Western Sahara
High risk — advisories vary widely.
Government advisories
For informational purposes only — always verify with official government sources before travel.
Where the governments disagree on Western Sahara
The governments do not agree on Western Sahara. United Kingdom stands alone at level 4 (do not travel), while the other 1 government sit lower, all at level 2. A single outlier usually means one of two things: that government knows something specific about its own citizens' exposure, or its assessment has not caught up with the others.
Currency varies between sources. Japan's is the oldest assessment of Western Sahara on file, last revised in February 2025, while the rest have been reviewed more recently. The stricter view is also the more recently reviewed one, so it may reflect developments that the more relaxed assessments predate.
The warnings for Western Sahara are not uniform across the country. Three distinct areas are singled out by at least one government. The areas named are defined by long district-level lists rather than by single place names — see the individual advisories above for the exact boundaries. At least one of these carries the highest possible rating, meaning a government advising against all travel there while rating the rest of the country lower.
United Kingdom currently advises against all travel, and that has consequences beyond the wording: most policies void cover for travel taken against your own government's advice, and consular assistance may be limited or unavailable on the ground.
Derived from 2 government assessments for Western Sahara, most recently reviewed in June 2026.