IRAN VISA FOR CANADIANS (and American and UK passport holders)
Travel to Iran is safe and the people generous and welcoming, even to Americans. Canadian, Americans and UK citizens are treated similarly by Iran for a tourist visa. For most countries in the world, travel to Iran is as simple as hopping on a plane and getting a Visa on Arrival in Tehran Airport. It used to be the same for Canadians, but in 2012, those rules changed because of the sanctions our countries imposed on Iran.
Tour Companies.
Now it is necessary to have a guided Iran tour using an operator licensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The MFA requires Americans, British and Canadian nationals to make a tour from arrival to departure, essentially this means you need a guide with you on a daily base and check in at the hotels. You need to have a confirmed itinerary.
I used the travel agent listed in the Caravanistan web site: Pars Tourist Agency – www.key2persia.com. Try to join a group tour as private tours are very expensive. Ask the company to advertise your trip on social media to make a group and save money.
Independent Travel? A lot of people want to go around the system and travel independently. That is not possible. You have to meet an MFA licensed guide at the airport and be escorted out. In reality, your guide will meet you at the airport but there is no one around to actually check that this occurs. No tourist agency will deal with independent travelers from countries requiring a tour – Canada, US, UK – (“just meet me at the airport and then leave me on my own”) as a company that obtained the LOI for you would have their license jeopardized (they are unlikely to do that for one customer). You need to have a guide with you at hotel check-in and wherever you go in the country. I’m not sure you want to mess with the Iranian authorities. Entering Iran illegally can have serious consequences.
Keep in mind that you’re working with people who, although exceptionally nice, live in a country under very strict sanctions. For example, you cannot send money directly to Iran. You have to go through a third-party using a wire transfer.
Avoid “Authorization Number Warehouses”. They charge a big fee, arrange an itinerary, get you an MFA visa authorization number, and then forget about you while you get your Iranian travel visa and beyond.
Requirements for Visa Application (Letter of Invitation)
1. New Visa Request Form (Excel spread sheet supplied by agency)
2. Passport photo scanned in colour (do not mail photos) and sent as an email attachment.
3. High quality coloured scan of Passport front page.
4. Resume Letter. Detailed with personal history, postsecondary education (university and field of study), detailed employment history for last 10-15 years including the field of work your company does, if retired state details of work before retirement, list of countries traveled to. Say something nice about Iran.
After the agency applies for the invitation letter, they are not eligible to change the itinerary that was offered to MFA for application.
You must apply for the visa well in advance (the Letter of Invitation takes 30-45 working days) and that tour company will arrange for the Letter of Invitation and forward it to the Embassy of Iran in the city of your choice. Print it out and take to the Embassy of Iran you directed them to send the Letter of Invitation to.
If there are any changes to the LOI application (passport, contact details, address), these must be changed ASAP or the visa may be denied.
At the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Ankara Turkey. I used the one in Ankara (hours 08:30-5) as that was where my flight to Tehran left from. Arrive early as it became standing room only by 10:30. Give the LOI and your passport and they wanted one photo. I was given a date 5-days hence to pick up the passport with the visa inside – €50 (it may be different for different nationalities). But my flight was the next day (luckily at 18:30). An express visa is available for next day pickup – €75. The key here is to not go on a Friday when your flight is on the weekend or that day!
I went down the street to the bank they directed me to and paid the fee in cash only (bank charge TL21 – Turkish Lira, I only had Euros and paid €5 or about TL31). After paying, take the receipt from the bank and return to the Embassy. They kept my passport. I returned the next day at 09:00 and got my passport with the visa.
The visa allows you single entry to Iran up to the date stated on the visa. The amount of time you are allowed to stay in Iran is specified (for me 13 days which allowed for the 12 day tour and the extra day required for my flight). You need to leave Iran before this date or you will be deemed unlawful. If your stay is past that date, the Embassy in Ankara has to be notified ASAP.
TOURS
I would strongly recommend the tours offered on www.caravanistan.com. They are considerably cheaper than others that I had looked at. They are also busier and hopefully will have other travelers to share cost.
Tour price. Treasure of Persia standard version 1290 EUR + 20% single supplement ; total to be paid ; 1548 EUR = 1695 USD. + €45 for extra night + €80 for extra day (I could only arrange flights leaving the day after the tour ended)
The scheduled tours include hotels, domestic flights, and some meals. If the dates on your visa allow and you have to stay a day or two on either side, they might be able to arrange but for a supplemental fee. You need a guide with you at all times. I was not able to fly out on the day the tour ended and paid €45 for an extra night in the hotel and €80 for the extra day of a guide (even though there was not much to do as my flight left in the mid afternoon and with travel to the airport and needing to be there 2-3hours before the flight left little time to do anything).
My Tour. Here are the details of the tour I took for information sake.
PARS TOURIST TOUR TRAVEL AGENCY – Treasures of Persia.
Parstouristagency@ParsTouristAgency.com. www.key2persia.com
Zand Street Next to Iran Cinema, Shiraz, Iran
Phone: +98 71 32232428; 7135818415/ Fax +98 71 32228602
Start date 12/10/2019
ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrive in Tehran – visit Tehran
Day 2: Visit Tehran, fly to Shiraz
Day 3 (10/14): Visit Shiraz
Day 4 (10/15): Excursion to Persepolis Necropolis, the ancient historical cultural heritage of Sangsia district
Day 5 (10/16): Drive to Abarkuh – visit Pasargadae on the way
Day 6 (10/17): Drive to Yazd – Visit Zeinodin Saryazd and Mehriz on the way, Visit Yazd
Day 7 (10/18) Visit Yazd
Day 8 (10/19) Drive to Isfahan – visit Meybod¨naein and Varzaneh on the way
Day 9 (10/20): Visit Isfahan
Day 10 (10/21: Visit Isfahan
Day 11 (10Ø22): Drive to Kashan, An excursion to Abyaneh and Natanz
Day 12 (10/23): Visit Kashan, transfer to IKA via Qom. Depart from Iran
Hotels
10/11-13/2019: Escan Hotel Tehran – 021 88347385 – Mousav Forsat Between Somayeh and Enghelab Ave, Tehran, Iran
10/13-16/2019 – 10/16: Karim Khan Shiraz – 2235001071/32228107 Fars Province, Shiraz. Roudaki Avenue
10/16-17/2019 – 10/17: Agha Zade House, Abar Kouh Abarkuh – 035 32827677, 19th Alley Bahonar Street, Imam Hossein Square, Abarkouh – 10/17/2019: Dad, Yazd – 035 36229400, Yazd Province, No. 214 Dahom Farvardin – 8913875639
10/19-22/2019: Kerias Hotel, Ispahan – 031 31313510 17 Shahid Omrani Alley, Isfahan 81464
10/22-23/2019 – 10/23: Yasamin Kashan, Kashan – 03155240082, Kashan Province, Ghiyasoddin Jamshid Ave, Ghadamgah Alley
Pars provided all the money details, time difference, what to bring and dress codes (no shorts outside the hotel, only long sleeve tops at holy sites and for women everything must be covered but the face, hands and feet).
Pars gave complete contact details including an out of hours emergency number, the names of the driver and guide, a list of useful phone numbers (police etc.) and a list of public holidays in Iran. The country closes down at 12 noon on Thursdays for Friday, the Islamic prayer day.
I was given details of the taxi company that was to take me from the airport into the city, even though my flight arrived at 12:25am. The tour included both airport transfers and the night before the tour started.
Money. Credit cards and ATMs don’t exist in Iran (due to sanctions, Iran is not able to use normal banking). As a result it is a completely cash country for travelers. You can’t pay for your trip using wire transfers, PayPal or credit cards and must bring the entire amount of the tour plus personal spending money, money for dinners (not included) in cash, and only big bills larger than €50. American bills must be in
Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not available in Iran. That is, they are not available to the general population (most Iranians use VPNs to access them). It is possible that social media content could cause problems. It may be wise to change privacy settings to allow “Only Me” to view them or deactivate FaceBoook accounts while in Iran. Likewise check Tweets that may have had anti-Iranian content.
Israel. Having an Israeli stamp in your passport will deny entry. If you have an Israeli stamp, you must obtain a new passport to go to Iran.
OTHER VISA ADVICE
Visa restrictions:
Entry will be refused to citizens of Israel and to foreign travellers with any evidence of having visited Israel — not just Israeli entry stamps, but also Egyptian and Jordanian stamps from border crossings with Israel — except that if you had an Israeli visa that expired more than a year before you apply for an Iranian visa, you may be allowed entry into Iran. Egyptian and Jordanian visas have no effect on applications for Iranian visas.
Under rules passed in 2016, travellers who have visited Iran on or after 1 March 2011 are not eligible for visa-free entry to the United States of America under its Visa Waiver Program (VWP), unless their visit to Iran was for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country. They need to apply for a visa to enter the United States.
For US, UK and Canadian citizens. US, UK or Canadian citizens must be part of a tour group approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or have an MFA-approved guide to accompany them for the entire trip and must have an exact itinerary. This generally precludes crossing into Iran at any border, as your guide would have to meet you at the border. Tour guides, however, are generally friendly to Americans, Britons and Canadians, understand the process, and can work with you to set up a custom itinerary. US and Canadian citizens can apply for a visa through the Iranian Interest Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC. Britons can apply through the Iranian embassy in London.
The applicant’s travel agency must provide a detailed itinerary of the tour in order to apply for a visa authorisation number from the MFA. Once approved, the authorisation number is transmitted to the embassy or Interest Section. At that point, the applicant can then apply for the visa. Turnaround times can be as short as a week, but the Interest Section in Washington does not reliably answer emails or phone calls.
The Iran tourist visa is issued for up to 30 days and is extendable. It must be obtained before travelling to Iran and valid to enter for 90 days from the issue date. Approved Iranian travel agents can apply and get visas for all foreign nationals (except Israeli passport holders).
To apply and get your visa you must contact an approved Iranian travel agent, or go to an Iranian consulate. After receiving your personal data, they apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Your visa will then be authorised by the MFA and faxed to the Iranian consulate near you. Your travel agent gives you a visa authorisation number with which you can refer to the consulate to get your visa. The visa authorisation number, however, is valid only in the consulate you have asked them your visa to be issued in. The number they give you is just an “authorisation”. This reference number means that your visa has been authorised and approved by the MFA but is not the visa.
Depending on your nationality, you may be required to present at the Iranian consulate in your country to have your fingerprints taken. British and American passport holders will be fingerprinted upon arrival.
After your travel agent tells you your visa authorisation number you should first get a visa application from the consulate and follow the requirements of the application form (you may either personally go to the consulate to get the application forms or, if the service available, download it from the web site of the Iranian embassy in your country). Then, you should refer to the consulate to lodge your passports and application forms with the visa number they gave you (it can be either a physical presence or by post). Then it might take from 1-5 days for the consulate to issue your visa.
You may also need to provide a letter of recommendation from your embassy if you are applying outside your home country, a photocopy of your air tickets in and out of Iran and any student or press card.
Normally, all tourist visas issued by Iranian consulates have a “3-month” validity. The visa allows you to stay in Iran for up to 30 days, (sometimes you can get the tourist visa up to 90 days), although the duration of your visa is at the discretion of the MFA. (All tourist visas will be issued as a single entry, unless you request the approval from Tehran.) Tourist visas must be used within 14 days from issue, but the maximum duration of your stay is still 30 days.
Rarely, you may be asked to provide a letter from your employer or proof of funds. Visas are generally valid for three months that is you must enter Iran within three months of issue.
Depending on your nationality, issuing a visa may take 30 days or more.
There are reports that it is possible to get a visa in 10 days in Istanbul consulate, especially for German passport holders.
Types of visa: Entry, Transit, Business, Tourist and Journalist. Fee varies according to nationality of applicant, type of visa and the existing regulation between countries.
A visa cannot be issued for passports which have a validity of less than 6 months. Exit permits required by all (often included with visa).
Transit visas have a maximum of 10 days. Transit visas are usually easier to get than tourist visas (usually for one or two weeks) and very useful for people travelling between Europe and South Asia. Various travel agents inside Iran help you obtain visas, often through their home pages. You can get an extension for your transit visa usually valid for five or ten days, inside Iran easily but once for the same number of days as the original visa. For foreign drivers carrying cargo to Iran or other countries, it’s necessary to co-ordinate in advance with the diplomatic missions of Iran.
Tourist visas require a passport, an application form, four passport-sized photos, and a special authorisation in the form of a reference number issued by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran.
Extending a tourist visa is very easy and can be done in most cities. Some travel guides say not to do this in Tehran as it is very time consuming. This is no longer the case and the process of extending a visa in Tehran can be done in just 1 hour (including tea offerings and being the object of curiosity in the office). Extending a visa a second time requires the passport to be sent to a department in Tehran (no matter where you extend your visa from) and thus takes longer time than doing this the first time. The tourist visa can be extended once or twice at most, each time you can get 15 days more. The price of extending a visa is fixed rate 300,000 rial.
To extend your visa in Tehran, the first or second time, you should go to the Passport and Immigration office situated on Parvin Street, at the crossing with 150 East Street and 123 Khovat Street, very close to Tehranpars metro station.
Places known to extend visas happily in Iran are Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Esfahan, Shiraz, Kerman and Zahedan. The extension process is normally handled at provincial police headquarters.
Although it has become easier to get a tourist visa, whether the process takes one day or one month depends largely on your nationality and the staff of the embassy you are applying to. Your best bet is to apply to the Iranian embassy in your own country at least three months before your departure, but it is possible to obtain one while travelling in other countries, with varying degrees of difficulty. Women need to make sure they are wearing the hijab or a head scarf in their submitted passport-sized photos.
Business visas require a passport, an application form, 4 passport-sized photos, a special authorisation in the form of a reference number issued by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran, and a business letter. Business visas are extendable once, sometimes twice up to two weeks each without difficulty. One extension of one month may also be possible in some cases.
Visitors from the Persian Gulf States need no visa to enter Iran. These states are: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. People from Macedonia and Turkey can get a three-month tourist visa on arrival. People from Japan can get a three-month tourist visa at an Iranian embassy with no difficulty.
Visa on Arrival
A valid passport and a visa are required for the citizens of most countries for travel through Iran.
A 30-day tourist visa on arrival (VOA) is issued on arrival at the airports of Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz and Tabriz to people from about 58 countries, including Azerbaijan, Albania, Germany, Austria, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Spain, Australia, Slovenia, Slovak, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Ukraine, Italy, Ireland, Bahrain, Brazil, Brunet, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Russia, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, France, Palestine, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Croatia, South Korea, North Korea, Colombia, Cuba, Kuwait, Georgia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Poland, Malaysia, Hungary, Mongolia, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Venezuela, Vietnam, Netherlands, India, Yugoslavia, and Greece. If you ask nicely, they might even give you up to 90 days instead of 30. Tourist visa on arrival can be extended by 15 more days. 3-month tourist visa on arrival are issued to Chinese tourists (including Hong Kong and Macau) as well. Citizens of the USA, UK, Canada, Somali, Bangladesh, Jordan, Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot obtain visa upon their arrival in airports, and they are required to have the visa stamped in their passport in advance. Instant visa is obtainable for tourists from the above-mentioned countries and it does not apply to those who hold official passports, businessmen or journalists. There is no restriction for foreign tourists to obtain a visa upon their arrival at Iranian airports several times within a year.
To get the visa on arrival, be sure to have a legitimate confirmed accommodation for at least a night in Iran, e.g. hostel or hotel. Write down the hostel name, the address, and the phone number as the visa officer will call your accommodation. Entry could be denied if you just write down a random hostel or hotel as they won’t be able to confirm you to the visa officer. The visa generally costs €75 for most countries (Europeans and Thais). However, the visa cost differs from nation to nation, for example for Indonesians, it costs €45 and for Croatians €50. There is no need for passport photo, the visa is issued with a copy of the photo in your passport.
Insurance is mandatory and you will need to show proof of it to get the visa. Have a confirmation by your insurance ready that clearly states that it is still valid and that it covers Iran. If you don’t have insurance, or if your insurance is rejected, you’ll have to buy insurance there for around US$16 or €14.
Your bags probably will not be searched for salacious material, but if any is found, it will be confiscated and will complicate your arrival. Don’t try to bring in any magazines or books that might offend strict Islamic sensibilities or criticise the government.
As a notable exception, nationals of all countries including Americans are allowed to travel to free economic zones of Kish, Qeshm and Chabahar without a visa for stays of 14 days or less. Kish and Qeshm are easily accessible from Dubai. See the Kish Island article for details.