Indians can now travel visa-free to Iran: All you need to know

Tehran on Tuesday announced the initiation of a 15-day visa-free policy for Indian tourists visiting the country, the Iran Embassy said in a statement here.

Under the new order, Indian citizens would be allowed to enter Iran with ordinary passports once every six months and with a maximum stay of 15 days which will not be extended.

The visa abolition only applies to individuals entering the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran for tourism purposes, it said.

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"If Indian nationals wish to stay for a longer period or make multiple entries within a six-month period or require other types of visas, they must obtain the necessary visas through the respective representations of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India," the statement said.

The visa abolition outlined in this approval specifically applies to Indian nationals who enter the country just through the air border, it said.

Iran has become the latest country in the past few months to give visa-free access to India tourists. Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka have also eased visa rules for Indian tourists.

Earlier last year, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that visitors from India and China will be granted 30-day visa-free entry into Malaysia from December 1. He said that the visa exemption is still subject to security screenings for records of crime or violence.

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