TEHRAN – In a move to enhance bilateral relations between Iran and Tajikistan, a visa-waiver program will be implemented between the two nations starting Saturday, August 10.

Based on a recent Memorandum of Understanding inked by the governments of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, passport holders from both countries can visit each other’s territories without a visa for up to 90 days from the date of first entry, with a maximum stay of 30 days per visit, as reported by Khovar.
Initially, the visa-free initiative will be available exclusively for travelers on Dushanbe-Tehran and Tehran-Dushanbe air services.
Earlier this year, Alireza Haqiqian, the Iranian ambassador to Tajikistan, highlighted the visa-waiver MoU as a significant milestone in fostering bilateral cooperation, particularly in tourism.

In April, Iran’s tourism minister, Ezzatollah Zarghami, announced that Iran grants visa-free access to approximately half of the world’s population, amounting to around four billion people. “Currently, half of the world’s population can travel to Iran without visas,” he stated.
“Our initial proposal was to abolish visas for citizens of 60 countries, but the government agreed to abolish visas for citizens of 33 countries. This allows half of the world’s population to travel to Iran without obtaining visas.” The visa-waiver program has been approved for countries including India, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Indonesia, Brunei, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Belarus, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
Additionally, Iran has previously canceled visas with several countries such as Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Oman, China, Armenia, Lebanon, and Syria, through various arrangements including unilateral, bilateral, and group visa cancelations. Airport visas have been implemented in some cases. A mutual agreement between Tehran and Moscow grants this privilege to tourist groups from Russia.
According to data from the tourism ministry, more than six million foreign tourists arrived in Iran by air, road, and sea during the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19. This represents a significant increase compared to the previous year (1401), when approximately 4.23 million tourists visited the Islamic Republic.
XF/AM