All foreigners (except passport holder of some countries) require a visa to travel to Iran. GOMED will help you to get your visa authentication code in 2 to 5 business days. (Obtaining visa authentication code for UK, US and Canadian citizens may take up to 6 weeks) After deciding to get your treatment in Iran:
- You fill the visa form and pay the service fee (it is free in all of our medical packages)
- Our partner travel agency will apply for you visa
- If you are granted a visa by government you will go to your chosen embassy, pay the embassy fee and collect your visa
Iranian visa requirements
- A passport with at least 6 months validity and two blank pages
- A photo to be attached to visa application form
- Embassy fee, payable to the chosen Iranian consulate or the visa office at the airport. The visa fee depends on the applicant’s nationality. This is different from the service fee received by our travel agent to process your application (agency fee is free in all of our full packages). The visa fee is payable in cash with euro or US dollar.
- Travel insurance. When collecting your visa at the embassy or airport, you are required to have a printout of your travel insurance. We will purchase your travel insurance for you (travel insurance is free in our full packages).
Note (About US, UK & Canadian citizens Iran visa ):
British, Canadian and American citizens are required to be escorted by a government approved guide at all times. Independent travel for these citizens has been banned due to the closure of Iranian foreign missions in these countries. Because of that, obtaining visa for these nationalities is more costly and time consuming. Ask us to get more information on this matter.
Note (About collecting your visa from Iran embassies ):
After obtaining your visa authentication code through our partner travel agency, you should go to Iran embassy, pay embassy fee and collect your visa. For online visa application, you need to upload a digital copy (scanned files) of your passport and photo. Still, for collecting your visa from the airport/embassy you need the original documents. Because of that, obtaining visa for these nationalities is more costly and time consuming. Ask us to get more information on this matter.
Passport Copy and Photo Requirements
To fill the visa application, you just need to upload a digital copy (scanned files) of your passport and a photo. But while collecting your visa from the airport or Iran embassy you need the original documents:
Passport
The digital image of your passport is necessary for your visa application. You can see an example passport scan here. The acceptance of your passport copy is at the discretion of the I.R.Iran Embassy or consulate where you apply.
Photo
Your photo is a vital part of your visa application. You can see an example acceptable photo here. The acceptance of your photo is at the discretion of the I.R.Iran Embassy or consulate where you apply. Remember that photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance in any way.
Change of appearance
Your photo is a vital part of your visa application. You can see an example acceptable photo here. The acceptance of your photo is at the discretion of the I.R.Iran Embassy or consulate where you apply. Remember that photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance in any way.
Who doesn’t need a visa to enter Iran?
Passport holder of a few countries do not require to obtain a visa to travel to Iran:
Armenia Georgia Lebanon Syria
Bolivia Egypt Malaysia Turkey
Azerbaijan China Oman Venezuela
Can I enter Iran without a visa? (Kish and Qeshm Islands are visa free zones)
Kish Island and Qeshm Island in Persian Gulf plus Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan province with Maku, Aras, Bandar-e-Anzali and Arvand are Iranian free trade zone. Every nationals are eligible to get a visa on arrival and stay up to two weeks in these areas.
Who doesn’t need a visa to enter Iran?
You can approach an Iranian embassy or go to website to obtain an Iran visa. It’s not that hard, but reports show waiting time and rejection rate is so much higher in these cases.
What is the rate of rejection for visa?
Chance of rejection is almost nothing; it’s about 3% chance of rejection for people applying through agencies.
Iran visa for American, British and Canadian citizens
British, Canadian and American citizens are required to be escorted by a government approved guide at all times. Independent travel for these citizens has been banned due to the closure of Iranian foreign missions in these countries.
Iran visa for Pakistani and Indian Citizens
Citizens of Pakistan cannot get visa on arrival; they must apply through an agency but Indian passport holders can get visa in advance or on arrival. The requirements is same as others.
Iranian visa duration and extensio
Iran tourist visa is normally a 30-day single entry visa. But you can extend your stay in Iran two times, for another 30 days, each time; to extend your visa, you must go to Police Department of Aliens Affairs. Notice:
- These offices are open from 7:30 to 14:00, from Saturday to Wednesday; you’d better check Iranian national holidays
- These offices are usually crowded and it’s better to get there early in the morning. And get two photocopies of your passport picture page, current visa and entry stamp plus extension fee (now it is 500,000 Iranian Rials) with you.
Cost to obtain Iran visa (embassy fee)
While collecting your visa (in advance or on arrival) you must pay embassy/stamp fee. This fee depends on your nationality.
Nationality | Schengen nationalities | American | Australian/New Zealand | British | Canadian | Pakistan | Indian | Chinese | Brezilian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Embassy fee | 50€ | 60€ | 100€ | 180€ | 50€ | 25€ | 30€ | 40€ | 60€ |
Visa on arrival fee | 75€ | Not applicable | 145-150€ | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | 90€ | 100€ | 80€ |
Best time to apply for Iran visa
The best time to start the process of visa application is at least two weeks before your planned trip; however it won’t take that long for us. You can receive your authentication code in three working days through GOMED. After filling in the form, if you choose to pick the visa at airport, you are almost done. But if you want to collect your visa from a consulate, you’d better have enough time to collect your visa.
Visa on arrival (VOA)
Visa on arrival (airport visa) is a tourist visa granted to citizens of 180 countries upon arrival to Iran, since august 2017. You must apply through Iranian Government’s E-VISA website at least 2 days before your arrival. Upon your arrival, you must hand your submission receipt to the visa officer at the airport to receive your visa. It seems easy and convenient, but we recommend you to apply for a visa before your arrival because:
- It’s more expensive, for instance most of euro citizens must pay 75 euros instead of 50 on arrival.
- There is a rejection risk; if you are rejected at the airport, it’s an unpleasant situation and you must buy a return flight.
- VOA issuance is slow and sluggish; we don’t think you like waiting hours in standstill lines of visa issuance and passport check.
- We get your visa very fast; it takes two or three business days at most to obtain your authentication code.
- Citizen of some countries like US and UK cannot obtain VOA; if you are a citizen of US, UK, Canada, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Israel you cannot get a visa on arrival. Israel passport holders cannot travel to Iran at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no Iran embassy/consulate in my country; How do I collect my visa?
If there’s no Iran embassy/consulate in your country, you can most probably collect your visa at an airport in Iran. But, remember citizens of some countries cannot collect their visa at the airports. In that case, you can choose a nearby country where an Iran embassy/consulate exists.
May my visa get rejected?
According to our records, in general, only less than 5% of applicants may get rejected. Chances of getting visa for European (except for the UK), Australian, and New Zealand citizens is as high as 97%. Chances of getting visa for the US and UK citizens is a bit less at about 90%. There are also certain occupations which are exposed to a higher risk of rejection such as journalism and the ones related to politics. Read more about Why do Iran visa applications get rejected on our blog.
Does my previous nationality matter?
Except for ex-Israeli nationality, other previous nationalities won’t normally affect your visa application.
Can I get a multiple entry tourist visa?
No Iran tourist visa is single-entry. You might need to apply for other types of visa.
What about citizens of Afghanistan and Bangladesh?
Passport holders of Afghanistan and Bangladesh need to apply for and collect their visa at the embassies/consulates in their countries.
How long does it take to get an Iran visa?
In most cases visa authorisation codes are issued within 2 business days of receiving a compliant application.
Which countries do not need a visa for Iran?
Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, China, Egypt, Georgia, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Syria, Turkey and Venezuela can enter Iran without a visa.
How can I check my Iran visa status online?
Checking the status of your Iranian tourist visa is easy. If you applied directly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you can check your Iran visa status through their website. If you applied through 1stQuest, get in touch with our customer support team.