After deciding to travel to Iran the most important thing that you should consider is receiving Iran visa, but unlike what many travelers think, receiving Iran visa is not a very complicated and difficult process. In recent years, the Iranian government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to make the Iran visa process simpler and facilitate the process for most of the nationalities. With enduring records in receiving Iran Visa Authorization Code for almost every nationality including, UK, US, and Canadian citizens, and a very low percent of rejected applicant, PackToIran is here to guide and help you in this process.
Who needs to receive Iran visa?
Almost everyone needs to receive visa for traveling to Iran, but most nationalities have the option of receiving Iran visa on arrival at some international airports in Iran.
The people from countries mentioned below are not among the nationalities that can receive visa on arrival and are required to apply for Iran visa in advance.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, India, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Nepal, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen
Travelers with some other situations are not allowed to receive visa on arrival and are required to try the standard visa process:
- Applicants whose Iran visa request has been rejected previously
- Journalists and reporters who want to travel to Iran for a project. (These applicants should apply for a journalistic Iran visa)
- Travelers with diplomatic passports, official passports, and any passport except touristic passports
Airports at which you can receive Iran visa on arrival:
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Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran (IKA)
- Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran (TEH)
- Shahid Dastghaib Airport, Shiraz (SYZ)
- Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport, Mashhad (MHD)
- Shahid Madani Airport, Tabriz (TBZ)
- Shahid Beheshti Airport, Isfahan (ISF)
- Kish International Airport, Kish (KIH)
- Bandar Abbas Airport, Bandar Abbas (BND)
- Shahid Sadooghi Airport, Yazd (AZD)
- Qeshm Dayrestan International Airport, Qeshm Island (QSM)
- Kerman International Airport, Kerman (KER)
Although travelers from many countries can receive Iran visa on arrival, many travelers prefer to receive the visa in advance because:
- They will guarantee their visa and avoid the risk of getting rejected upon arrival.
- It will be cheaper than the visa on arrival.
- They can escape the long visa queue at airports.
People from nationalities below are allowed to enter Iran without visa
- Armenia: up to 90 days
- Azerbaijan: up to 30 days
- Bolivia: up to 30 days
- China: up to 21 days
- Egypt: up to 20 days
- Georgia: up to 45 days
- Iraq: up to 30 days
- Hong Kong: up to 21 days
- Lebanon: up to 30 days
- Macau: up to 21 days
- Malaysia: up to 15 days
- Oman: up to 30 days
- Syria: up to 90 days
- Turkey: up to 90 days
- United Arab Emirates: up to 30 days
- Venezuela: up to 15 days
Note: Citizens of Israel can’t enter Iran
Required documents for receiving Iran visa
- Copy of passport page with 6 months validity
- Personal photo with white background (ladies are not required to send photos with head covering)
- Filled out Iran visa form
- Invitation letter (Authorization code)
Iran visa Grant Notice (Authorization Code)
After sending the above documents, an authorization code is issued by the Ministry of foreign affairs and is sent to the travel agency applying for the code and the Iranian embassy chosen by the traveler. For applicants from most nationalities, this usually takes from 3-10 days to receive their code, while the codes for Americans, British and Canadians it takes 1-3 months. Three working days after receiving the authorization code or the Iran visa grant notice letter travelers can refer to the Iranian embassy mentioned on their application form and receive their Iran visa. This code is going to be valid for two months since the issuance time and the traveler is allowed to enter Iran within three months after receiving the visa.
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Note: Iran only issues single-entry touristic Iran visa
Iran visa stamp
In result of US sanctions against Iran, the Iranian government has decided to issue Iran visa without stamping the travelers’ passports.
Iran visa-free zones
There are some visa-free zones in Iran including Kish Island, Qeshm Island, Chabahar, Maku, Arvand, Anzali, and Aras, where travelers can stay for fourteen days and extend their duration of stay with a small extra money at eligible MFA offices.
Required document for receiving Iran Visa on Arrival
- Passport with at least 6 months validity and blank pages
- Personal photo with white background (ladies are not required to send photos with head covering)
- Visa fee which varies considering your nationality (from 45 Euros to 150 Euros) and is usually paid in Euro or USD.
- Confirmed return ticket
- Travel insurance from a valid insurance company. Please keep in mind that some travel insurance companies do not cover Iran specifically and mention Asia or the Middle East on their list. Therefore, you should check this before buying the insurance.
- Hotel reservation voucher
- Your Iran travel itinerary
Iran visa for American, UK, and Canadian nationalities
The visa process for American, British and Canadian nationalities is a bit more complicated than other nationalities. First pf all, these nationalities are required to provide their detailed Iran travel itinerary, and booked hotel vouchers with an official Iran travel agency authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign affairs. Also, they are required to be accompanied by a local tourist guide, who even stays at the same hotel that they do, throughout their tour and avoid leaving the hotel and do sightseeing without the guide. Apart from the filled visa application form, passport copy, and personal photo, the applicants from America, UK, and Canada should provide their CV with details about their job and education background. As mentioned above the visa process for these three nationalities takes 1-3 months, therefore they need to confirm their Iran tour and manage their bookings considering this time consuming process. Read more on this blog.
Extending Iran visa
Duration of stay in Iran with a touristic visa is 3 months and this duration is not extendable, but if a traveler receives a visa with less than this period of stay, they can extend their stay at the Police Office of Foreign Aliens in main touristic cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd with a small amount of money.
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