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Iran waives visa fees for people of Kurdistan, Iraq

Iran waives visa fees for people of Kurdistan Iraq
Iran waives visa fees for people of Kurdistan, Iraq

2019-03-31 00:00:00 - Source: kurdistan 24

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iranian government on Sunday announced it is now offering visas to the people of the autonomous Kurdistan Region and Iraq free of charge starting Monday, April 1, reciprocating a similar decision recently issued by the Iraqi federal government.

The decision was announced in a statement issued by both the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulates in the Kurdistan Region.

The Iraqi government, mid-March, opted to exempt Iranian citizens from the usual visa fee starting April 1.

The move follows a recent 3-day visit by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Iraq earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qasimi told local reporters.

The price of an Iranian visa for Iraqi nationals is about USD 50.

Iranian visas will also be given to Iraqis in the form of a sticker rather than a stamp on the citizens’ passport, the Iranian Consul in Sulaimani, Saadullah Masudian, explained to reporters on Sunday.

In the past, many from in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq refused to visit Iran, believing an Iranian visa stamp on their passports could create issues for them when applying for visas to Western countries.

The head of the Iraqi parliamentary committee for Health and the Environment, Qutaiba al-Jabouri, in a statement last week warned the government in Baghdad against issuing such a decision, claiming his country would be “the biggest loser” in this deal.

“The number of Iraqis visiting Iran does not exceed five percent of the number of Iranian tourists visiting Iraq, especially on religious occasions,” Jabouri argued, suggesting there would be a real loss of revenue for Iraq without the visa fees.

Every year, Iraq hosts millions of Iranian pilgrims and visitors who come to visit major Shia Muslim religious sites during various holidays and observances, including Arba’een and Ashura.

Editing by Nadia Riva





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