How to Get Iran Visa on Arrival (VOA) in 2018

Let’s be frank here, despite all the negativity surrounding Iran, traveling to this country has become less difficult in the past few years and the Iranian government has made some enormous changes to the laws concerning traveling and tourism in hope of attracting more incoming travelers to the mysterious land of Persia and showing off its ravaging history and sights. It issues different types of visas for different purposes such as :

Iran Work Permit Visa
Iran Tourist Visa
Iran Pilgrimage Visa
Iran Student Visa
Iran Press Visa
Iran Transit Visa
Iran Business Visa
Iran Diplomatic Visa

In this article, we will focus on the visa issued for tourists. How does the process of applying and getting an Iranian visa work? We know that for some tourists a big question mark still hangs over the subject. So, we decided to shed light on the topic “Iran Visa” and help tourists or anybody else who’s interested in visiting Iran!

Visa-free and restricted nationalities

One thing you need to know is that citizens of all countries can travel to Iran except the Israeli people. As a result of an everlasting conflict between the Iranian and Israeli governments, anyone who is from Israel or has an Israeli passport won’t have a chance at getting the Iranian visa. Same can be said for those who are in any way connected to the Israeli government. But people from anywhere else in the world are free to visit Iran, and some of whom don’t even need a visa to get into Iran. Here are the countries whose nationals can visit Iran visa-free :

Armenia 90 days within 180 days
Azerbaijan 30 days
Bolivia 30 days
Georgia 45 days
Malaysia 15 days
Syria 90 days
Turkey 3 months
Venezuela 15 days

* Anyone from the above countries who has plans to stay more in Iran, can go to one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices which can be found in all the major cities and there submit their request.

Matters are a bit more complicated for holders of US, British and Canadian passport. Sure, they can travel to Iran but as soon as they arrive at the airport or the land border, an authorized local guide (cultural guide) has to meet up and stay with them 24/7 during a pre-arranged travel plan laid out by an Iranian travel agency. If you are one of these tourists and you have played by the book, there is still a good chance you get rejected. The reasons are unknown but likely it’s because of the political disagreements between Iran and these countries. Sometimes, you manage to get the visa and everything seems in order but you are now allowed to enter the country at the last possible moment. In several cases, US, British and Canadian passport holders were turned down right before they stepped foot in Iran. So, make sure all of your documents and requests are valid and talk to an Iranian travel agency or an Iranian local guide before everything else.

Iran’s free trade zones

Holders of normal passports traveling as tourists can enter the following free trade zones without a visa with a maximum stay of 2 weeks (extendable). These areas are :

Qeshm Trade-Industrial Free zone
Chabahar Trade-Industrial Free zone
Aras Trade-Industrial Free zone
Anzali Trade-Industrial Free zone
Arvand Trade-Industrial Free zone
Kish Trade-Industrial Free zone
Maku (Third largest free trade zone in the world)

Iranian E-Visa

There are two ways to get the visa, e-visa, and VOA or Visa On Arrival. How to apply for an Iranian visa is completely up to you. If you are one of those types who likes planning everything and knowing what their next move is, then definitely go with E-Visa procedure. It’s simple and time-saving and lots of different agencies in Iran and also Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs offer this service on their websites. Just Google Iran e-visa and your screen will be painted top to bottom with many online Iranian visa agencies that can help you. The procedure is simple, this is what you need to do :

With this visa, you can travel inside of Iran for 30 days and it also remains valid for 3 months and is extendable.

Visa on arrival (VOA) :

But if you leave everything for the last minute and if you’re not in a hurry, you’re just in luck. Iran’s Government has made traveling to Iran a lot easier and now you can apply for an Iranian visa upon arriving at an international airport in the country. Here’s a list of the international airports of Iran that provide this service :

All you have to do is to take the necessary documents with you. The chances to get a visa on arrival entirely depends on how much your documents are in order.

List of required documents for Iran Visa on Arrival

A valid passport with at least six months validity.
A confirmed return ticket.
A photo to be attached to the Iran visa application form (Women must be wearing hijab for the picture).
Visa stamp fee, which is payable to the Iran Visa & Passport Office at the airport. Iran airport visa fee depends on the applicant’s nationality.

An on-arrival visa is a reasonable option but it has some downsides too. For example

If you arrive at night, the process of getting a visa will probably take longer. Waiting at the airport after a long flight is frustrating.
Filling in the expected forms with a lot of information after a long flight is definitely not what you want.
Facing an unending row of eager tourists and applicants waiting for their turn (Maybe you run into a friend there, right ?)
Getting rejected at Iran’s airports or sometimes being questioned for hours (Few tourists had experienced it in the past).
VOA is not extendable.

Using Online services for Visa and flight ticket

There are few online travel agencies available which you can use to get your visa and flight ticket. We recommend 1stQuest as one of the most reliable online travel agencies for booking Iran hotels, domestic bus, domestic flight, visa, insurance and daily tours (experiences). You can book and pay travel services on the 1stQuest platform through below link:

https://1stquest.com/flight#a_aid=5c6a8ec2a22cc&a_bid=18e545c0

You can also use the discount code (Mah-Card) to get a 5% discount when booking flights using 1stQuest platform.