People, Travel
0

Iran to Overhaul Visa Policies

Iran to Overhaul Visa Policies
Iran to Overhaul Visa Policies

Iranian authorities are mulling over possible changes to visa policies to facilitate foreign arrivals and boost tourism.

Iran’s visa-on-arrival is set to be issued for 30 days, up from 15, ISNA quoted head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, as saying.

Officials are contemplating an overhaul to visa-on-arrival and electronic visa policies, as well as issuing visa waivers to residents of certain countries.  

Soltanifar said a special government commission decided to extend the validity period of airport visas to 30 days and the decision will go into effect pending approval by the government Cabinet.

The special commission has also outlined policies for e-visas, which need to be approved by the government. Once approved, measures will be taken to set up the necessary systems, “which will take around a year and a half”.

“A working group, comprising members from relevant executive bodies and organizations, is tasked with discussing visa waivers and reviewing its policies,” the official said.

Soltanifar stressed that waiving visa for a country is not permanent and can be revoked in lieu of political developments.

To elaborate, he said, “Mistreatment of Iranian nationals visiting or residing in countries that have a visa waiver agreement with Iran forces us to reevaluate our relations with the countries in question.”

 

Financialtribune.com