Want to visit Iran but don't know where to start? Rumours abound about how complicated it is to get an Iranian visa, putting off travellers and tourists alike.
Head spinning from terms like embassy, LOI, VOA, travel insurance and paperwork? The Iran visa isn't the simplest to sort out, but it's not a lottery either. Once you understand how it works, you'll have no trouble getting it yourself — without using an agency — and you'll save both time and money.
This is the guide I wish I'd had: how the visa actually works, exactly what to bring, how to get the Letter of Invitation, and the things you must never say at the border. We sorted ours overland and then cycled across Iran for three months, so everything here comes from doing it the slow way.
Iran visa conditions
Once you have your visa, you have 90 days to enter Iran. A tourist visa is valid for 30 days inside the country from your date of entry. So if you applied on 1 January and entered Iran at the end of April — when your visa would be close to expiry — you'd still get a full 30 days inside the country.
To calculate the total cost, you need to factor in the visa fee itself (around €50, depending on the embassy and whether you need it urgently) and the cost of the letter of invitation (roughly €20–35, depending on the agency and any promotions running at the time). So the total real cost of the visa works out at around €80 for one month in Iran.
What do you need to get the Iran visa?
First, find the Iranian embassy where you want to apply. We did ours at the Iranian embassy in Yerevan (Armenia), but almost any other consulate will do.
Conditions can vary from one embassy to another, but in general these are the requirements:
- A valid passport with more than 6 months' validity and no trace of travel to Israel. Bear in mind that if your passport has stamps from border crossings near Israel — such as those of Egypt or Jordan — this could be grounds for rejection. If so, apply for a second passport to avoid problems both with the visa application and at the border.
- Passport-sized photos. Some countries are stricter about size, but I've been using the same photos I printed at home over five years ago and never had an issue. Depending on the embassy, you may be asked for between 1 and 3. Women must cover their hair and neck in the photo — as they must on entering Iran — with a headscarf, in the Iranian hijab style.
- Around €50 in cash, paid into the bank the embassy directs you to. This amount can vary, and at some embassies you can pay extra to speed things up (between €20 and €30 more for the express process, depending on the embassy).
- A letter of invitation, also called a Letter of Invitation or LOI. Don't worry — I'll explain below.
- Proof of travel insurance. Any will do. Real (or not). Some embassies will ask for travel insurance when you apply, but not all. It's a formality they don't really check — so Photoshop isn't entirely out of the question. If you have paperwork for insurance linked to a bank card, those documents work fine, especially if you're applying outside Spain and the paperwork is in Spanish. If you genuinely want proper cover — and for a long overland trip you really should — personally I'd recommend AVI travel insurance. I weighed up the whole question in should I get travel insurance?.
- Fill in a form. The embassy will give you one to complete with your personal details and an itinerary that doesn't need to be real — just list some tourist cities and a random hotel in each one. Tourist visas are up to 30 days, so put in dates covering a full 30-day period to make sure you get the maximum; some embassies have been known to issue shorter visas when the dates weren't specified.
Under normal circumstances that's all they'll ask you for, though in some cases they may also ask for proof of a flight. You can simply say you're travelling by bus overland. Whatever you do, don't mention you're going by bicycle (or on foot) — that's likely to get your visa refused.
Don't worry though — once you've got the visa stamped in your passport, you can cross the border on a tricycle, or hop on one leg if you fancy.
Letter of Invitation for Iran (LOI)
This is a document confirming that Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved your entry into the country. The only way to get one is through an agency — it's not possible to arrange it through a private individual.
It is now essential when applying for a visa at an Iranian embassy. A few months ago there were embassies where you could get an Iran visa without an LOI, but since last spring, embassies like the one in Trabzon, Turkey, stopped doing this and now require a Letter of Invitation from everyone applying for an Iran visa.
There are many agencies offering this service, and plenty of scammers too. The only agencies I'd recommend are Key2Persia or Touran Zamin. The cost varies but is around €30. They sometimes run temporary promotions at reduced prices (we used Key2Persia for €22.50).
They all work in a similar way: contact them by email or through their website form, and they'll reply with payment details — typically a bank transfer to an account in Germany or another EU country.
If you use a bank that offers free EU transfers, you'll avoid additional charges. Once payment is received they'll start processing the LOI, and within up to 10 days — in our case it was 5 — you'll receive an email with the letter and a reference code, which is all you'll need to show at the embassy; they'll receive a fax from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the letter. Inshallah.
Once you have the email you can head to the embassy, where in some cases they may take a day or two to receive — or locate — your letter of invitation, before starting to process your visa.
Things to keep in mind
Never, NEVER say you're travelling to Iran in your own vehicle, by bicycle, on foot, or by any other alternative means of transport. Your visa won't state the mode of transport, so you can say whatever you like (plane or bus), but don't mention any other form of transport when applying for either the LOI or the visa at the embassy.
If you're going "by bus" you don't need to fill in the fields about airports and flight numbers.
Remember that women must have their hair and neck covered in the photos. You don't need an Iranian headscarf — any headscarf, a scarf, a buff or even a bandana will do. But all photos submitted must show hair and neck covered.
When filling in your itinerary, include tourist destinations like Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz or Tehran. You'll fill it in first when applying for the LOI — copy it and use the same one when applying at the embassy and if asked at the border.
Avoid listing professions related to journalism, such as photographer. Housewife or student, on the other hand, are fine. Inshallah.
Visa on arrival at the airport
How are you getting to Iran? By land, sea or air? If you're flying and won't be staying more than 15 days, you can get your visa directly at the airport.
Also known as visa on arrival (VOA), this is the simplest and potentially cheapest option — though also the riskiest, since you won't have the certainty that your visa will be approved until you're actually at the airport in Iran. You wouldn't be the first person sent back on the next flight out.
The cost of the visa on arrival in Iran depends on your nationality but is generally the same as a 30-day tourist visa obtained at an embassy: €50.
Officially it's advisable to have a letter of invitation to get the visa on arrival, which reduces the risk of being turned away — though this risk is minimal and can't be eliminated entirely anyway. Personally, if I were going to take the risk with a visa on arrival, I wouldn't bother spending the money on an LOI.
Not all nationalities can get a visa on arrival at the airport. At the time of writing, nationals of the following countries can obtain this 15-day visa: Spain, Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam.
Extending your visa in Iran
Once you're in Iran it's possible to renew your visa — a relatively straightforward and inexpensive process. For under €10 you get another 30 days if you entered on a tourist visa, or another 15 days if you got your visa on arrival at the airport.
We renewed our visa twice, both times in Tehran near the Tehran Pars metro stop. The process takes place at the station for "Foreign Aliens" and costs around 350,000 rials (under €10 at the exchange rate).
Requirements to renew your Iranian visa:
- A photocopy of your passport and your visa.
- Fill in a form (any address will do — just put a random hotel if you're staying with friends).
- A photo.
- Pay at the bank they direct you to: around 350,000 rials.
Then wait — a few hours, a day, or several days, depending on where you're doing it, whether it's your first extension (which can be done the same day) or your second (which can take up to a week as it needs to be sent to Tehran).
They may tell you it'll take several days for the first renewal or a week for the second, but if you push, they'll generally process it faster. Inshallah.
Exceptions
If you're not planning to travel across Iran and just want to visit Kish Island, you don't need a visa as long as your stay doesn't exceed 14 days.
Some countries have special agreements with Iran and don't require a visa to enter. As well as several neighbouring countries, nationals of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Ecuador are also exempt.
If your passport is American or British, it's complicated — at least for now. It is possible to visit Iran, but only as part of an organised tour, not independently. There are rumours this will change in the coming months, but nothing confirmed yet.
Risks and fears
With the visa excuse out of the way, what's your next reason not to go to Iran?
Danger? Terrorists? Don't let anyone fill your head with that! Iran is one of the safest countries I've had the fortune to travel in, and one of the most hospitable — and I've been to more than fifty by now.
We spent two and a half months in Iran and the biggest risk was being constantly invited into people's homes — by strangers we met on the road, and then their friends and family afterwards. If you want a feel for the place beyond the paperwork, I put it all into pictures in cycling through Iran — a journey in photos, and the run-up to the border itself was an adventure of its own: the incredible border road between Iran and the Caucasus.
Persian hospitality is extraordinary, and I'd encourage everyone to visit before mass tourism takes hold and the country loses its authenticity.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Letter of Invitation (LOI) for the Iran visa?
For a visa applied for at an embassy, yes — these days an LOI is essentially required, and you can only get one through an agency, not a private person. The main exception is the airport visa on arrival, where an LOI is recommended to lower the chance of being turned away but isn't strictly mandatory for eligible nationalities.
Can I get an Iranian visa on arrival at the airport?
If you're flying in, staying no more than 15 days, and hold an eligible passport, yes — you can usually get the visa on arrival. It's the simplest and often cheapest route, but it's also the riskiest, because nothing is guaranteed until you're standing at the airport in Iran. If you're arriving overland, the visa on arrival isn't an option — sort it at an embassy first.
How long is the Iran tourist visa valid for?
A standard tourist visa gives you 30 days inside the country, counted from the day you actually enter — and you have a 90-day window from issue in which to make that entry. The airport visa on arrival is shorter, typically 15 days. Both can usually be extended once you're in the country.
Can I extend my Iran visa once I'm there?
Yes, and it's cheap and fairly painless. We extended ours twice in Tehran. A tourist-visa extension generally adds another 30 days; an airport visa-on-arrival extension adds around 15. First extensions are often same-day; second ones can take longer because they may be referred to Tehran.
Can US, UK or Canadian citizens visit Iran independently?
For American, British and Canadian passport holders it's much more restrictive: travel is generally only permitted as part of an organised, guided tour rather than independently. Rules here shift, so check the current situation before counting on anything.
Should I tell them I'm travelling by bicycle or on foot?
Absolutely not. Whether you're applying for the LOI, at the embassy, or being asked at the border, only ever say you're arriving by plane or bus. Mentioning a bicycle, motorbike, your own vehicle or walking is a classic way to get a visa refused. Once it's stamped in your passport, how you actually cross is your business.
Enjoy Iran! Inshallah!