During a war a country can decide to ban travel to a country or numerous ones even if it is a neutral conflict. One example is that of the United States in 1939 when it banned travel to any country that was at war with the 1939 Neutrality Act in response to the outbreak of World War II in Europe that year despite being a neutral party at the time.^[1] Another example from that decade coming from the United States is that of the 1937 Neutrality Act which banned US citizens from travelling on any ship that was owned by or registered to a country that was at war.^[2]

Travel bans relating to wars can also be gender-specific as well with one example being when Ukraine in 2022 banned all males aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[3] A travel ban can also be instituted by a supranational union. One example of this is when the European Union banned air travel to Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[4]

A country can ban travel to certain countries based on their status of foreign relations and/or if they are viewed with hostility by a said country. During the Cold War the United States banned travel by declaring travel invalid to communist countries starting with Yugoslavia in 1947 before expanding to Hungary (1949), Bulgaria (1950), Czechoslovakia (1951) and Albania, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania along with the Soviet Union in 1952 unless it was "specifically endorsed".^[5] Countries can also ban travel by certain foreign nationals to specific areas of a said country as done during the Cold War by the United States to nationals of the Soviet Union and vice versa; with the United States restrictions remaining in place from 1955 to 1962.^[6]

With the end of the Cold War, travel became more liberalized. Romania would allow its citizens to travel freely to Western countries in January 1990.^[7] Albania during the Cold War was one of Eastern Europe's most isolated countries and American tourists were banned from visiting until June 1990 with the exception of if one had family in Albania.^[8]

Due to the spread of COVID-19, many countries restricted international and/or domestic travel.

The United States banned flights coming to the United States from India, beginning on May 4, 2021,^[9] with exceptions for U.S. citizens and those with permanent residency cards.^{[citation needed]} During the COVID-19 pandemic the United States closed the US-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.^[10]

A travel ban can be instituted during an extreme weather event. Local governments can ban driving in an attempt to clear major roadways, as was the case during the Late December 2022 North American winter storm.^[11] In some cases they may be enforced by military police.^[12]

Many controversies have sprung up about whether governments have the right to do so. In the United States, a lawsuit challenged Executive Order 13769 that banned travel from 7 Muslim majority countries.

• United States embargo against Cuba, travel, commercial, economic, and financial embargos imposed by the United States on Cuba.
• Countries that do not accept Israeli passports
• California state-funded travel ban

• Refusal of entry by a country to all citizens of another country
• Freedom of movement
• Persona non grata, a diplomatic measure prohibiting a person from entering or remaining in a country
• Executive Order 13769, government restriction on entry to the United States, effective January 27, 2017
• Executive Order 13780, government restriction on entry to the United States, effective March 16, 2017
• Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Protective sequestration, to prevent the spread of disease