Getting an Iran tourist visa might sound a bit complicated, especially for citizens of Canada, the United Kingdom, and also America. Many Americans, British, and Canadian citizens are interested in traveling to Iran. They are curious about Iranian history, culture, and nature. They’ve also heard about Iranian hospitality and their way of life. Iranians are also keen to have more cultural interactions with citizens of other countries, in order to eliminate assumptions that foreigners might have.
Unfortunately, the political relationship between these countries has made the process of getting a visa in need of more time. But, it IS legal and POSSIBLE for American, British, and Canadian citizens to enter Iran.
The Process of Getting an Iran Tourist Visa
In order to get your Iran tourist visa in advance, you will have to first get a code which, basically, is a letter of invitation from a tour operator. Once you have this code, you will be able to collect your visa on arrival. But for the American, British, and Canadian citizens the process is a little different because there are many variables and a couple of exceptions to take into account. However, the government is trying to make the Iran visa policy easier and facilitate the process for many nationalities especially Canadians, Americans, and the British. And they’ve been successful!
Travelers usually wonder: “IS it possible for American, British, or Canadian citizens to get Iran Visa?” and “How Americans, British and Canadian can get the Iran Visa?”
Our answer as “To Iran Tour” tour operator is a big YES. It is possible to apply and get a visa, but it takes more time. Also, these nationals should have an organized tour with a tour operator that is based in Iran. Have in mind that not all the Iran-based tour operators have the authorization to apply for Iran tourist visas for these nationalities. “To Iran Tour” is one of these tour operators that can apply for an Iran visa.
In the following, we have explained the documents, requirements, and processes required for the US, UK, and Canadian citizens to apply for an Iran tourist visa
To begin the process of Iran visa application by To Iran Tour, we first need the required documents including:
Your personal photo must be ….
which may require to provide information about your current and previous education and work history
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months
Fill out the personal information form or download the form.
You have two options here, you can either email all these documents to us, or in the personal information form you can easily upload the requested documents and our team will get in touch with you shortly!
1. It is a common belief that in the absence of private hosting, all these 3 nationalities need to book their tours via a tour operator. Please be mindful that your tour must be an organized tour, meaning, a qualified local guide must accompany your tours.
2. You must adhere to the itinerary that you agree prior to your visa application and is submitted to the Iranian Foreign Ministry (evisa). No changes are allowed once the visa is issued. However, you may wish to omit some places mentioned in your approved itinerary but cannot materially alter and add new places.
3. Your accommodation throughout your stay in Iran must be public and approved accommodation. Therefore, staying overnight in private accommodations such as your friend’s house is not permitted.
The process of receiving an Iran visa for American, British, and Canadian citizens will be a bit longer due to security checks. Usually, it takes 45-60 days according to low/ high seasons. In the following, you can find the detailed process of getting an Iran visa step by step:
Step 1: Sending the documents required by the applicant to “To Iran Tour”, based on what was already mentioned.
Step 2: To Iran Tour will send the application to Iran foreign ministry, after translating the applicant’s resume (CV), completing the required forms, and preparing documents. This process will take between 2-4 working days, assuming the applicant’s documentation is complete.
Step 3: Iran’s Foreign Ministry REJECT or ACCEPT the applicant’s visa requests based on the results of the security checks. If the application REJECTS, at this stage, the visa process will be terminated. While the applicant visa gets ACCEPTED, they will notify the “To Iran Tour” and provide a special reference code (Visa Grant Notice). This step will take 21-45 working days.
Step 4: For American and Canadian citizens, if and when the Visa Grant Notice is issued, the applicant needs to follow the instruction in the attached Form 101 of the Interest Section of I.R. Iran in Washington DC to do the visa endorsement. For British passport holders, if and when the Visa Grant Notice is issued, he/she needs to follow the Visa Grant Notice instructions in order to endorse his/her passport with the visa in Iran Embassy in London, UK.
Step 5: Welcome to Iran from “To Iran Tour”.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us and our travel expert will get in touch with you shortly. Please also call us or email us before visiting to make sure that you will be served with our best services.