Iran medical visa: what you need, by nationality

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has a dedicated Medical Visa (type T) for people travelling for treatment. To apply, you need an approval letter from one of Iran's authorized medical centers. Some nationalities can enter without a visa under waiver rules, but those rules have limits. Iraqi and Omani passports come under visa waiver rules, while some Gulf passports get 15 days for tourism, which can't be extended, and UK and Canadian passports need a visa before travel. Below is what the official MFA e-visa portal said when we checked it on 2 October 2026, by nationality group.

See our Iran guide for international patients for payments and connectivity.

Three ways in

The MFA portal describes three routes. Which one applies depends on your passport, and on why you are travelling.

The portal also says citizens of Lebanon, Venezuela and Malaysia can get the necessary permits at designated entry points. It notes that some visa types, for some nationalities, must be applied for in person at an Iranian embassy, and that citizens of some countries may not be issued a visa at all.

By nationality

For every e-visa, the MFA says your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your travel date.

The Medical Visa (type T)

The MFA lists the Medical Visa as being "for foreign citizens who wish to travel to Iran for medical purposes and have already received an approval letter from one of the authorized medical centers".

What that means in practice:

1. Your treating hospital comes first. The approval letter comes from an authorized medical center. That is usually linked to a hospital's international patient department (IPD). Our guide on checking a hospital's IPD status explains what IPD certification is.
2. Then you apply online. You submit the application through the MFA portal and get a reference number. The MFA says applications should pass the required process within 10 business days, and that some applicants are asked to attend an interview.
3. Then you collect the visa at the embassy or consulate you named in the application, or at the airport if you applied for a visa on arrival.

Because the letter depends on your hospital, the order matters: your doctor and facility need to be settled before the visa can move.

Visa on arrival

The MFA says travellers who want their visa at an Iranian international airport should apply online at least two days before travel. Once approved, you get a "Grant Notice" by email. Print it and hand it to the visa-on-arrival counter. The visa fee is paid in euros at bank terminals at the airport. Not every nationality is eligible, so check before you rely on this route.

The 15-day GCC window vs. your recovery

This matters most for Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, Qatari and Bahraini readers. The MFA describes the 15-day visa-free stay as being for tourism purposes, and as non-extendable. Two questions follow.

Does it cover treatment? The portal frames the 15-day stay as tourism and lists a separate Medical Visa for treatment. Before relying on visa-free entry for a planned operation, confirm with the hospital's international patient department or an Iranian consulate which one applies to you.

Does your recovery fit? Add up what a surgical trip usually needs. Your own surgeon sets your real timeline.

1. 01

   Arrival and pre-operative consultation

   Often a day or two before surgery, depending on your surgeon's schedule.

2. 02

   Surgery

   The day itself, plus any hospital stay your surgeon requires.

3. 03

   Early recovery and check-ups

   After rhinoplasty, for example, the NHS says a splint usually stays on for about 7 days, and stitches and splint often come off after about a week.

4. 04

   Waiting before you fly

   ASPS suggests waiting 7 to 10 days after facial cosmetic procedures, and 5 to 7 days after body procedures such as liposuction, before flying.

5. 05

   Buffer

   Room for a delayed operation, an extra check-up, or a cancelled flight.

A worked example for rhinoplasty: arrive on day 1, see your surgeon on day 2, have surgery on day 3. Using the ASPS range of 7 to 10 days, the earliest planning date to fly home falls between day 10 and day 13. That leaves two to five days of buffer inside a 15-day limit that can't be extended. A delayed operation, or a surgeon asking you to stay longer, can use all of it.

The full stage-by-stage timeline is in our guide on rhinoplasty recovery and how long to stay. Body procedures have their own flying guidance, and a tummy tuck can mean a few nights in hospital before that wait starts. See our liposuction and tummy tuck guide.

ASPS names facelifts among the facial procedures its 7 to 10 day guidance covers, so the same arithmetic applies; see our facelift guide. Other facial procedures, such as a lip lift, aren't named, so ask your surgeon which interval they apply before you count your days.

Iraqi passport holders

The MFA portal lists Iraq among the countries "subject to visa waiver rules". It does not state the permitted length of stay on that page, so we don't quote a number. Confirm the current duration with an Iranian consulate before you book. Ask too whether a planned operation needs the Medical Visa (T). If your treatment and recovery could run longer than the waiver allows, plan around that from the start.

If your treatment needs two trips

Some treatment is staged. Dental implants, for example, usually mean two trips a few months apart: one to place the implant, and one for the final teeth. Each trip needs its own entry. The MFA describes the 15-day visa-free stay for the 27 listed countries as available once every six months, so a second trip within six months may need a visa. Plan the entry route for both trips before the first. Our dental implant timeline guide explains the stages.

What your coordinator tracks

Sahleva doesn't issue visas, and we can't guarantee one. Entry is one of the readiness checks on your case. We don't confirm flights or a recovery stay until your coordinator and you can see that the entry route for your passport is settled. If a visa is delayed, we re-plan your travel dates rather than leave you to sort it out alone. How it works shows where this sits in your case.

Paying for a visa on arrival, or anything else in Iran, has its own rules. See paying for treatment in Iran.

Questions people ask