Iran Visa Requirements and Policy

How to get Iran visa?

Citizens of most countries need visa to enter Iran. Some countries are visa-free, and the procedure for obtaining a visa is different for some. The Iranian government has started issuing E-Visa, and we introduce you the fastest and easiest way to get Iran visa with the "Trip to Persia" agency.

1. Filling the visa application form and uploading the documents
2. Checking your documents by our experts, preparing and sending the application to the Iranian government
3. Receive “Visa Grant Notice” via email after 5 working days (Average)

   After at least 2 working days (Which can also takes up to 2 weeks depending of MFA’s decision)*

4. Get your printed visa at the airport or in the embassy.

Iran visa free countries

Citizens of some countries don't need visa to travel to Iran, due to certain governments' political and cultural agreements. Let’s see which countries can go to Iran without a visa:

Country

Duration (Days)

Armenia(Հայաստան)

30

Azerbaijan(Azərbaycan)

30

Bolivia

30

Georgia(საქართველოს)

45

Malaysia

15

Syria(سوريا)

90

Country

Duration (Days)

Turkey(Türkiye)

90

Venezuela

15

Egypt(مصر)

20

Lebanon(لبنان)

30

China(中国)

21

If you are from these countries, you are lucky because can travel to Iran without a visa. All you need is your valid passport (with 6 months validation). Please keep in mind that before visiting Iran, you must not have travelled to Israel, or if you did, you should wait at least 1 year and then travel to Iran.

Citizens of visa-free countries can stay 15-90 days in Iran, which cannot extend. If you need to stay more days in Iran, you must leave Iran from air or land borders and enter again to stay another 30 days.

Citizens of other countries need visas to enter Iran. The procedure for them is the same, and only the visa fee differs.

 Getting Iran Visa on Arrival (VOA)

For getting Iran Visa on Arrival (VOA), all you have to do is take an international flight to one of the airports in Iran and apply for a visa at the same airport by entrance. Although this may seem simple, it can be risky as well. Because you may face visa rejection, which results in disrupting your travel plans and, of course, losing a lot of money you spent for bookings.

Besides at the time of your arrival which is normally early in the morning you will have to do lots of tasks! You should spend a couple of hours on filling out different forms, buying travel insurance and money payments. This probably isn’t what you want to do while you are just off the plane from a long flight.

Iran tourist visa on arrival is a particular visa service that can be obtained for passport holders from most countries. You can check the list of countries here (or attach a photo here)

American, Canadian, British, Colombian and citizens of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kenya, and Somalia cannot get Visa on Arrival in Iran airports and must apply in advance.

Notice: It should be noted that right now getting Iran tourist visa on arrival (VOA) is not possible due to the pandemic till further notice and all passengers must apply for your Iran tourist visa before your arrival.

Iran Tourist Visa for American, Canadian and British citizens

Iran visa for US citizens and 3 nations is different from others. American, Canadian, British and Colombian cannot travel to Iran on their own. According to Iran's government policy, they could travel to Iran only through organized tours.

An organized tour means a guaranteed tour package bought from local travel agencies, which indicates a detailed travel plan, sightseeing programs and overnight stays accompanied by a professional licensed tour guide.

The visa procedure for American, Canadian, British and Colombian is slightly different. They need to be more patient because their visa procedure and checking the documents will take longer.

Different Iran visa types

There are 12 different Iran visa types According to Iran's government instructions, you must apply for any of these 12 visa types based on the purpose of your trip to Iran.

As a tourist, you may visit Iran to ascend the highest volcano in Asia, explore the Lut Desert or visit Iran's holy shrines on a spiritual and religious trip! Also, you might travel to Iran for business or benefit from the best and cheapest medical services in the Middle East. Getting an Iran visa is much easier than you think, but it's important that you must choose your Iran visa type based on the purpose of your trip.

Most travelers get an Iran tourist visa (type B) without an invitation or prerequisite documents. The medical visa is the most common Iran visa type after a tourist visa.

Iran tourist visa document requirements

To get an Iran tourist visa, you must send us the required documents below and then we can start online visa application process. List of documents required for Iran visa are:

1- Passport (Valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into Iran)

2- Official photo in the size of a passport photo to be attached to the visa application form

3- A travel plan indicating the cities you wish to visit and places you plan to stay overnight

Suppose you want to get other Iran visa types, you might need documents such as business or educational resumes, invitations, university confirmation letters, employer confirmation letters, hospital confirmation letters or confirmation letters from the Ministry of Labor.

How much is the iran visa fee?

The price of an Iran visa varies depending on the nationality of each person and the type of their requested visa. Iran visa fees vary from 10 to 150 Euros.

The process of applying for an Iran tourist visa is simple, but if you decide to let an Iranian travel agency do the paperwork, we will gladly assist you. Iran visa fees will vary depending on the nationality and the visa type. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the price list below.

Collecting iran visa in almost 110 cities all around the world

Although Iran tourist visa procedures are online, you must also have a printed visa to enter the country. After filling out the required information in your online visa form and uploading the documents, you can collect your visa at the Iran embassy or consulate in your country.

If there is no Iran embassy or consulate in your country, you can collect your visa at one of Iran's airports. Note that American, Canadian, British and Colombian citizens cannot apply for an Iran airport visa. You can also choose another country that has an Iran embassy for collecting your visa. Above all, the best and easiest way is to ask “Trip to Persia” to do all the work for you.

We suggest searching the list of Iran embassies and consulates in different countries to get a visa so that you can make the best decision.

Iran visa on arrival airport

Whichever way you send your application to the Iran Embassy, it is possible to choose the international airports in Iran where your flight lands as the place for collecting your visa.

All you have to do is to hand over the “Visa Grant Notice” you received from the “Trip to Persia” to the visa officer at the airport and receive your Iran tourist visa.

Before the outbreak of Covid-19, you could just buy a plane ticket, go to Iran and get your visa on arrival. But now, the issuance of a visa on arrival has been stopped, and you must apply in advance to receive your visa at the airport.

How long does it take to get iran visa?

It usually takes at least 2 working days to 2 weeks (5 working days average) to receive the “Visa Grant Notice” for your Iran tourist visa. After receiving the file, you can collect your visa at mentioned international airports (see table above). Please keep in mind that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does all steps of the applicant's qualification procedures, and depending on the circumstances, this may take more or less.

How long can I stay with a tourist visa?

You can stay in Iran for 30 days with Iran tourist visa which is valid for a period of 90 days after your visa is issued. You must enter the country during the start and end of your visa validity. It doesn’t make a difference that how or where you got your Iran visa, this time duration applies to all Iran visa types (VOA or Embassy). This is a single-entry visa. So if you leave the country, even if you have not used your 30 days and your 90-day validity period has not passed, you cannot enter Iran again.

How can i do iran visa extension?

If you have applied for your Iran tourist visa beforehand, then you can extend your visa up to 2 times. We aim to explain all the necessary information regarding the required documents for Iran Visa extension, Iran tourist visa extension Prices and Iran visa extension important notes.

If you decide to stay longer than 30 days in Iran or are approaching your 90-day entrance validity period, you must extend your Iran tourist visa. Luckily, it’s possible to extend your visa in Iran easily!

You should go to the passport police. Visa extension in Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad and other big cities inside Iran is possible. Unfortunately, you cannot do an Iran visa extension online.

Another frequent question about Iran tourist visa extension is: Can I extend my expired visa? If you do not have access to the Passport Police Office to extend your visa when your visa expires, you can pay a fine for the extra days if you have a compelling reason and extend your visa.

Which cities are visa-free zones in iran

Iran has 7 free trade zones that are located inside the borders of Iran. Free zones have their own trade rules. Like other Iranian cities, these areas also have many natural and cultural attractions and provide a good business opportunity. It is possible to enter the free zones for people from other countries without visa, but exiting them to visit other cities in Iran, requires a visa. People who travel to these areas can stay for up to 2 weeks and extend it if needed. So, if you are a person who travels a lot for business purposes, we have a good offer for you in Iran. In addition to conducting negotiations related to your job in one of these free zones, you can use its tourism potential.

Also, if you want to enter Iran without a visa, you can visit your friends and acquaintances in the free zones or even make an appointment to meet an Iranian girl or boy!

What are the iran visa policies?

Typically, Iran issues visas without any problems, and travelers can easily get their Iran visas. Although there are some exceptional circumstances for American, Canadian, British and Colombian citizens, even in cases, the only difference is their visa procedure takes longer, and it’s a bit different. So, they are most welcome to visit Iran as well.

Iran’s government always tries to ease the way of issuing tourist and medical visas. Our longtime experience shows that ordinary citizens can easily get their Iran tourist visas in the shortest time possible.

How can i get a multiple-entry visa for iran?

Iran does not issue multiple-entry tourist visas! If you are already in Iran and want to leave and enter again, you must apply for an Iran tourist visa before your second entry. You can collect your visa at the airport if you are obliged to get an Iran Visa On Arrival (VOA). Don’t worry about the number of entries to the country because there are no limitations.

How do i get an iran visa after being denied?

If your Iran visa application has been rejected, you can apply again, but before doing that, it’s better to find the reason for your visa rejection and solve the issue. To do this, you can seek help from a lawyer or a travel agency. They will help you find out the latest updates about getting an Iran visa.

Please note that if your visa application has been rejected, avoid applying again for Iran Visa On Arrival (VOA). In this case, contact a travel agency so you can apply through them to avoid any problems.

What can make iran's government suspicious regarding visa applications?

Any irregularity in your visa application can trigger the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more monitoring. Iran, like all other countries, pays special attention to these cases. For more clarification, let's read some of the cases we have encountered during our many years of experience with visa applicants:

• Choosing non-touristic areas and cities in your travel plan, especially on your first travel to Iran.
• Spending a large portion of your travel time in a specific city or region. For example, a person traveling to Iran for the first time wants to stay in a particular city for 10 days while his whole travel duration is 20 days.
• Using illegal accommodation networks such as couch surfing or staying at the home of your Iranian friends or acquaintances.
• Contradiction between the purpose of your trip and your desired activities with your chosen visa type. For example, a tourist applies for a tourist visa and then stays for a long time in Assaluyeh, which is one of the cities close to Iran's gas fields. While in this case, he must have applied for a business visa.

Iran visa on arrival land border

Iran Visa On Arrival (VOA) is only possible for tourists who enter Iran from air borders at the airports. If you want to enter Iran via land or sea borders, you should get your visa before entering the country. In this case, even having a reference code won’t be enough, and you must collect your visa at one of Iran's embassies before arriving at the borders.

Can an israeli visit iran?

Israeli passport holders cannot enter Iran, and that’s the only exception in Iran's entry rules. If you are interested in visiting Iran but are an Israeli citizen and your birthplace is in Israel, then the only way is to use a second passport! We even had tourists that were born in Tel Aviv.

Also, if you have visited Israel in the past year, that can be a reason for visa rejection. But if it has been more than 1 year since your last visit to Israel, it might reduce the risk of rejection. However, if there is any record of past visits to Israel in your passport, then ensure that you can get your visa before traveling to Iran and avoid applying for Iran Visa On Arrival (VOA).

Trump travel bann

Does the Iran visa affect future Schengen, UK & US application visas? Can I travel to the USA after visiting Iran?

On September 2017, Trump, the president of the United States of America, enacted a Travel ban on people who have traveled to Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, or Yemen. This ban put substantial limitations on their entry to the United States. Therefore, many tourists planning on visiting Iran were concerned about the restrictions and consequences of their trip to Iran. They worried they might face problems getting Schengen or even an England visa.

The new law prompted the Iranian government to seek a solution to this problem. Since 2018, they didn't stamp the passports in response to this strict embargo. They print visas and record entry/exit information on separate paper. This will allow travelers to plan their Iran trip with ease of mind. Please note that you don’t need to make a separate application to ensure that your entry to Iran is not included in your passport. Right now, all Iran visas are issued on separate sheets.

This applies to those who apply for a visa beforehand and those who intend to get an Iran airport visa.