Visa free entry banned in Iran

Muslim country Iran has made a big announcement for Indians regarding visa. Iran has suspended visa exemption facility for ordinary Indian passport holders. This decision has come at a time when reports have emerged of Indian citizens being taken to Iran on the pretext of false promises of jobs or onward travel to other countries. Due to this, this decision has been taken.

India’s Foreign Ministry gave information about this step of Iran on Monday. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the government’s attention has been drawn to several such cases in which Indian citizens were taken to Iran under the false pretext of jobs or for sending them further to third countries. The ministry described how several Indians were duped into reaching Iran using the visa waiver facility and upon reaching there, many of them were kidnapped for ransom.

Foreign Ministry issued advisory

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that accordingly, the Iranian government has “suspended the visa exemption facility” for ordinary Indian passport holders, which will be effective from 22 November 2025. The ministry said that this decision has been taken to prevent misuse of visa exemption facility by criminal groups.

The MEA further said, “From this date, it will be mandatory for Indian citizens holding ordinary passports to obtain a visa to enter or transit through Iran.” The ministry has also issued an advisory for all Indian citizens wishing to visit Iran, advising them to be cautious and avoid agents who offer visa-free travel.

advice to be cautious

This is not the first time that the Indian government has warned its citizens about fake job cases in Iran. Earlier in September also, MEA had issued an advisory, when cases of kidnapping of many Indians in Iran on the pretext of fake jobs were reported. MEA has advised Indian citizens not to fall into such traps and exercise “extreme caution”.

The MEA statement said, “Recently, several such cases have come to light in which Indian citizens have been lured to Iran on the pretext of false promises of jobs or employment in third countries.”

Kidnapping cases of Indian citizens

The statement also added that according to reports, Indian citizens were abducted by criminal gangs upon reaching Iran and ransom was demanded from their families. Giving a stern warning to its citizens, the government also clarified that Iran allows visa-free entry to Indians only for tourism purposes. The government said that any agent offering a job or any other kind of inducement in the name of visa-free entry could potentially be in collusion with criminal gangs.

MEA said, “Indian citizens should therefore not fall prey to such offers.” Only last month, four residents of Gujarat returned to their homes after being held hostage in Tehran. The four people — Ajaykumar Choudhary (31), Priyaben Choudhary (25), Anilkumar Choudhary (35) and Nikhilkumar Choudhary (28) — had flown to Tehran on Emirates Airlines via Bangkok and Dubai through a third party agent.

All four were allegedly kidnapped as soon as they reached Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Agents trap you

The agent reportedly told them they would be transported beyond Iran through a chain of handlers operating in several countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and flown from Tehran to Australia by sea or air — a practice often used in cases of unauthorized migration.

The kidnappers also reportedly beat up two of the four men and a video of the attack was sent to their families, along with a demand for a ransom of around Rs 2 crore.

The issue was raised by the sarpanch of their village, who informed Jayantibhai Somanbhai Patel, MLA from Mansa, where all four were residents. After this Patel contacted Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, his deputy Harsh Sanghvi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The release of these four people could be ensured due to coordination between Indian and Iranian officials.