HOW TO GET AN IRAN TOURIST VISA
Required Documents for Iran Visa:
- Passport Image that has at least 6 months validity
- Personal photo with solid white background (ladies are not required to wear head coverings)
- Filled out visa form
Invitation Letter (Authorization Number)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) sends an 18-digit code to the agency. The duration of sending this code varies depending on your nationality. Generally, for most nationalities, it will take around 7-10 working days and for special nationalities such as Americans, British and Canadians, it will take 1-2 months. Having this code, you can refer to Iran embassy in your country or Iran airports and receive Iran Visa Stamp at your passport.
The validity duration of this code for receiving Iran visa stamp fee is one month since the issuance time. And since the time of visa stamp reception, the tourist has three months time to enter Iran. And the important point is that exiting Iran must be done before the expiration of this three months validity.
The List of Iran’s Visa Free Zones
You can travel to the beautiful attractions of Kish Island, Qeshm Island, Chahbahar, Maku, Arvand, Anzali, and Aras without any Iran visa and stay there for fourteen days and to extend your stay, you can pay a low amount of money at the affiliated offices to MFA in Iran.
The following nationalities can enter Iran and stay in Iran for fifteen days without visa and to extend their stay they can pay a low amount of money at the affiliated to MFA offices in Iran:
Azerbaijan, Turkey,Georgia ,Lebanon,Serbia, Malaysia, Syria, Armenia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Egypt.
Iran Tourist Visa
The valid agencies in Iran can apply for Iran Tourist Visa; all the nationalities except Israel can apply for Iran Entry Visa. For the special countries of America, Britain and Canada, the duration, the terms and conditions of Iran Visa collection is different.
In general, the maximum validity of traveler’s stay with tourist visa is 30 days and they are regarded as single entry. To stay longer than 30 days, visa should be extended in Iran.
You can apply for tourist visa through valid travel agencies in Iran and after sending the required documents including passport image, personal photo and visa form, the agency will send your request to Iran’s MFA and usually MFA will issue an 18-digit code after 7-10 working days. Having this code and referring to Iran’s embassy in your country, you can receive your visa stamp.
- Visa Collection Place, you can choose Iran International Airports as well as Iran’s Embassy in your country.
- Tourist Visa consists of two costs: 1. The money that you give to the agency which is about 50 Euros. 2. Stamp fee which varies depending on your nationality and should be paid in Iran’s embassy in your country.
- We can apply for your visa as single entry. The procedures of double entry or multiple entry are different and travelers can go directly to the any embassy of Iran and apply themselves for double entry or multiple entry Iran visa.
- For receiving the visa in Iran’s embassy in your country you will need to have your original passport, Personal Photo, 18-digit authorization code and visa stamp fee.
- In some of Iran’s embassies and consulates, there is no need for your personal presence and you can follow this procedure of sending and receiving the visa stamp fee through post.
- Extending the visa can be done in major and large capital cities of Iran.
- In general, Iran visa is valid for 3 months and at the end of these three months it is not possible to extend the visa.
Iran Visa on Arrival (VOA)
The point worth mentioning is that although you can receive your visa upon arriving in Iran, but our suggestion is that it is safer to apply before your travel to Iran via the valid agencies to get the authorization code and the visa collection place can be International Airports of Iran which makes the time procedures easier, shorter and safer.
- All the nationalities except Americans, Canadians, the British, and the citizens of Somalia, Bangladesh, Jordan, India, Columbia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan can have visa on arrival.
- VOA visa has 14-30 days validity and is issued at major Iran’s entry gates like international airports of Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad and Kish.
- Iran Visa on Arrival at the Airport Needed Documents are as follows: A confirmed return ticket, a valid passport with at least 6 months validity, a photo to be attached to the Iran visa application form. (Bring two passport size pictures with you. Recently visa officers are using digital camera to take the needed pictures but still try to bring your own pictures just in case).
- Visa fee, which is payable to the Iran Visa & Passport Office at the airport. Iran airport visa fee depends on the applicant’s nationality. I am going to leave a list of visa fees that we just got from MFA down below. On case by case bases sometime an invitation letter or hotel reservation voucher is asked for. The invitation letter can be sent from the Iranian travel agency to Iran’s MFA at least 48 hours before your arrival to Iran airport. And finally, travel insurance clearly showing that it is valid for Iran
- If a passenger’s visa has already been rejected, he /she can not receive VOA. and you will be held responsible for the return flight and any other costs.
- The journalists and reporters who travel to Iran on mission can not receive VOA.
- On arrival fees that you need to pay in cash at the airport to get your visa. Add to that some 20 Euro for the Travel insurance fees. These fees are subject to change at around March of each year .
Source: Iran Traveling Center
