The recent decision by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will make it easier for tourists to apply and obtain an e-visa to Iran. By executing this plan, the visa application process has become entirely electronic for travelers visiting Iran, approved Ali Asghar Munesan, Vice President of Iran and Head of Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, on December 12, 2018.
Already decided in early 2014, the e-visa plan was launched since August 2018 at some of the international airports of Iran, including Tehran International Airport. However, it was officially implemented in 110 airports of the world and all of the international airports of Iran since December 2018.
The head of the Iranian Tourism Organization believes that the recent measure improves the conditions of travel by facilitating the visa application and makes Iran a top destination for tourists.
What is E-Visa to Iran?
An electronic visa, in general, is one of the widely known e-tourism services in many countries. In fact, the countries providing visa services electronically to the tourists consider this service they have such indicators of development in their IT industry and e-governments.
The e-visa is presented at different levels in the world. Some countries offer the e-visa service just as a form sheet to collect the information of the applying tourists through the Internet, while others use it to make all the visa operations electronically. The e-visa to Iran is of the latter type.
When a traveler is planning for the trip through the Internet, he must also have the possibility to apply for a visa via the Internet. The process of visa issuing is not so difficult: the destination country receives the required information in electronic forms via the Internet and provides the necessary preconditions for issuing a visa. The costs can also be obtained through credit cards and Internet payments.
The only difference between ordinary and electronic visa is the impossibility to identify the applicants by passport and other identification methods. In this case, the visa issued must be delivered to the person in the destination point. Therefore, it is important to have the necessary structures at the entry point, such as airports, to provide the electronic visa for the tourists.
How Will You Obtain an Electronic Visa to Iran?
By this option, it is a lot more convenient for tourists to apply for the visa to Iran. They can use the e-visa application arrangement by the Internet. The new visa issuance system of Iran is fully in line with worldwide standards. The travelers can apply for the visa through the website of the MFA of Iran. All the processes will be done through the Internet and there is no need to follow it up by E-mail.
The tourist visa applicants can start the process in two ways:
- They submit the required documents to the website of the MFA if they travel independently. Also, some may be required to participate in an interview and some aren’t. When the MFA approves the issuance of the tourist visa of Iran, the applicant is informed by an email notice. Then, he/she can obtain the visa at the designated place of issuing the visa.
- They apply through an Iranian tour operator who receives the required documents from him/her to apply on his/her behalf. The tour operator uses its own online system to apply for the applicant. This system is quite convenient and accelerates the process. Then, he/she will obtain the tourist visa at the place already chosen for issuing the visa.
The Iranian government is a great country with lots of tourist attractions and has planned to attract a lot more visitors by 2020. This can be done as there’s a huge potential as far as Iranian natural and historical attractions are concerned. The e-visa to Iran is certainly a solution that takes Iranian tourism to another level.
You can also check out some of the top tour packages of Iran here!
