Iran Visa Guide
I’ve had people getting in touch over the last week asking what the process to get a visa for Iran is.
As such, I’m hoping the following is useful.
For Iran, if you have a UK/US/canadian passport you are not allowed to freely roam Iran. As such, you need to be chaperoned by a guide for the duration of your stay in Iran. Also keep in mind that for the Iranian visa, you will most likely need to apply in person at an embassy. The nearest to the UK is Dublin, Berlin or Hague.
Thus, to get a visa:
1. Find a guide, organise a route/itinerary
2. Decide where you will pick your visa up from (i.e. which embassy)
3. The guide’s travel agency (approved by the Iranian Govt) writes a letter of invitation (LOI). They then bring to the ministry of tourism in Iran and get an authorization code.
4. the ministry sends the stamped/certified letter to the embassy you decided in step 2 (there’s a space for this on the guide’s forms usually). You get the code.
5. once the embassy gets letter, you can go and apply for your visa (max 3 months before), quoting your authorization code. They dig out the letter, stamp the visa in your passport, and you’re ok to enter Iran
(the stamping can usually be done same-day for an additional fee)
Given the cost of having a guide (around: $100 per day + $250 for the guide to travel to/from the borders + $50 per twin hotel room per night + 20% agency fees), it’s suggested to team up and go with as many people as you can. If you’re on the Mongol Rally 2015 and are looking for a convoy, drop me a message.
The guides generally need the following to process the LOI:
* Scan of passport of every team member
* Filled out application form
* V5/car registration document (maybe avoidable)
If this post has been useful, please consider donating to our charity fundraiser:
http://www.coolearth.org/412/fundraising-for-ashaninka
