Africa: FIFA World Cup - U.S. Drops Bond Requirement for Ticket Holders

[DW] Fans from five African World Cup qualifying nations with valid tickets are exempt from paying a hefty bond. But fans from several other countries still face major hurdles to seeing their teams play in the United States.

Matchday Global14 May 2026

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Fans from five African World Cup qualifying nations with valid tickets are exempt from paying a hefty bond. But fans from several other countries still face major hurdles to seeing their teams play in the United States.

The United States has announced exemptions from visa bond payment requirements for FIFA World Cup ticket holders whose teams have qualified for the soccer tournament.

In 2025, the Trump administration began requiring visitors to the US from certain countries to pay bonds of between $5,000 (€4,300) and $15,000 to obtain a tourist visa.

The bond requirement scheme was expanded in 2026 to include 50 countries.

Five of the 50 countries subject to visa bonds qualified for the World Cup: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

The State Department announced on Wednesday that the US would waive the bond requirement for fans from qualifying countries. They must hold valid tickets and have already registered through a special system, known as FIFA PASS, to expedite their visa processing.

The administration is "waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets and opted in to FIFA PASS as of April 15, 2026," US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said in a statement.

Fans from some World Cup teams still subject to bans

The waiver doesn't change much for fans from Senegal and Ivory Coast, which have been on a list of countries with partial restrictions on entry to the US since December 2025.

This partial ban means that fans who didn't have a visa before December won't be granted a visitor visa to travel to the US to watch their teams play.

Fans from World Cup qualifying teams Haiti and Iran are still banned from entering the US under a full suspension of visas from these two countries.

The travel bans and visa bond requirements don't apply to World Cup players, coaches and some staff.

Fears of US immigration crackdowns during World Cup

The bond waiver is a rare temporary loosening of immigration requirements under the administration of US President Donald Trump.

It will partially ease travel burdens for some visitors to the US for the World Cup, which kicks off on June 11. It is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, where three-quarters of the tournament's matches (78 games) are being played.

The Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on immigration has already cast a pall over the tournament amid fan concerns about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

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In late April, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch called on FIFA to press &zwnj;the Trump administration to establish an "ICE Truce" for the World Cup, including a public guarantee to refrain from immigration enforcement operations at games and venues.

DHS said at the time that international visitors ⁠traveling for the games "have nothing to worry about" if they have legal immigration status. That statement came despite people with legal immigration status in the US — and some US citizens — being swept up and detained during ICE raids.

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