How to get an Iran visa

Like every country, the process for applying Iranian visa depends on your nationality. Recently the Iranian government has eased the process of getting visa for citizens of many countries and is looking at engaging in reciprocal visa waiver programs with some 28 nations.

Depending on your needs, there are different visas you can apply for: Student visa, Iran tourist visa, Iran tourist visa on arrival, long-term Iran visa

Student Visa

Once a student's application is accepted by the Admission Committee, an offer letter will be sent to the applicant to apply for Student Visa (Education Visa). The applicant needs to fill out the visa form available at LINK and send it back to us. UT-KIC will facilitate the process of obtaining student visa through connection with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran with the help of the Office of International Relations of the University of Tehran. The admitted student needs to be in contact with the embassy of Iran in the country of his/her residence to get the visa reference number to be able to enter Iran, however, there is no guarantee that the visa will be issued.

The Student Visa is usually a multiple entry Visa, however students need to have a letter issued from the University on every exit. So please keep this in mind when travelling back home for a visit during your studies.

Iran Tourist visa

An Iranian tour agency produces an invitation letter and sends it to Visa section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When they approve the letter, they will give the agency the authorization number. You need to take this number to the Embassy of Iran in your country and then will receive your tourist or business visa.

Note: for the agency to get your authorization/reference number it takes around 7-10 days unless it's an emergency visa request under circumstances which then it takes only 3-4 days.

If you are a guest at some friends' house, they send you the invitation letter, or you can ask a certified Iranian travel agency for the letter, which is better because getting the visa through them can take less time.

Visa on Arrival

Visa on arrival has been recently extended to 30 days, and if you are applying at the airport you will need:

•           A filled out visa form available for download on the embassy website

•           your passport with at least six months validation left

•           travel insurance (you can either arrive with an insurance you bought in your country or buy one at the airport)

•           two passport-size photos

•           your return ticket

•           copy of your hotel booking

•           pay 60 euro in cash at the counter

The only European nation not allowed to apply for a visa on arrival is the United Kingdom.

These nationalities get Iran visa on arrival: Albania, Germany, Austria, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Spain, Australia, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Ukraine, Italy, Ireland, Bahrain, Brazil, Brunei, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Peru, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, China, Denmark, Russia, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Palestine, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Croatia, North Korea, South Korea, Columbia, Cuba, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Poland, Malaysia, Hungary, Mongolia, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Venezuela, Vietnam, Holland and Greece.

Among the other Continents, Colombia, Somalia, Canada, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, and Pakistan can't be granted a visa at the airport and need to apply at the Iranian embassy in their country. On the other hand, the citizens of Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bolivia, Egypt, and Syria can travel to Iran and stay between 15 to 90 days without a visa. Syrians don't need Iran visa in the first 90 days, Georgians for the first 45 days, Bolivians the first 30 days, Egyptians 20 days, while the citizens of Lebanon and Azerbaijan don't need a visa for the first 15 days. If they stay longer, they can apply for the visa anywhere in Iran at foreign ministry offices.

Long-term Iran visa

The conditions for long-term Iran visa:

To receive a 3-month Iran visa you should already have three monthly visas on your passport.
To receive a 6-month Iranian visa you should already have two 3-month visas on your passport.
To receive a 1-year Iran visa you should already have two 6-month visas on your passport.

These are only about business visa, for the procedure and necessary documents you need to inquire at the Iran embassy in your country.

There are many aspects that Iranian government takes under consideration. The nationality of the passport holder, the number of previous visas, the request of the company you are working with etc.

If you are applying through the embassy or consulate, you will need to provide the following documents:

• filled out visa form available for download from the embassy website
• your passport with at least six months validation left
• travel insurance
• invitation letter from an Iranian tour guide
• two passport-size photos
• pay 50 euro of visa fee either at the bank indicated on the website or directly at the embassy
• Leave your fingerprints when you are submitting your application (this can be done only once, they will keep it in case you wish to apply for visa again).

If you want to travel with the visa already glued on your passport even if you are not joining an organized tour, there is the travel agency 1st Quest that offers the visa service. You will need to fill in an online form and they will send you your authorization code that you need to take to the embassy or consulate alongside the other documents mentioned above. The fee for the service is 35$ and you can apply directly from 1stQuest website.

Iran visa for UK and US citizens

An exception to the rule must be acknowledged for British and North American citizens because they need to apply in advance and must have an authorized local tour leader to guide them during their trip. Due to the interruption of the relations between Iran and the US and the resulting absence of reciprocal embassies, American citizens applying for Iranian visa need to do it at a vicarial embassy or in another country: Americans can do it at the Pakistani embassy.

How to extend your Iran visa

It's possible to extend your Iran visa once you are in the country. We advise you to talk to a travel agency in advance if you need to extend Iran tourist visa as they can direct you to an office of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in police departments.

Note: You can extend your Iran visa only in big cities of Iran such as Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Mashhad.

To extend your Iran visa you need:
– Valid passport and visa
– A visa application form for visa extension which can be found in police department, the consular section where you need to go to request the visa extension
– To give a reason for the extension
– Always carry passport size pictures with you.

Traveling to Iran is safe

Is Iran a safe country to visit? Whether you travel alone or in a group, whether you are a woman or a man, whether you arrive day or night time, Iran is very safe. There have been many tourists who traveled for two weeks moving from city to city and province to province by night buses, night trains, and taxis seeing the large number of women traveling solo. The Iranian government devotes plenty of resources to keep their border safe. It's without hesitation to say that Iran is the safest country in the region