Until further notice the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is only issuing pre-authorization to tourist visitors who have purchased their hotels through a Iranian tour operator and use a minimum of ground services (transfers, transportation, and guide)

Is this true?

For Americans and Canadians (I think), yes. For British, sometimes (depends on which agency you use), for other nationalities, no.

I am British and got my authorisation code through with no strings attached a week ago, through Iran Internet Visa Application. I would not reccommend you use them though, as they are beligerent and incompetent (I am still waiting for the guy to send the code to the correct embassy).

Basically, with agencies, the more you pay, the better chance you have of unrestricted travel, unless you are America / Canadian

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
Pictures Here|https://picasaweb.google.com/113619413612674951960

Dear group: I am trying to get from Europe to India and was hoping to do Turkey/Iran/Pakisan. I am a US citizen. Does anyone have any suggestions?

We went to the Iranian Embassy in Brussels and they were friendly and gave us the name of the tourist agency in Tehran who I have been in Email touch with.

Any other suggestions?

thanks,
kevin and clara
motomoments.blogspot.com

Try regime change (in the US, eh!)

Saddam had a problem with the UN weapons inspection team running around his country before the war - seems that the US loaded the team up with CIA agents, wanted unfettered access into every nook and cranny in Iraq. Not hard to understand his position on the matter.

Makes sense Iran doesn't want Americans with cameras running free around their country.

Blame Dubya for that.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

once it was like you say: on summer 2000, i had to struggle with the iranian foreign ministry, trhu the a.i.t.o. agency in tehran. they ask for purpose,place of entry, date in, planned route, hotels booking, date out. i said i'm with a bike (american...) i cannot plan distancies, cities, and all the rest. so i've booked a couple of hotels, in tabriz and tehran, then i did it on my own. i had
to send fax, and have a lot of phone calls with the agency down there, and finally, after just 40 days, the visa was on my passport.
this time things were running more faster. went to the consulate in milan (italy) asking 4 visa, without any booking or what else, and got the visa in 7 days only. but i'm italian...
i also agree whit who say try 2 regime change (in us like in iran too) people down there can't standing no more.

Try iranianvisa.com.

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Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

stantours.com also doe Iranian LOI's and does a great job...

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2006-2007-2008 : Brussels - Cape town - Tokio - Lubumbashi - Brussels

http://www.radiobaobab.be

Don't use iranianvisas.com (which is affiliated with StanTours.) They promised 10 days for US passports. I paid and gave them 2 months followed by weeks of constant emails and phone calls to Tehran. In the end, I got no visa and no refund. I understand that others had good results with them, so use caution.

I am British and use IranianVisa.com with success. it took the three weeks they said it would to get my authorization number and assuming the visa is waiting for me in Istanbul I would say they were fine.

I used IranianVisa.com (I'm Canadian) and I've been hit with delays and excuses. They promised a wait time of 7 - 10 days (on August 3, 2007). Well, now I'm stuck in Istanbul while the "final steps" are completed (October 25). That said, the consulate did acknowledge that they have my application on file (courtesy of IranianVisa.com) and that they do expect the application to go through either tomorrow (Friday) or the next working day (Tuesday... it's a holiday out here!) Sigh. But I'm running out of money and patience in Turkey. Of course, if the application does go through (and I'm hopeful once again) that will mean access to Iran without a guide or itinerary... and I'm Canadian!

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Jeremy Kroeker
www.MotorcycleTherapy.com

Hi
Well it could well be true but how you can verify that !!
i Guess the best way is to contact a few travel agencies in iran and ask them the same question.
Ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) is a very peculiar organization . Some times they pick on this and that nationalities and other times they pick on certain category of visa.
And guess what , they change their policies like everyday.
So if i were you i would contact a few other travel companies in Iran to make sure that story is true. Besides you might want to contact the Iranian Embassy or consulates in turkey. they have website and email:
in Ankara you can reach them by iranembassy_ankara@hotmail.com and their number is (+90-312) 4682821.

for iranian embassy in pakistan i have a number which is (+92) 2276270, 2276272

Anyway dont give up.

one last thing for the rest of Yall. the canadian nationals have no more than 50% chance to get their visa. i dont know why but that is what i see and know.
When you are apply for a visa , dont pay in advance and dont get stuck with only one agency. try to apply for your visa concurrently at least through 2 to 3 travel agencies. they charge you about 50 bucks for the visa . But that is just the money they get for their part of paperwork. you got to remember that when you go up to embassy to pick up your visa , you have to pay a consular fee which again is different based on the applicants nationalities.
for the consular fees you might want to check thi link:
Iran Visa, Iran information, Iran Visa vacations, Iran Visa tourism, Iran Visa hotels, deals, travel places to stay, visitors guide, advice recommendation, map, pictures, information, reviews, airport, weather, things to do, attractions, tours

Yall have a fun ride

I agree with the advice to try several agencies at once... especially if you're Canadian! IranianVisa.com dropped the ball on me and I had to skip Iran all together. Technically, I got my approval number, so, technically, I got approved. However, the paperwork never got faxed to Istanbul (the ol' "it's in the mail" routine rears its ugly head). i may try again. However, it's winter now, I'm in Lebanon, and riding south looks like a much better option (not to mention I'm nearly out of money... and tired of dealing with the "axis of irritation.")

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Jeremy Kroeker
www.MotorcycleTherapy.com

Iran DOES issue overland tourist visas. Just got mine yesterday by DHL from Vienna.

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Even the temporarily worst things in life are good for something on a long run.

Don't dream your life. Live your dreams.

www.desertsoul.com

I just got my visa for Iran! I applied on August 3 and collected it on December 6... fantastic timing for an overland motorcycle ride through the snow capped mountains! Sigh. Anyway, I can't go with my bike due to weather conditions and timing, but I did actually collect my visa without a tour, etc. (I'm still Canadian... and Iran just kicked our Ambassador out of the country a few days ago.)

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Jeremy Kroeker
www.MotorcycleTherapy.com

Congrats Jeremy...I can't aimagine how much longer I'd have to wait as an American!
Enjoy your time in Iran as you've definitely earned it!

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com