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10 15 day permit of stay for the Kurdistan region can be obtained for free at the only Turkish/Iraq border (Silopi-Zakho) for most nationalities. You will just get an entry stamp in your passport. While inside of Kurdistan you can prolong it.
Iraq
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=== Entry ===
There is an agreement between the two countries that individuals cannot cross the border on foot. Therefore, there are a lot of taxis. However, if you wait for a while at the border and explain that you want to ''otostop'' the turkish guards may pay for your taxi (if they like you). This happened to hitchwiki member Vlad. But generally there are private cars crossing the border too and you can try to get a ride with them.
''If you decide to take a taxi, you might as well take it from [[Cizre]] (50 km from the border) instead of [[Silopi]] (10 km from the border) as the taxi prices are the same (20 TL). When I arrived in Iraq my Taxi driver dropped me off just after the border, he told me I would have to take another taxi to get to Zakho but the price would only be 1 TL - that was not true, the taxi was 4000 Iraqi Dinaar (about 6,5 TL). Anyway, don't take another taxi, it's just 10 kilometers to the town, you can walk or hitch it.'' --[[User:Jakobwithk|Jakobwithk]] 19:29, 12 January 2012 (CET)
"In April 2014 we got to the border by truck. There are many mini-van taxis bringing goods into Iraqi Kurdistan, and the policeman on the turkish side was happy to show us into one of his friends'. They did not ask for money and neither looked interested in payment, but rather in having us as passengers in their list. From the Iraqi side a policeman asked the cars if anybody was going directly to Erbil." --[[User:Rovingsnails|Rovingsnails]]
=== Exit ===
'''Iraqi Kurdistan- Turkey'''
On the way back, the Iraq side is walkable by foot, but when you reach the Turkish side they expect that you have a taxi. When they see you're clearly a backpacker type, they might be more lenient and arrange for a passing truck to take you through. In short, easier to cross the Turkish side without a taxi on the way back from Iraq. You may also find mini vans (dolmuses) willing to take you for free on the Iraqi side, you can normally find them in petrol stations filling up their tanks before they head over to the more expensive Turkey. However, be warned that they offer you a free ride because they want to use you to smuggle cigarettes, tea and other goods across to Turkey. The consequences of getting caught is not known but checks are usually fairly strict because of the P.K.K conflict in the Sirnak district and checks could take upto 5 hours or more. These mini-vans are usually happy to take you upto Silopi or Cizre at least for free.
[[File:Iraq_Border.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Border Crossing to Turkey]]
Iraqi Kurdistan - Iran
There are two main border crossings between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran: Piranshahr (the more popular of both) and Penjwin-Marivan. A third point exsts between Tawela and Nowsud, but we were told it is only for trucks and not specially safe - although we have not confirmed this.
[[Penjwin-Marivan]]. In April 2014 we crossed this border without any problems. From Said Sadq a policeman stopped a bus for us, directly to Marivan (Iran).--[[User:Rovingsnails|Rovingsnails]]
=== Hitching ===
