Iranian visa for Americans, Canadians and British

Visa for Americans, Canadians and British

Americans, Canadians and British passport holders cannot get an Iranian visa on their arrival and they have to get their visas from the embassy. However, there is a catch!

There is no Iranian embassy in the US and the Iranian embassies in Canada and the UK have been closed down. First off, it is noteworthy that these nationalities cannot travel independently to Iran and they must plan their trip with a certified travel agency based in Iran. Come2Persia Travel Company is eligible to arrange it for you. 

 Planning a trip entails booking a tour package upon which the visa application process will be carried out. Another important thing to mention is that the travelers from these countries have to be accompanied by a certified tour guide throughout their trip to Iran. It is crucial to take into account that getting the Iranian visa is time consuming and we recommend that you make your travel arrangements at least three months in advance.

All travel arrangements including accommodation, internal transportation, guide and driver must be determined prior to applying for the visa and the itinerary must be submitted along with the visa application. No deviation from the submitted itinerary is allowed. That being said, there are two steps to get an Iranian visa.

Step 1: Getting the visa authorization number.  

The applicants should contact an Iranian travel agency and have them apply for an authorization number on their behalf from the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs. The visa authorization number acts as an approval for the visa application. In order to get that, they should email these documents to the travel agency:

• Filled out Iranian visa form
• A digital image of the first page of passport
• A digital personal photo
• A complete resume

In the other article, we have explained in details about the documents mentioned above. You can check it out here. One thing that is extra here is the resume. It must be in doc or pdf format, not too short, including the applicant's detailed current and previous education and work background.

After the documents have been emailed to the travel agency, they will submit the visa application and it takes 30 to 60 days for the agency to receive the authorization number and the patience is required. The good news is more than 95 % of the applications get approved by Iranian ministry of foreign affairs!

Note: It is best not to have purchased the flight ticket until the applicants have received the visa authorization code.

Step 2: Presenting or mailing the documents to the embassy.

 Having the authorization code, the applicants should contact the embassy and keep in touch until the last stage. The documents that they should send to the embassy are:

• Passport
• Visa authorization code which will be emailed to them by the agency
• Two passport photos per person traveling
• Payment (cash only)
• Return envelope
• Completed signed copy of visa application form

Visa Fees:

The visa fee for the US citizens is 120$ USD and they can add 40$ USD to expedite the process if necessary. For the Canadians, it also costs 120$ USD including the mailing fees, but if they take the documents to the embassy in person, it will cost 90$ USD. The visa fee for the British people is 170 pounds.

Where to apply?

The nearest place for the Canadians and Americans to mail or present the documents, is the Iranian intersection of Pakistani embassy in Washington DC. They can mail the documents by DHL or FedEx companies with a prepaid return envelope. However, in case of the British people, there is an Iranian consulate in London. Currently the London consulate requires the applicants to go in person and present the documents.

Note: All the three nationalities can present their documents to any Iranian embassy around the globe and they can pick up their hard copy visa from there. For example, some applicants go through this part of the process while traveling through Turkey or the UAE.

How long does it take to receive the visa?

There is a certain period of time after presenting or mailing the documents which the applicants will receive their visas. Normally the visa for the British citizens will be mailed in 7 to 10 days and for the Canadians it typically takes 2 to 3 weeks to process and arrive in the mailbox again and for the Americans it takes a week or so.

Note: If by any chance the applicants are visiting or residing in Washington DC, there is a possibility to drop off the passport and after 4 days the visa will be fully processed and the passport can be returned to them.

Note: Please note that all information provided is correct at the time of writing this article to the best of our knowledge. However, we recommend the travelers to contact their local embassy or consulate to confirm it.