Visa to Iran

All the nationalities can enter Iran except the Israel passport holders. Of course, the visa application result may be vague for some nationalities as there have been some cases that have been rejected, but it is a strong point for Iran tourism that close to 100% of the visa applications to Iran are issued.

Some nationalities such as Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and so on do not need to have the visa before the entrance and they can stamp at the airport and be in Iran for 15 days.

To get the tourist visa before the entrance to Iran, you can do two things:
1)    Apply through the Iranian Embassy of your place, city or any country
2)    Apply through an Iranian travel agency
If the Iranian Embassy does not accept your application or wanted the hotel voucher, the letter of invitation or any other related documents, it means that you should apply the tourist visa through a travel agency.
To get the tourist visa through an agency, you need to send the passport copy in JPG format, in good quality and not heavier than 40 KB. You also need to fill out the online visa form through the agency link and submit.
The visa application is sent to MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and after a process of 10 – 15 working days for non Americans; the positive or negative visa result is announced. Mostly, it will be announced sooner.
If the positive visa issuance is announced, a 6 digit code which is called “ visa authorization number “ or “ visa code” is given to you to be able to collect your visa from any expected Iranian Embassy or even some especial airports (by the pre-announcement of MFA).
An amount of visa collection fee is needed to be paid to the Iranian Embassies which is the governmental fee and different from the agency service fee, it may be negotiable.

You have 1 month time to refer the embassy and collect the visa.

The visa validity to Iran:

The Iran visa is valid for 3 months to enter and depart Iran and the visa duration validity is based on your application, but it cannot be more than a month for the first step. It can be extended to one more month but under the especial reasons.
As soon as you collect your visa, you have 90 day time to enter and depart Iran.

The Iran visa for Americans

The visa process for the American passport holders would take longer. It is advised to consider at least 45 -50 days before your trip to Iran to apply for your visa.

The needed documents are the same as the other passport holders although a resume may be helpful too.

The American passport holders cannot apply through an embassy and they should choose a travel agency which can apply for the visa, the tour package either. Because according to Iran tourist rules, the Americans must be joined in a guided tour package throughout their trip to Iran.

An important point is that the agency which applies for the visa of the American passport holders must arrange the hotel accommodation and also the authorized tour guide and announce the name of the hotel and the tour guide to MFA when the visa application is sent.

The visa application form includes the following questions.

Visa form to Iran:

First name:
Surname:
Email (*):
Sex:
Marital status:
Spouse name:
Father’s name:
Date of birth (DD/MM/YY)
Country of birth:
Place of birth:
Nationality:
Former nationality:
Passport NO:
Passport Type:
Date of Issue (DD/MM/YY)
Place of Issue:
Expiration date (DD/ MM/ YY)
Occupation:
Position:
Name of the work place:
Address of the work place:
How many times have you visited Iran?
Visa type:
The expected embassy for the visa collection:
Duration of stay in Iran:
Entrance date (DD/ MM/ YY)
Departure date (DD/ MM/ YY)
Flight details:
Phone:
Fax:
The passport copy:
Comment:

To get the cheap visa, please contact me.

Airport visa:

The airport visa is indeed the tourist visa and you cannot get it for any other purposes except the tourist visa. The visa validity would be for two week visit.

The visa validity can be extended to next 15 days.

If you want to be sure of having visa to Iran, you are advised to apply for the visa before your arrival.
Nationals of the following countries holding ordinary passports and wishing can obtain a two-week Tourist Visa upon Arrival at the airports of:

IKA: Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport
THR: Tehran Mehrabad Airport
MHD: Mashhad Airport
SYZ: Shiraz Airport
TBZ: Tabriz Airport
ISF: Isfahan Airport

1.  The applicant(s) should have a confirmed return ticket and a valid passport with at least 6 months validity and a photo to be attached to the application form.

2.  Visa stamp fee is EUR50.00 for the holder of the passport and EUR10.00 for each one of the companions (if any).

3.  This type of visa is only for tourist purposes and the followings are not entitled to this visa facilitation:

3.1. Journalists and reporters on mission.

3.2. Applicants whose applications for Iran Visa have been rejected before.

3.3. Iranians holding foreign passports but still maintaining their Iranian nationality.

Albania
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azarbaijan
Bahrain
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia Herzegovina
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
China (People’s Republic)
Colombia
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Denmark
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Ireland (Rep.)
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Mexico
Mongolia
Netherlands
New Zealand
North Korea
Norway
Oman
Palestine
Peru
Phillippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Singapore
Slovak (Rep.)
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yugoslavia Fed. Rep.

To get the cheap visa, please contact me.

There are also other types of visas to Iran such as press visa, student visa, work visa and transit visa.
The tourist visa can be used for the transit purpose.

To get the student visa to Iran, the expected institution or university should send the invitation letter. This is also applied for the work or job visa to Iran.

The applicants of press visas should have the invitation letter from any conference, meeting or magazine officials.

Some Tips:

Getting the tourist visa is the easiest one with the chance of close to 100% of the cases who do not have any especial political backgrounds, are not journalist or do not travel for begging or finding jobs.

Some weaker nationalities need to prove that they have enough money support to travel to Iran.

You are advised to choose the expected Iranian embassy for the visa collection with full attention as it may be difficult and sometimes impossible to change the visa collection place after its issuance especially in high seasons.

If you want to change the visa collection place, ask the agency to apply it for you, some agencies ask you the extra fee for the changing process.

Consider at least 1 week for the visa collection process. If you want to post your passport to the embassy from one city to another one, so consider longer process.

As soon as the 6 digit code is sent to the agency by MFA, a copy of it is sent to the chosen Iranian Embassy, so it is better to refer to the embassy after 3 days.

You can also choose the Imam Khomaini Airport as the visa collection place in the visa form which you send to the agency.

*** Please notice that if your arrival airport is different from Imam Khomaini Airport, ask the agency to change it to the expected airport one day before your arrival.  This visa is issued before your arrival, but as you collect it at the airport, it is valid for 15 days.

It is said that those who have traveled to Israel cannot get the tourist visa to Iran. But I have had some cases that could get the visa as their goal was just the tourist visit to Israel. It is enough to prove the goal to the MFA and then embassy. If you are asked at the airport that what your reason was to travel to Israel, just say “travel and visiting”.

If your visa request is rejected, you can apply for the tourist visa two months after the visa rejection time.

Those who got the tourist visa, entered and departed Iran can apply for the tourist visa again without any limitation.

The applicants of double entry to Iran should mention it in their visa application forms.

It is not possible to get the tourist visa at the border, so those who enter Iran with their own vehicles should apply for their visas before the land entrance.

British nationalities may have to do the fingerprints when they collect the visa.

The Iranians who have double nationalities must travel with their Iranian passports to Iran.

The person whose father is Iranian but does not have the Iranian passport is considered as an Iranian person and can travel to Iran with the Iranian passport. To get the further information, please refer to the Iranian Embassy of your city or country.

If a foreign woman is married with an Iranian man and their marriage is registered in the Iranian embassies can get the Iranian passport and travel without needing the visa.

Persepolis

The most famous Shiraz attraction is Persepolis which is registered as the international heritage by UNISCO. Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of Shiraz. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid. Persepolis is he translation of a Greek word and means “Persian City”.

It is open to the visitors all the days of the year except Ashura Day which is a very important religious day in Iran.

Naqshe Rostam and Naqshe Jahan are located in a short distance from Persepolis, so you are advised to see all the resorts all together in half of the day.

Persepolis is open from 8: 30 to 5 P.M. even in the summers, so as you are going to see a lot, I advise you to drive from Shiraz at 8 A.M. to use the maximum of you time.

It may be hot to see Persepolis or Takht e Jamshid in summers there is no roof up your head and the sun is shining burningly, but it is really worth visiting. Besides, I think that it is a pity if you go there and see the glory of Persepolis without the explanation of a professional tour guide. You can arrange a driver guide (a person who is an English- speaking tour guide and also drives) to pick you up there and explain the history of this world heritage.

There are some taxis in Persepolis to take you but I think if you want to see Naqshe Rostam, and Naqshe Jahan , you should take the private one if it is available.

Pasargadae

Pasargadae is located in Shiraz – Isfahan or Shiraz – Yazd Road, so you can visit it if you are driving to that direction.

If you want to add Pasargadae excursion to Persepolis in one day, the excursion would be too pressed and you may not have enough time to enjoy.  It is better to see Pasargadae en route or miss it from the one day excursion to Persepolis.
The entrance to these places is less than 1 dollar.

Hafiz and Saadi Tombs

The tombs of very famous poets of Iran are located in Shiraz. The Hafiz and Saadi Mausoleums are nice to see. They are also called Hafiziyeh OR Saadiyeh among the local people.  Many Iranians, especially the people of Shiraz believe that the Hafiz Mausoleum has the positive and energetic atmosphere.

Even the youth choose there for their gatherings, the finances or boy and girl friends like there to meet each other. The meditation classes are also held there because of the positive energy of Hafiz. You will see that how people may love their dead poet if you go there.

Just I remember a funny and romantic memory: my friend has become familiar with her husband in Hafiz Tomb.
The entrance to these places is less than 1 dollar.
They are both open every day from 8 A.M. to 9 P.M.

Zandiyeh Complex, Karim Khan Castle

Karim Khan Arg which is located in the center of Shiraz City, Zand St. Zand St. is among the oldest streets of Shiraz and now it is not a preferable place for the youths to go shopping or have gatherings because it has still kept its traditional and old environment.
The shops are not the luxurious ones and the old appearance of the street is still preserved.
The most and best hotels of Shiraz are located in this street and the nearby streets and it makes the tourists to have the walking tour to Zandiyeh Complex and also the other highlights.

This building is built in Zandiyeh Dynasty when Shiraz was chosen as the capital of Iran by Karim Khan who was a sincere king and is famous for his loyalty to the people.

The entrance to Zandiyeh Complex is less than 1 dollar and it is open from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. but the tickets will be sold till 5: 30

Here are some of its photos:

Zinatol Molk House and Narenjestan Palace

This is located in God e Orban (the end of Lotfali Khan e Zand St.) and is just one alley far from Narenjestan Palace. The relationship between Zinatol Molk House and Narenjestan Place is beyond just the neighborhood and Zinatol Molk House is the introvert section of Narenjestan Palace. The architecture of the house who was Ali Mohammad Khan Ghavami built the two houses beside each other and each with just one yard, so the present Narenjestan Palace is considered as the extrovert and Zinatol Molk House as the introvert one. The two houses are connected to each other by an underground way which was an especial way for the intimates.
There is a museum in Zinatol Molk House as well.
So you can see both Zinatol Molk and Narenjestan in one stop.

Both Zinatol Molk House and Narenjestan Palace are open every day except the national and religious off days from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., but the tickets are sold till 5: 30.

About Shiraz:

Shiraz, the nice historical city of Iran, is one of the main cities in Iran; it is the capital of Fars Province in the south west of Iran and has a moderate climate. It can be said that 99 % of the tourists do like to travel to Shiraz. Its fame is strengthened by the name of Persepolis. Some tourists think that Persepolis is a city near Shiraz, but you can learn of it more in http://www.eternaliran.com/category/iran-cities-attractions/shiraz-attractions/

The people of Shiraz are famous for their hospitality although I believe that it is not just the Shirazi people, but all the people of Iran like the tourists a lot. If you ask the travelers who have been to Iran as a backpacker or joined a group, they may have faced lots of invitations from the Iranian sides.

Shiraz is called the third main city of Iran after Tehran and Isfahan and many people believe that it is a very good city for living because it is not as big as Tehran while it is a modern city. The people of Shiraz are easy going and are fond of going to picnic even if the time is short and the nature place is so small. The green place makes them refresh and they gather together almost outside the city, sit on a small blanket, eat cookie, fruit, tea and seeds and talk about daily affairs, life high expenses, politics, cinema, the present series or films and their actors and actresses. One of the main characteristics of Iranians is saying something back of somebody else; it is more widespread among the Iranian women.

Shiraz is a nice city with less traffic in comparison to Tehran, but it does not mean that driving is easy in Shiraz. Some of its streets have always heavy traffic because of the underground railway project which has been under the construction for about 10 years. I think it has made the appearance of the city bad, but we should welcome the modern technology.

The most important highlighted site is Persepolis which is close to Shiraz. The tombs of poets Hafiz and Saadi are nice to see. Do not miss the Zandiyeh Complex, old Vakil bazaar. It is said that Shiraz is the third place for the Imams’ Mausoleum in Iran because of Shahe Cheraq Shrine, of course it is said by the government, but I think it is much cultural and historical than religious city. You can judge it yourself!

You can see Shahe  Cheraq from outside.

Nasirol Molk Mosque is also called Pink mosque because …. It is better to see it first.

Zinatol Molk House Narenjestan Palace, Erma botany Garden, Afif Abad Garden,Jahan Nama Garden,  Khajou Kermani, and are among the other highlighted places to see when you travel to Shiraz.

Pasargadae is about 2 hours’ driving far from Shiraz and it may be too pressed to be visited by Persepolis, Naqshe Rostam and Naqshe Rajab which are located close to each other.

Please follow me.

Tehran Attractions:
It can be said that Tehran is the city of main museums of Iran.  Also, The tourists can take a tour to some places like Darband, Darake, Ooshoum Fasham, Lavasan, Jamshidiyeh Park (Rock Park), etc that are all nice places to relax and have nature tours.

Do not miss Tehran great bazaar which is so interesting even for the Iranians. You will see the actual attempt of the sellers who make money even in a space of 1* 1 meters, working and earning money makes meaning in this way. They are really hard working as the expenses in Tehran are more than other cities and the people have learned that they should work hard to survive or live comfortably.  The Tehran bazaar is closed at about 6 – 7 P.M.

In the evenings you can go to the theaters or music concerts (if available), also you can go to different parks like Jamshidiyeh Park or nice places like Darband or Darake.

NOT All the museums are open every day, some of them are closed on Mondays and some other ones have variable time table. Here is the recent museum time schedule that you can consider before going there:

About Tehran:

Tehran is the capital of Iran and close to 99% of passengers may have to or prefer to enter Iran by Tehran. Most of the international flights are landed in Tehran; therefore, at least a short visit will be done to the capital. It is nice to visit the metropolitan Tehran that has the most visitors by purpose or just by the chance.

One of the negative points about Tehran is its traffic and the long time that you may have to waste especially in rush hours. It may seem common as it is the 21st largest city in the world.

Follow the coming hints to escape the traffic:

Book the hotel that is located in the closest place to the museums and most highlighted places

Take a private car with the driver and also a tour guide, so the driver can park the car and you can go and have the excursions with the tour guide

Use the metro as a good public means of transportation even if you have a tour package

Know the rush hours and try to avoid being out if it is possible, but if it is inevitable, take it easy.

Weather of Tehran:

Tehran’s climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Alborz Mountains to its north and the central desert to the south. It can be generally described as mild in the spring, hot and dry in the summer, pleasant in the autumn, and cold in the winter. The weather is somehow dirty and smoky especially in the central and southern part of the city, so it is not recommended to stay in long period to those who suffer Asthma.

Ski Tours to Iran:

The main ski resorts of Iran are located close to Tehran city. Dizin, Toochal, Shemshak and Ab Ali are among the most famous and important ones. Dizin is the best and most standard ski resort in Iran and a lot of Iranians and foreign tourists enjoy skiing there.

Toochal is a famous ski resort in Iran and it has a lot of fans, especially Iranians. The working days of Toochal resort is from Tuesday to Fridays as the tele cabin just works in these days.

To enter the Toochal resort, you need to go to the first station. If you do not have any car, you can take a bus. After that, you can take the tele cabin to pass about 15 km. the last step is tele elevator. All of them are arranged by the Toochal Ski Resort.

For the daily visitors of the Toochal ski Resort, the entrance fee would be 20 USD for all the mentioned steps. The hotel guests do not need to pay the entrance fee.

There are other ski Resorts near Tehran and also Foolad kaf Ski Resort near Shiraz. To get more and updated information and also the ski tours to Iran, take a look at www.iranskiresort.com . It may be helpful to you.