Iran visa (E-visa)
According to the new rules of Iran Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, citizens of many countries could apply for visa on arrival at specific airports of Iran. Please read our post about Iran visa on arrival to check if you could use this visa option for your planned trip to Iran. If you still need to apply for regular tourist visa, this post summarizes all the necessary steps, application links, and required documents for Iran visa application.
Who needs to apply for Iran visa (E-visa)
- Visitors who like to stay more than 30 days in Iran.
- People who like to enter Iran from a land border or another entry point where the visa on arrival is not issued.
- Applicants who are not eligible for visa on arrival mainly citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, India, Iraq, Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, and United States.
- Applicants who are not sure that they can obtain the visa on arrival for different reasons.
Please also note that citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Georgia, Malaysia, Syria, Turkey, and Venezuela do not need visa to stay in Iran for less than 30 days.
Darband village in north of Tehran
Iran visa application procedure
As a first step, you need to choose an Iranian embassy or consulate at which you wish to apply for the visa. You can find the list and contact information of the Iranian consulates at the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or directly find the website of the embassy at the country of your residence using Google.
As the second step, for tourist visa or other types of non-immigrant visa applications, you need to submit your personal information and trip details via E-visa form of Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Check the How to fill Iran E-visa application section of this post regarding the important tips for successfully submitting your data through the E-visa form. At this step you will also indicate the embassy that you have chosen for visa application.
Few days after receiving your E-visa confirmation code, you can contact the embassy whether you need to schedule an interview and list of all the necessary documents needed for your application.
Once all the necessary documents are submitted to the consulate and interview is performed, the visa will be issued within the 15 days.
Please note that invitation letter from a friend or travel agency in Iran is not necessary anymore. In addition you can apply for visa by yourself and you do not need to contact travel agency and make an extra payment to obtain your E-visa code. As the citizens of Canada, United Kingdom, and United States need to travel in Iran with a tour guide, to simplify their visa application, it is recommended that they organize their visa application through a travel agency.
Visa application fee depends on the nationality of the applicant but in general, it is 50 Euro for European countries and 100 Euro for Australians.
Required documents
In general, the visa application requires the following documents, but consulates in different countries might have different requirements. Please refer to website of the consulate or contact them to make sure you have all the necessary documents.
- Original passport of the applicant and a copy of biographical page of the passport: The applicant’s passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of application and contain at least two blank pages without any stamps.
- Two passport size color photos.
- Printed E-Visa submission notice.
- Receipt of payment of the visa fees.
- Copy of any insurance valid for traveling to Iran. You can also get you Iran travel insurance by filling our online application form.
- Copy of your residency permit, if you are not citizen of the country where you apply for the visa.
- Fingerprints recorded in the local Police office, depending on the nationality of the applicant.
- An envelope for the return of the passport with sufficient postage stamp.
- If you are applying for business visa, an invitation letter from the business partner in Iran.
Good passport scan according to Iran visa (E-visa) website requirements
How to fill Iran E-visa application
Many applicants find it difficult to use the E-visa form. Please check the following notes to submit your application easily and quickly. For complete guide about how to fill your application please refer to How to complete the application on E-visa website.
- Prepare scan of biographical page of your passport and your color photos before starting the online application.
- Color passport scan must be in JPEG (.jpg) format which is equal or less than 500 kB in file size and in a rectangular aspect ratio (height must less than width) with size of 600 pixels (height) x 800 pixels (width). Please check E-visa Passport Copy Requirements for additional information.
- Your color photo scan must be in JPEG (.jpg) format which is equal or less than 240 kB in file size and be sized in 600 pixels (height) x 400 pixels (width). Please check E-visa Photo Requirements for additional information.
- You need to answer all questions on E-visa form accurately and completely, otherwise, you might need to apply again and reschedule your visa interview appointment.
- Verify your email address carefully, as communication about your visa application will be done through this address.
- If you have not received verification e-mail, also check your spam folder.
- Print and keep the E-visa application submission notice. This page will appear when you completed the email verification process after submitting your online visa application. (You do not need to print the full application.)
As the next step for preparing your trip to Iran, please check our post about planning your trip to Iran about our recommended places to visit in Iran.
If you need any further information about the Iran visa application process just leave a comment.
سلام عليكم
من عراقي هستم در يونان
ميخوستم فيزا جتور مكرم؟؟
Hi Husham,
Please check the procedure in the above post and contact the Iranian Embassy in Greece, If you want to only visit Mashhad you can might be eligible for visa on arrival.
Regards
Mostafa
Hi. I’m traveling to Iran in two days and was planning on getting my VOA at IKA (Uruguayan passport) but I filled out the e-visa form as it said it would speed up the process and last night I got a “visa rejected, apply through sponsor” message. Does this mean I cannot get a VOA anymore? Will I always be rejected? Or am I stuck with paying an agency? I would very much appreciate any Information you may have! Thanks!!
Hi Alejandra,
Normally, you should be fine and you are eligible for VOA, You can contact and Iranian embassy and country of your residence to double check.
Hope it helps
Mostafa
hello there ,
does a german need to apply for a visa should he want to visit iran and stay up to 3-4 weeks max.?
is it enough to indicate the address of friends with whom he will stay with?
is an invitation required?
thank you . your reply is appreciated
Hi Florian,
German nationals could apply for visa on arrival for a max duration of one month.
No invitation letter is required and might be useful just have an address for you accomodations. please check the details in our post about visa on arrival
https://www.aciab.com/iran-visa-on-arrival/
Regards
Mostafa
When applying Iran e-visa with the MFA website, is it a mandatory to buy insurance ?
I’m intending to apply VOA at IKA Airport.
Thank you.
Hi Christian,
For MFA visa application you do not need have travel insurance.
On the other hand you need travel insurance for VOA application, you can buy it at airport or using our website.
Regards
Mostafa
من در تركيه هستم وداراي كذرنامه استرالي هستم ودر خواست ويزا به ايران دارم براي فرزندانم
Hi,
If they hold Australian passport they can apply for Visa on Arrival, please check our post
https://www.aciab.com/iran-visa-on-arrival/
Regards
Mostafa
Hi Mostafa ,ich bin Iraner und meine Frau aus Rumänien , wir sind seit 25 Jahre verheiratet und leben im Deutschland , meine Frau ist bis jetzt noch nicht im Iran gewesen , nun will Sie mit für zwei Wochen nach Iran ,
Muss sie Visum beantragen oder geht es bei der Ankunft in Flughafen IKA ?
Hi Siamak,
Your wife is eligible for visa on arrival.
Regards
Mostafa
Dear sir,
Could you please tell me how fast i can have my visa iisued?
If i apply today for example when i can travel to Tehran?
Many thanks
George
Hi George,
If you are eligible for visa on arrival, you can get it instantly when you enter Iran. Check the following post about the required conditions for this type of visa:
https://www.aciab.com/iran-visa-on-arrival/
If you still need to apply for visa through embassy it might take between 15 to 25 days, depending on where you like to apply.
Regards
Mostafa
Hi, can citizens of Taiwan get visa on arrival to visit Iran?
Thanks.
Hi Luis
As citizen of Taiwan you can get visa on arrival, you can just fill E-visa form to speed up you application at the airport.