How to get a tourist visa for Iran September 11, 2019 How to get a tourist visa for Iran UK, USA & Canadians All other nationalities How to get a tourist visa for Iran UK, USA & Canadians All other nationalities Getting a tourist visa for Iran is not as daunting as it may seem, depending on where you are from….There are a few countries that do not need a visa at all, most nationalities can get a visa on arrival and then there are a few nationalities where they will need a tour group sponsorship (which Social Cycles can offer if you book with us). Americans, Canadians and British passport holders It’s not impossible to get a tourist visa for Iran if you hold one of the above passports. But it’s not entirely easy either.If you’re travelling with Social Cycles…The US, the UK, Canada, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Somalia and Pakistan. All passport holders from these countries will need to get a visa prior to entering Iran. We can assist with this by applying for a ‘pre authority grant’ to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran on your behalf. The process is as follows, and can take up to four months.Four months prior to travel- you will need to fill out the Social Cycles Iranian Visa application form. This is for internal purposes as we will take this information, translate it to Farsi and submit it to the MFA for you. Supporting documents for this application include:A copy of EVERY page of your passport, including blank pages.A passport style photograph (digital is acceptable)A resume, detailing all jobs you have had for the last ten years, including names of employers and contacts. If you have not worked for more than ten years, you will still need to outline your career.Screenshot of your your social media accounts profile pages (including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and any other active accounts)Once you have this information and have submitted it, we will apply for the visa authority for you. This service comes with a fee, that is added to your Social Cycles invoice (US$120). This is not the cost of the visa, just the agency fee for application. Once the authority is granted, you will receive a letter from the MFA. Then, you must take this letter, along with your passport and passport photo (physical copy) to your embassy and apply for your visa. If you are from the UK, there is an embassy in London. If you are from USA, you can use the Pakistan embassy and if you are from Canada, you can apply through the Oman embassy. The prices vary for the visa, depending on what passport you have. Expect it to be close to US$200. This process can take a couple of weeks, even though you have the pre-authority grant notice, so allow plenty of time. If you’re travelling independently…If you have an American, British or Canadian passport, you cannot obtain a visa for Iran without the aid of a tour agency. The tour group itself has to have a licensed guide to be with you at all times. It cannot be any tour guide, it has to be a tour guide that is approved from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to travel with you. In addition, you cannot book a short tour in Iran to get inside the country, then spend an extra week travelling solo. Your travel agency will be responsible for your entire stay in Iran and will therefore ensure you have the appropriate guide with you at all times. If you see an online agency that can apply for your visa on your behalf, but it is not part of a tour, it is highly likely that you will pay the fees and the visa grant will just never come. If you’re not travelling with Social Cycles, ensure you are travelling with a responsible and reputable tour operator. Intrepid travel are worth mentioning as reputable in this regard. Aussies, Kiwis, Europeans and all other passport holders There are many countries that qualify for a visa on arrival. These include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, EU passport holders and just about everybody else. However, we strongly recommend that you apply for the pre authority visa grant.Remember that Iran is a cash only country for international travellers. Due to the economic sanctions, all credit/debit cards cannot be accepted and you have to bring enough cash into the country for your entire stay. See this page for more information about those details. The price of a visa for Australians at the time of writing this is US$180 for 30 days.What is a pre-authority visa grant?This is a document to bring to the airport that informs the immigration control that you have been approved for a tourist visa. It speeds up your time at the airport and ensures there are no complications. Although I have personally been to Iran a few times without it and not needed it, I have heard of other travellers who have been questioned and had to rely on phone calls to hotels to confirm their stay. In short, it’s not worth travelling without one.If you’re travelling with Social Cycles… With your Social Cycles booking, we’ll include it for no extra charge and the process is not very complicated. Social Cycles will send you a form to fill out (online) that doubles as your rider registration form and your visa application. We will then translate the required information to Farsi and send it off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran for approval. Once this is received, we will send you the letter. Take this letter with you on arrival at the airport, along with a print out of your travel insurance and you’ll have no problems. If you’re travelling independently…There are a number of online visa agencies that can carry out this service for you online. It can cost about US$75 for this (not the visa itself, just the pre-authority grant service). If you’re not travelling with Social Cycles, we cannot carry out this service for you but no doubt you can find something online. Do some review checks first. You can always take the risk and arrive without a visa grant. Send me the Iran itinerary Name Email Please send me the itinerary! Your privacy is safe. We do not use emails for spam. Share this adventure Share on facebook Facebook Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Share on google Google+ Share on stumbleupon StumbleUpon Share on email Email Got a question? Get in touch Name Email Message Send Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on whatsapp Share on email More information on Iran... Iran Cycling Information April 2018: Iran- child safety Iran Cycle Tour Review Brett Seychell +61 479 108 222 [email protected] Hub, 696 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 about us How we started Our purpose Your donations Responsible travel Meet the team NGO partners Private adventures Corporate teams Self guided destnations Cambodia Laos Iran Samoa Vietnam Mongolia Colombia connect Name Email Let's stay in touch Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube responsibletravel recommends Social Cycles Brett Seychell +61 479 108 222 [email protected] Hub, 696 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 connect Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Name Email Let's stay in touch!
How to get a tourist visa for Iran October 29, 2018 How to get a tourist visa for Iran UK, USA & Canadians All other nationalities How to get a tourist visa for Iran UK, USA & Canadians All other nationalities Getting a tourist visa for Iran is not as daunting as it may seem, depending on where you are from….There are a few countries that do not need a visa at all, most nationalities can get a visa on arrival and then there are a few nationalities where they will need a tour group sponsorship (which Social Cycles can offer if you book with us). Americans, Canadians and British passport holders It’s not impossible to get a tourist visa for Iran if you hold one of the above passports. But it’s not entirely easy either.If you’re travelling with Social Cycles…The US, the UK, Canada, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Somalia and Pakistan. All passport holders from these countries will need to get a visa prior to entering Iran. We can assist with this by applying for a ‘pre authority grant’ to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran on your behalf. The process is as follows, and can take up to four months.Four months prior to travel- you will need to fill out the Social Cycles Iranian Visa application form. This is for internal purposes as we will take this information, translate it to Farsi and submit it to the MFA for you. Supporting documents for this application include:A copy of EVERY page of your passport, including blank pages.A passport style photograph (digital is acceptable)A resume, detailing all jobs you have had for the last ten years, including names of employers and contacts. If you have not worked for more than ten years, you will still need to outline your career.Screenshot of your your social media accounts profile pages (including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and any other active accounts)Once you have this information and have submitted it, we will apply for the visa authority for you. This service comes with a fee, that is added to your Social Cycles invoice (US$120). This is not the cost of the visa, just the agency fee for application. Once the authority is granted, you will receive a letter from the MFA. Then, you must take this letter, along with your passport and passport photo (physical copy) to your embassy and apply for your visa. If you are from the UK, there is an embassy in London. If you are from USA, you can use the Pakistan embassy and if you are from Canada, you can apply through the Oman embassy. The prices vary for the visa, depending on what passport you have. Expect it to be close to US$200. This process can take a couple of weeks, even though you have the pre-authority grant notice, so allow plenty of time. If you’re travelling independently…If you have an American, British or Canadian passport, you cannot obtain a visa for Iran without the aid of a tour agency. The tour group itself has to have a licensed guide to be with you at all times. It cannot be any tour guide, it has to be a tour guide that is approved from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to travel with you. In addition, you cannot book a short tour in Iran to get inside the country, then spend an extra week travelling solo. Your travel agency will be responsible for your entire stay in Iran and will therefore ensure you have the appropriate guide with you at all times. If you see an online agency that can apply for your visa on your behalf, but it is not part of a tour, it is highly likely that you will pay the fees and the visa grant will just never come. If you’re not travelling with Social Cycles, ensure you are travelling with a responsible and reputable tour operator. Intrepid travel are worth mentioning as reputable in this regard. Aussies, Kiwis, Europeans and all other passport holders There are many countries that qualify for a visa on arrival. These include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, EU passport holders and just about everybody else. However, we strongly recommend that you apply for the pre authority visa grant.Remember that Iran is a cash only country for international travellers. Due to the economic sanctions, all credit/debit cards cannot be accepted and you have to bring enough cash into the country for your entire stay. See this page for more information about those details. The price of a visa for Australians at the time of writing this is US$180 for 30 days.What is a pre-authority visa grant?This is a document to bring to the airport that informs the immigration control that you have been approved for a tourist visa. It speeds up your time at the airport and ensures there are no complications. Although I have personally been to Iran a few times without it and not needed it, I have heard of other travellers who have been questioned and had to rely on phone calls to hotels to confirm their stay. In short, it’s not worth travelling without one.If you’re travelling with Social Cycles… With your Social Cycles booking, we’ll include it for no extra charge and the process is not very complicated. Social Cycles will send you a form to fill out (online) that doubles as your rider registration form and your visa application. We will then translate the required information to Farsi and send it off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran for approval. Once this is received, we will send you the letter. Take this letter with you on arrival at the airport, along with a print out of your travel insurance and you’ll have no problems. If you’re travelling independently…There are a number of online visa agencies that can carry out this service for you online. It can cost about US$75 for this (not the visa itself, just the pre-authority grant service). If you’re not travelling with Social Cycles, we cannot carry out this service for you but no doubt you can find something online. Do some review checks first. You can always take the risk and arrive without a visa grant. Send me the Iran itinerary Name Email Please send me the itinerary! Your privacy is safe. We do not use emails for spam. Share this adventure Share on facebook Facebook Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Share on google Google+ Share on stumbleupon StumbleUpon Share on email Email Got a question? Get in touch Name Email Message Send Share on facebook Share on google Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on whatsapp Share on email More information on Iran... Iran Cycling Information April 2018: Iran- child safety Iran Cycle Tour Review Brett Seychell +61 479 108 222 [email protected] Hub, 696 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 about us How we started Our purpose Your donations Responsible travel Meet the team NGO partners Private adventures Corporate teams Self guided destnations Cambodia Laos Iran Samoa Vietnam Mongolia Colombia connect Name Email Let's stay in touch Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube responsibletravel recommends Social Cycles Brett Seychell +61 479 108 222 [email protected] Hub, 696 Bourke St, Melbourne 3000 connect Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Name Email Let's stay in touch!