Iran tourist visa: who needs one, fees and how to apply online

The MFA e-visa portal lists three groups that do not follow the normal visa procedure. Citizens of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Syria, Georgia, Armenia, Egypt, China, Iraq, Oman and Kazakhstan travel under visa waiver rules. Nationals of Lebanon, Venezuela and Malaysia receive their entry permit at designated entry points.

Ordinary passport holders of 27 further countries, among them the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belarus, may stay up to 15 days for tourism once every six months; this period cannot be extended. Everyone else needs a B tourist visa, or a C pilgrimage visa for Muslim visitors to Iran's holy places. The portal also warns that citizens of some countries are not issued visas for political or diplomatic reasons and must ask their local Iranian embassy.

The B visa is the general visa for travel for tourism. The C visa is meant for Muslim travellers whose purpose is pilgrimage to holy places in Iran. For both, the MFA lists the online application and a possible interview at the consulate as the requirements; a consular officer decides which visa type you are finally given.

Tourism does not include paid activity, studies, medical treatment or journalism. These purposes have their own visa categories (F work, E education, T medical, H media) and need a prior approval from an Iranian authority or institution before you file the application.

Iran does not publish one worldwide fee list; each mission charges according to the applicant's nationality. As an example, the embassy in Berlin lists for German passport holders EUR 50 for a single-entry tourist visa (EUR 75 urgent) and EUR 75 for a double-entry one (EUR 100 urgent), each labelled 90 days, plus EUR 10 travel insurance. Afghan passport holders and holders of refugee travel documents pay EUR 80 and EUR 120 at the same embassy.

Some missions route tourist applications through registered agencies. In Berlin the embassy caps the agency charge at EUR 20 per person (plus EUR 5 postage), says agency applications are normally ready within 10 to 12 days, and allows an urgent visa within 72 hours for 50% more. The online form also has a "Tourist (Urgent)" option. Visas issued on arrival at an airport are paid in euros at bank terminals there.

All visa types are filed on the MFA e-visa portal. The form asks for your passport details, previous Iranian visas, home address, education and work history and the mission or airport where you want to receive the visa; answers must be in English letters without accents. After you submit, a code is emailed to you and must be entered within three days, otherwise the application expires.

The confirmation page carries a barcode and tracking code. Status changes are emailed, and the portal says the review normally finishes within 10 business days unless you are called for an interview. With approval you take your passport to the chosen mission, or use the grant notice at an airport visa counter.

The 15-day waiver for the 27 listed countries cannot be extended. Holders of a tourist visa should leave within the period printed on the visa; the MFA portal does not describe an extension procedure. Waiver holders must likewise leave before their waiver period ends.