkey said as long as i thought
your name dropped me it does however
appear that some of these requirements
are easing so keep your eye out for
changes
number four
cuba the inability of americans to
travel to cuba for pleasure has its
roots in the trade embargo established
in 1958.
dallas texas 1963.
kennedy had just put a trade embargo on
cuba the embargo also extended to
americans who simply wanted to visit the
country for pleasure so as far as
official tourism goes that's still
banned and illegal today it shall be the
policy of this nation to regard any
nuclear missile crossing the embargo
line that surrounds cuba
as an attack however americans are
permitted to visit the country under 12
different categories of travel that do
not include tourism so apply for a
travel license under one of those
categories you'll always need a cuba
tourist card aka a visa to enter the
country what brings you to cuba
same thing that brings everyone else to
cuba
culture people beauty
number three
saudi arabia despite the fact that saudi
arabia is a major supplier of oil to the
united states it has historically been
difficult to get a visa to enter the
country what no man can provide mr
lawrence
we need a miracle prior to 2019 they
were only issued to individuals who were
there on a religious visit to mecca
beyond that no tourist visa was
available and those from the us had
little ability to visit that's when you
were stationed in saudi arabia right dad
however major changes have been pushing
through saudi arabia since the election
of muhammad bin salman the crown prince
of saudi arabia on that trip to uh saudi
arabia why isn't it the right time oh
it's personal time i just
don't feel like leaving home right now
for the first time the country began
offering visitation rights to many
countries including the usa only time
will tell if this remains
number two
iraq given the hostility that exists
between these two countries you may want
to reconsider personal travel to this
country i know all about the war really
point to iraq
why do you keep a globe on your janitor
card in case i get lost i'll give you a
hint it's not the country shaped like a
boot but should you proceed anyway
you'll need to go through their visa
application process and provide your
passport driver's license a letter
indicating why you were traveling there
and the appropriate fee be aware that
both a copy and your original passport
need to be sent to acquire the visa
anyone in your family discuss plans to
either travel to iraq or do business
thing in some cases despite having
filled out everything as needed embassy
officials have been known to just
arbitrarily deny applications at random
plus the possibility of violence in the
area may persuade you to travel
elsewhere before we continue be sure to
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number one north korea as it stands now
north korea is one of the few countries
in the world that u.s citizens are
outright banned from visiting
during the trump administration a ban on
travel to the country was issued for
anyone with an american passport
according to the u.s bureau of consular
affairs website only very specific
exceptions are made by the state
department themselves what other country
in the world is
confucian
communist
hereditary dynasty
there's no country like this prior to
the ban personal travel was permitted as
long as you were on a contract with a
north korean guide this prevented any on
your own exploration of the country but
at least you could visit only time will
tell if the travel ban will be lifted
[Music]
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