How to get a visa for Iran
Iran tourist visa is issued in case you wish to travel to Iran for tourist purposes only. Almost everyone needs a visa to enter Iran, unless you have a Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Georgia, Malaysia, Syria, and Venezuela passport in which case they’ll just stamp you in at the airport.
You can get an Iran Visa on Arrival at one of the following airports:
– Ahvaz International Airport (Ahvaz)
– Bandar Abbas International Airport (Bandar Abbas)
– Imam Khomeini International Airport (Tehran)
– Isfahan International Airport (Isfahan).
– Kerman Airport (Kerman)
– Kish International Airport (Kish Island)
– Larestan International Airport (Lar)
– Mashhad International Airport (Mashad)
– Mehrabad International Airport (Tehran)
– Qeshm International Airport (Qeshm Island)
– Shiraz International Airport (Shiraz)
– Tabriz International Airport
– Urmia Airport (Urmia)
To alleviate tourists’ concerns over us sanctions, passports of travelers entering Iran will not be stamped.
When Iran visa will open?
Iran is open now to vaccinated tourists. If you have received your two dozes of the vaccines, you are eligible to apply for a tourist visa.
How to apply for an Iran tourist visa
Before you can apply for an Iran tourist visa, you must contact a travel agent in Iran to issue a Letter of Invitation (Iran Visa Code).
The travel agency in Iran will submit an application with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). If the application is successful, they will send you a visa code, which you have to take to the Iran Embassy/Consulate along with all the other required documents.
Iran visa requirements
Complete the visa application form and send it together with a copy of the first page of your passport and 1 passport photo to the travel agency.
Visa process fee
The visa processing fee is payable to the travel agency to get your Iran Visa Code. The visa processing fee is fully refundable if rejected.
Visa fee
At the time of visa, collection applicants are required to consider making related consular visa collection and paperwork fees. The visa fee depends on your nationality from 30 Euros to 75 Euros.
How long does it take to receive an Iran visa?
First, It takes about 5-7 working days to receive an Iran Visa Code from the travel agency. If you are from the US, UK, or Canada, it may take around 1-3 months.
Then, once you received your Iran Visa Code, you have to apply for your Iran visa at the Embassy, which again can take a few days to two weeks, depending on your nationality.
If you are not applying at an Embassy, then you can get the Iran Visa on Arrival, which takes just a few hours at the airport.
How long is the Iran tourist visa valid for?
Iran Visa (in advance from Embassy) and Visa on Arrival are valid for 30 days.
How can I extend my Iran visa?
If you have received an Iran visa in advance or on arrival, you can extend it from the Police Department of Aliens Affairs in a major Iranian city. The process usually takes only about one day.
The extension of your visa is based on the initial duration: if you had a 30-day visa, you can extend it for an additional 30 days. If you had a 15-day visa, then you can only extend it for another 15 days, and so on.
Iran Visa for US, UK, or Canada citizens
If you are from the US, UK, or Canada, all applications must be accompanied by a detailed resume. US, UK, or Canada citizens can expect to wait anywhere from 1 to 3 months to receive their Visa Code.
U.S, Canadian and British passport holders will need to apply for a travel authorization number from a licensed tour operator (Like EPICIRAN) in Iran. This will require submitting the following information:
– A passport scan
– A complete tour itinerary (provided by the organization)
– A personal information document (name, birth date, etc.)
– A professional resume
As mentioned before this process can take anywhere from 1 to 3 months, depending on holiday schedules and other factors in your application.
Once you receive your visa authorization code, the waiting game is almost over and you’re officially approved to get a visa. Now, all you need to do is actually *get* the visa.
For most Americans who live outside of the Washington DC metro area, you’ll have to mail your visa application and passport to the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy. Pakistan’s embassy operates as the representation for Iran, as there’s no Iranian embassy in the United States. To obtain the visa, you’ll need to provide the following items in your mailed package and send them to 1250 23rd St. N.W. Suite # 200 Washington, DC 20037:
– Visa application forms
– Authorization code
– Passport photo
– Passport
– $120 USD money order for visa processing fee and return mailing fee
– Return envelope
After you mail your paperwork, it typically takes 2-3 weeks to process and arrive in your mailbox again. You can also pay an additional fee to expedite the process, if necessary.
If you’re lucky enough to live in or near Washington DC, you can simply bring your authorization code, visa application forms, passport photos, passport, and $90 USD money order (no mailing fee needed) to the Pakistani Embassy yourself, located at 1250 23rd St NW #200, on any weekday from 8-11 AM or 2-4 PM.
After you dropped your passport off, it took approximately 4 days for them to process the visa and return the passport to you. You can pick it up at the same office where you dropped it off.