Türkiye
Türkiye - 2.3.2 Border Crossing of Öncüpınar 
Home

Overview 

Öncüpınar border crossing is located on the Türkiye-Syria border about 10 km south of the city of Kilis, and north of the Syrian town of Azaz.  

Security Council Resolution 2672 authorizing UN aid delivery via Bab Al-Hawa expired on 10 July 2023. The Security Council has not reached an agreement on its extension. Therefore, the UN continues to use all available access modalities. Öncüpınar /Bab Al-Salam and Cobanbey/Al Ra’ee continue to be in use for the cross-border movement of UN aid delivery and personnel till 13TH of August 2023. 

Border Crossing Location and Contact 

Name of Border Crossing 

 

Türkiye: Öncüpınar Border crossing 
Syria: Bab al-Salam Border crossing 

Province or District 

Kilis 

Nearest Town or City with Distance from Border Crossing 

Town Name: Kilis 

Distance in 10 km 

Latitude 

36.63439°N  

Longitude 

37.08576°E 

Managing Authority / Agency 

Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade 

Contact Person 

Ibrahim BAIRMAN 

Cross border crossing manager 

0(348)8131050 

 

Travel Times 

Nearest International Airport 

Name: Gaziantep Oğuzeli International Airport 

Distance in 47 km 

Truck Travel Time: 1:15 hrs 

Car Travel time: 00:50 hrs 

Nearest Port 

Name Iskenderun Port  

Distance in147 km 

Truck Travel Time: 3:00hrs 

Car Travel time: 2:15 hrs 

Nearest location with functioning wholesale markets, or with significant manufacturing or production capacity 

Name: Kilis 

Distance in 10 km 

Truck Travel Time: 00.20hrs 

Car Travel time: 00:15 hrs 

 

Hours of Operation 

Mondays 

24 Hours 

Tuesdays 

24 Hours 

Wednesdays 

24 Hours 

Thursdays 

24 Hours 

Fridays 

24 Hours 

Saturdays 

24 Hours 

Sundays 

24 Hours 

National Holidays 

 

No restrictions, but the governor might issue some restrictions during holidays for passengers movement, not for humanitarian cargo.  

Seasonal Constraints  

After 20:00pm trucks movements are limited due to security measures.  

 

Daily Capacity 

  • The border gate handles 300 trucks on a daily basis 

  • The trucks that enter to Syria through Cobanbey/ Al Rai gate might return back from Oncupinar/Bab Al Salam gates. However, trucks moved in via Oncupinar/BAS must return and cross the border via same gates. 

Customs Clearance 

starting from July 2023, the current customs procedure for Humanitarian Cargo is processed as commercial practice and has no consideration for humanitarian cargo in Türkiye.  

  1. When purchased in Türkiye, the seller declares the items as export. 

  1. All transit cargo requires a commercial invoice for customs purposes, and this allows the clearing/forwarding agent to act as cargo owner (consignee not agent of the consignee). 

The implication of these processes is that no Customs declaration document exists in the name of the cargo owner (humanitarian actor). 

  • For the Humanitarian commodities: By the beginning of the month, WFP communicates – through OCHA- the approx. number of trucks to the ministry of foreign affairs who communicate them to the borders to ensure the smooth movement of trucks.  

  • For the commercial cargo: based on the commodity category/type, it is required to grant the approval from the corresponding ministry/governmental body (i.e., for medical commodities to grant prior approvals from the ministry of health) then the customs declarations is done in one of the inner customs offices in Turkiye and then sent to the border.  

  • For courier: Customs clearance processes are centralized in Gaziantep postal office where the officers proceed with declaration, then trucks/parcels are allowed to head to the borders.  

For more information on customs in Türkiye, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information.   

Other Relevant Information 

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List

 

 

 

Jump to top