Iran tourist visa or let’s say Iran visa is currently (2019) much easier to obtain comparing to the past. since imposing new unfair US sanctions on Iran, Iranian government is trying to simplify Iran tourist visa application steps to improve Iran’s tourism industry. therefore, currently (2019) 60 nationalities are able to obtain their Iran visa on arrival (VOA) in Iran’s international airports, but in order to avoid any sort of inconvenience we strongly recommending you to obtain your Iran tourist visa ahead of your arrival to Iran. Iran tourist visa for US, UK and Canadian citizens is absolutely possible but issuing Iran visa for these nationalities takes a little bit more longer than other nationalities due to couple of more steps. please bare in mind that your passport must be valid for at least 6 months before you start your visa application. in this page we are trying to explain different types of Iran visa as well as Iran tourist visa for all nationalities including UK, US and Canadian citizens
Topics
- Iran visa types
- Iran visa on arrival (VOA)
- How to apply for Iran tourist visa
- Visa stamp fee on arrival
- Iran tourist visa for UK, US and Canadian citizens
- Photo requirements
- Passport scan requirements
- Visa application form
Iran visa types
(A) Entry (Trading)
Entry Visa is a permission issued for foreign experts and businessmen who travel to Iran for a limited period of time (once, twice or multiple) for economic, commercial, cultural and industrial purposes.
(B) Tourist
Iran tourist visa (Iran visa) is issued for foreign nationals who are interested to travel to Iran individually or with a group for the purpose of visiting Iran or their relatives. (except Israeli citizens). Currently, this visa’s validity is 30 days and you can extend your visa for 30 more days.
(C) Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage visa is issued for foreign Muslim pilgrims for the purpose of visiting the sacred places in Iran.
(E)Student
Student visa is issued for foreign national students who intend to study in the Islamic republic of Iran.
(G)Transit
This visa will be issued for foreign drivers carrying cargo to Iran or other countries. For these cases, it is necessary to coordinate in advance with the Diplomatic Missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(T)Treatment
This Visa will be issued for any kind of health or wellness treatment
Iran visa on arrival (VOA)
VOA means you can obtain your tourist visa upon your arrival to one of Iran international airports, however, you should know that visa on arrival does not mean that you don’t need to have your documents with you. It means that upon your arrival you need to provide your Insurance, hotel reservation and of course your vali passport. although obtaining Iran visa on arrival is easy but it is a time consuming procedure in the airport, in the other hand some airlines does not let you get on board without having your stamped visa on your passport. so it is better if you apply for your visa application ahead of your arrival to Iran. once you are booking your tours with our company we’ll apply for your visa application free of charge.
Here is the list of nationalities can obtain their Iran visa on arrival:
Albania, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, China (People’s Republic), Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea. Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
Here is the list of nationalities can’t receive their Iran visa on arrival:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Iraq, Jordan, Nepal, Somalia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Also UK, US and Canadian citizens cannot obtain their Iran visa on arrival.
How to apply for Iran tourist visa
All of our tour packages comes with free visa grant notice option, so when you are booking your tour with our company, you’ll receive an email from our team giving you instructions about the type of documents that we need you to prepare for us. when you send your documents we automatically start your visa application from our account in MFA platform. The procedure takes normally 3 to 4 working days and 30 to 40 working days for UK, US and Canadian citizens after we receive your documents. The second way is to apply directly to the online portal of MFA yourself. Applying via either ways, you will receive an electronic document in PDF format which is called ” Visa Grant Notice” and it is actually your e-visa approval from MFA. After receiving your electronic document, you need to print your PDF document in color and visit the nearest Iranian embassy to obtain your stamped visa. in case if you like to, while you are filling your forms in MFA platform, instead of one Iranian embassy in your country, you can select one of Iran’s international airports as your visa obtaining location. again, obtaining your visa on your arrival may take at least 3 to 4 hours in the airport depends on season and the queue so we strongly recommending you that you collect your visa before arriving to Iran in order to avoid any kind of disruption in your trip.
Visa stamp fee on arrival
In case if your group is more than 5 pax(in one booking), based on rules and regulations our company obligated to pay your visa stamp fee in advance ahead of your arrival, so in that case we’ll pay for your visa stamp fee and we’ll charge your visa stamp fee in your invoice. But if your group is less than 5 you need to pay your visa stamp fee(in cash) when you are about to collect your visa stamp on your passport
Updated list of visa stamp fee (2019)
- New Zealand :150€
- Australia: 145€
- Sierra Leon,Chile: 120€
- China, UAE, Uganda, Chad, Vietnam: 100€
- India: 90€
- Germany, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Italia, Iceland, Slovenia, Estonia, Slovakia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Finland, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Norway, Netherlands, Greece, Thailand, Singapore, Ghana, Qatar, Cuba, Gabon, Guinea: 75€
- Russia, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Zambia, Mongolia, Moldavia: 70€
- Japan, Turkmenistan, Cameroon, Kenya, Kuwait, Guyana, Madagascar, Malawi, El Salvador: 60€
- Philippines, Panama, Fiji, Nigeria: 55€
- South Korea, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Macedonia, Paraguay, Senegal: 50€
- Indonesia, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Niger, Venezuela: 45€
- Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Nepal, Yemen, Eritrea: 40€
- Tajikistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Morocco, Libya, Egypt (for more than 20 days), Saudi Arabia: 30€
- Belarus: 25€
- Armenia, Bahrain: 20€
- Malaysia (for more than 15 days): 10€
Again we need to remind you that credit cards and travel cheques are not working in Iran(due to sanctions and other political problems) so you need to bring enough cash with you when you are paying for your visa stamp fee. so even if you are collecting your visa in Iranian embassy in your country, you need to pay visa stamp fee in cash(USD for united states and north america and Euro for the rest of the world)
Click here to see Iran visa fee page
Iran tourist visa for UK, US and Canadian citizens
UK, US and Canadian citizens cannot travel to Iran solely, so if you are a UK, US or Canadian citizen you need to book a guided tour in order to obtain your visa and it is only possible when you book your tour with an authorized travel company (like Seven Seas Travelers) in Iran. once you book your tour with us, we’ll send you an email to give you instructions about the type of documents that we need from you to start you visa application with MFA platform. Visa application for UK, US and Canadian citizens takes longer than other nationalities so please consider at least 45 to 60 days for your visa application. once your visa grant notice is ready we’ll send to you as a PDF file and then you need to print it in color and obtain your visa from either Iranian embassy in London or Interest section of Islamic republic of Iran in Washington.
In some cases, MFA inviting UK applicants to have an interview in Iranian embassy in London to explain their reason for travel to Iran. This interview is completely depending on the officers review your applications when they need more explanation about your reason to travel to Iran. visa stamp fee for UK citizens is GBP 45 and GBP 23 extra for same day service.
US and Canadian citizens can obtain their visa stamp from Interest section of Islamic republic of Iran in Washington in person, or they can send their documents by postal service. In your envelope you need to include your color printed visa grant notice, your passport, visa stamp fee (in cash) and enough money for returning envelope to your location. Visa stamp fee for US and Canadian citizens is $80 and $40 extra for same day service.
Interest section of Islamic republic of Iran in Washington:
1250 23rd ST. #200 N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
Tel: (202) 965-4990
Fax: (202) 965-1073
Iranian embassy in London:
16 Princes Gate
London
SW7 1PT
United Kingdom
Tel. No: +44 (20) 72254200
Please click here for step by step guide for US, UK and Canadian citizens Iran tourist visa
Photo requirements
Your photo is a vital part of your visa application. To learn more, review the information below on how to provide a suitable photo. The acceptance of your photo is at the discretion of the IR.IRAN Embassy or consulate where you apply. We recommend you use a professional visa photo service to ensure your photo meets all the requirements. Please remember that photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance in any way.
- In color
- In JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) file format
- Equal to or less than 500 kB (kilobytes) in file size (less than 10 kB is not accepted)
- In a rectangular aspect ratio (height must be greater than width)
- Be sized in 400(minimum-width) x 600(minimum-height) pixels, with about 70-80% part of the photo must be filled by the applicant’s face
- Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance
- Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
- Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
- With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open
- Taken in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis
- Uniforms should not be worn in your photo, except religious clothing that is worn daily.
- Do not wear a hat or head covering that obscures the hair or hairline, unless worn daily for a religious purpose. Your full face must be visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face.
- Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or similar items are not acceptable in your photo.
- Eyeglasses are not allowed in visa photos, except in rare circumstances when eyeglasses cannot be removed for medical reasons; e.g., the applicant has recently had ocular surgery and the eyeglasses are necessary to protect the applicant’s eyes. A medical statement signed by a medical professional/health practitioner must be provided in these cases. If the eyeglasses are accepted for medical reasons:
- The frames of the eyeglasses must not cover the eye(s).
- There must not be glare on eyeglasses that obscures the eye(s).
- There must not be shadows or refraction from the eyeglasses that obscures the eye(s).
- Photos digitally scanned from driver’s licenses or other official documents are not acceptable. In addition, snapshots, magazine photos, low quality vending machine or mobile phone photos, and full-length photographs are not acceptable.
Passport scan requirements
The digital image of your passport is a vital part of your visa application. To learn more, review the information below on how to provide a suitable digital image. The acceptance of your passport copy is at the discretion of the IR.IRAN Embassy or consulate where you apply. We recommend you use a professional visa photo service to ensure digital image of your passport meets all the requirements.
Your digital image of your passport must be:
- In color
- In JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) file format
- Equal to or less than 500 kB (kilobytes) in file size (less than 10 kB is not accepted)
- Only the first page. full-length images are not acceptable.
- In a rectangular aspect ratio ( height must be less than width )
- Be sized in 800(minimum-width) x 600(minimum-height) pixels
- Sharp without any visible pixels
- properly exposed (too dark or light is not acceptable)
- In a right position.
- Clear and all characters must be readable