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Reinstating Syria in Visual Studio Marketplace Publisher Country Selection Post-Sanctions Repeal

abdulrahman alabed 0 Reputation points
2026-05-25T15:00:53.65+00:00

Hello,

I am writing to report an issue regarding the country selection menu on the Visual Studio Marketplace publisher registration page (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/manage/createpublisher). Currently, Syria is omitted from the available options.

Following the formal lifting of comprehensive US sanctions and the repeal of the Caesar Act in late 2025, federal restrictions on digital software distribution and developer accounts for Syrian residents have been removed. The Marketplace regional registration database appears to be out of sync with current OFAC and US Department of the Treasury guidelines.

Please direct this request to the compliance and engineering teams to update the country registration menu in accordance with current regulatory policies.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Developer technologies | Visual Studio | Extensions
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  1. Surya Amrutha Vaishnavi Lanka (INFOSYS LIMITED) 2,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff
    2026-05-26T07:59:05.8566667+00:00

    Thanks for reaching out!

    Please follow the below steps to solve the issue

    1. Raise an Official Request via Microsoft Channel

    Submit the issue through one of the supported channels

    1. Ensure Request is Routed Correctly

    Compliance team need to validate regulatory alignment.

    1. Wait for Internal Review or Backend Update

    Microsoft will update the country list globally

    Was this answer helpful?

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