Iranian Visa at The Border???
 

Okay.... weve all heard it before but a few Hubbsters reckon that you might just get a visa at the border, which lets face it is wonderful........But is it true??? and not just hearsay.

We are 2 Brits 4x4ing back from Nepal and the only cloud seems to be hanging over Iran.
:eek3:
We have applied for a visa through an agency and we sit and wait and wait and wait. Has anyone tried to get a transit visa??? is it easier as i beileve once you are in Iran you can extend it..coolhuh

cheers Tim

Iran visa
 

Hi
We also had same problem in India waiting for visa that in the end was rejected. Heard the same about visa availible at border but having spent numerous hours on phone to different iranian/british embassys no one could comfirm.
However there was a post here before saying that if you have previously been issued a visa for iran then the embassy in islamabad will automatically issue a return one without refering to Tehran - again this is not from first hand experience but may be worth investigating.

www.key2persia.com
 

May be you have heard about www.key2persia.com
You can order your visa online and get it at the border. I haven't done it but I have heard good words from many people.

I used key2persia and they were very good, however we did not pick the visa up at the border, we got it from an embassy. We went to see them in Shiraz while we were there and they are a very friendly bunch. Give them a call.

steve

Hi Tim

Further to all the other comments if you are applying for an Iranian visa of any type you always have the option to pick it up from a nominated Iranian embassy or consulate anywhere - I guess for you guys Lahore or Delhi (or maybe Quetta?) would be pretty useful. This could be a better option than riding all the way to the Pakistan / Iran border as it is a fairly uncool place to hang out for more than a day. You only need to nominate where you want to pick it up once the clearance for the visa has been granted and issuing should in theory be same day as you turn up with your passport. This option should be available to those applying without an agent but in practice communication with the Iranian authoritıes can be pretty difficult unless you've got a good contact!

I shouldn't stress too much if it takes a long time to get clearance - 6 weeks is pretty typical for Brits. I think all the stuff about visa at the border without prior application is a misunderstanding from the fact that most nationalitıes can now in theory get a visa on arrival at airport customs (except for Brits and Yanks!).

Been toing and froing from Iran quite a bit in the last couple of years for work so have tried to keep on top of what goes on Iranian vısa-wise..

Hope that helps. Cheers

Richard

In light of the UNSC resolution imposing sanctions on Iran, visa processing times are likely to be MUCH longer. Perhaps even impossible for some nationalities.

Here's what I was told and did to get an Iranian visa:

- File the regular paperwork at an Iranian consulate or embassy.
They will tell you it takes 10 or 14 business days to process.
- Wait a few days, then call your embassy (British?) in Tehran
- Tell them you applied for a visa at embassy x and ask them to call the central clearing office in Tehran. They can call that clearing place and ask for your visa to be approved. If the request comes from an embassy in Tehran, the process is very fast.
- Get you visa the next day or so at the place you requested it from.

I did this when I was in Damascus last summer. It was actually the Iranian embassy in Damascus who told me about this. I could not get a visa on a Canadian passport, so I tried my Belgian passport. I contacted the Belgium embassy in Damascus, they called the embassy in Tehran and in a few hours it was cleared. I picked it up the next day.

The visa-at-the-border rumour was started by an article posted online by AFP. I searched high and low and no other news service reported it. As far as I know it never materialised.

I contacted keytopersia and strangely, they told me they only organise tours. Others have recommended iranianvisa.com. Your mileage may vary...

I applied in Istanbul, was told it takes 14 days, took two days longer in the end, but I picked it up in Ankara. For some reason they wouldn't let me pick it up in Erzurum.

Transit visas are easier to get, but CANNOT be extended any more.

Dear travellers!

Yes we heard the rumours as well, also from agencies who work in Iran!!
That is now 1 year ago!
But who knows, it looks like nobody tried that !!

Anyway, usually you can not extend a transit visa, but we did!
In Esfahan!
But like everything in that region, you can never be sure!!!!

But if you have doubts to go to Iran, forget these doubts!!
Go there!!
It was one of our favourite countries on our worldtrip!!

Just to confirm the information BMW.Bec referred to:

Got an Iranian visa within one businessday in Islamabad after I showed them my old visa. I am German citizen, but according to the consul the important thing for them is that you have been cleared for a visa already. Therefore it does not matter whether you produce a visa which has been used or not or if it is in an old passport. I was even told (not sure if by the consul) that even a visa in an expired passport will do) Apparantly it is just a question of sending your application to Teheran or not.

However, some swiss guys who applied about the same time than I was were told to make an essay about their earlier visit, what their impression of the country is etc...

Lars

Thanks
 

Hi chaps thanks for the help on our visa thing. we had an agency apply for us and hey presto 10 days later ... we have our reference number....happy days:clap:

how many days???
and where did you get it??

booked iternari
 

did you get your visas without a complete reservation and booking of all the hotels in iran ? I am currently trying to convince my agent in iran that i just dont want to plan that exact now. I was told by a traveller I met, that it is not possible to get visa without exact hotel reservations. What is your experience fellow travellers ?

Provide a number of plausibel hotels (do some internet research), give them the list and the itenary. Then argue you don't want to book until you are sure you can go. Once in Iran, do you own thing. Pad the timing so that you get the max (30 days) on your visa. If you are on a Canadian passport, you can't get an Iranian visa.

I applied for my first visa in about October in Istanbul and specified to collect it in Ankara. Took about two weeks.

For the second visa I applied in Dubai and was asked whether I wanted it in 3 days or one day (double the price)! Very efficient there.

I got 1-month tourist visas on a German passport.

However, see my warning about Pak visas elsewhere. Impossible to obtain in Ankara for e.g. German, Belgian and Italian passport holders, as their embassies refuse to issue letters of non-objection, demanded by Pak. Get Pak visas at home, if necessary get a 2nd passport before leaving. Similar story in the East.