The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has warned Indian nationals to secure visas in advance when travelling to or transiting through Iran after Tehran suspended its 15-day visa-waiver programme for Indians effective 22 November. The advisory, updated late on 26 November, follows a spate of kidnapping-for-ransom cases involving Indians lured by fake job offers.
Under the now-scrapped waiver introduced in February 2024, ordinary passport holders could enter Iran once every six months for short tourist visits. MEA officials say criminal networks exploited the scheme, enticing job seekers with promises of onward passage to Gulf states, then holding them for ransom on arrival. Several victims from Punjab and Kerala were rescued this month after relatives alerted Indian embassies.
![India issues travel advisory as Iran ends visa-free entry for Indian passport holders]()
With the waiver gone, Indians must apply for an entry or transit visa at Iranian consulates or via authorised visa centres; airlines have been instructed to deny boarding to passengers without valid visas. Travel-management companies report a surge in rerouting requests for oil-and-gas workers who routinely change planes in Tehran.
Practical guidance: employers should verify that recruitment agents are licensed and insist on written job contracts vetted by India’s Protector of Emigrants. Travellers who must route through Iran should allow at least ten working days for visa processing and keep emergency contacts for the Indian embassy in Tehran.
Under the now-scrapped waiver introduced in February 2024, ordinary passport holders could enter Iran once every six months for short tourist visits. MEA officials say criminal networks exploited the scheme, enticing job seekers with promises of onward passage to Gulf states, then holding them for ransom on arrival. Several victims from Punjab and Kerala were rescued this month after relatives alerted Indian embassies.
With the waiver gone, Indians must apply for an entry or transit visa at Iranian consulates or via authorised visa centres; airlines have been instructed to deny boarding to passengers without valid visas. Travel-management companies report a surge in rerouting requests for oil-and-gas workers who routinely change planes in Tehran.
Practical guidance: employers should verify that recruitment agents are licensed and insist on written job contracts vetted by India’s Protector of Emigrants. Travellers who must route through Iran should allow at least ten working days for visa processing and keep emergency contacts for the Indian embassy in Tehran.
