Amid restrictions on Iranian visa issuance, a black market for visas has flourished in Afghanistan, and applicants say they must pay steep fees to obtain one. According to several travel agencies, an “urgent” visa sells for around $1,750, while other types trade for between $1,380 and $1,500. Applicants say that in some cases, as much as $7,000 has been demanded for a family visa. They say the restrictions have created serious problems, particularly for families who need visas to return to Iran, recover property, or continue their daughters’ education, and have opened the door to abuse by middlemen and black market dealers.
Reza (pseudonym), an applicant for an Iranian visa, complains about the black market visa trade in Afghanistan. He says that although the legal process for obtaining an Iranian visa has become restricted, some individuals continue to issue visas in exchange for large sums of money. He says brokers demanded $7,000 for tourist visas for his five-member family.
“The five of us paid $7,000, and we’ve been waiting six months, but nothing has been processed yet,” he said. “Before the Taliban took power, we went to Iran on 3,000 Afghanis. We were deported from Iran, and the house we had bought there remains locked up.”
He added: “My employer still owes me money he hasn’t paid. I had three greenhouses; all of that property was left behind and ruined. I had spent 100,000 Afghanis on it. I want to go through legal channels, but the cost is too high.”
Gul Mohammad (pseudonym), another applicant, expressed concern over the steep cost of obtaining a visa and called on Iranian officials to resume the visa issuance process. He said people who obtain visas illegally charge extremely high fees.
“I would never pay this much, because I can’t afford it,” he said. “But now I’m forced to go for my daughters’ education. I was in Iran before too. It’s been a year since I was deported. The house was mortgaged, my money stayed with the landlord, and my employer never paid me either.”
He added: “My daughters were in sixth and seventh grade. It’s been a year now that they’ve been left without a future in Afghanistan. I haven’t been able to find work myself, and I’m unemployed. We’re getting by on borrowed money.”
Saboor (pseudonym), a former member of the Afghan military and an Iranian visa applicant, said it has been more than a year since he was deported to Afghanistan, and he has been living in hiding ever since to avoid being identified by the Taliban. He said half his family remains in Iran, while he and one of his sons are in Afghanistan, their situation uncertain. He said the cost of obtaining a visa is a heavy burden.
“I’m a former military member. My son and I have been stuck in Afghanistan for more than a year. My wife, one daughter, and one son are in Iran,” he said. “The legal visa route is closed, so we applied for tourist visas for myself and my son. They’re demanding $1,500 per person, which is very hard for us to pay. We’re caught between life and death: my family is stranded there with no future, and my own life is at risk here.”
Qasim (pseudonym), an official at one of the travel agencies, said the restrictions on Iranian visas have created room for exploitation, with no oversight of the process. “Unfortunately, visas are obtained through medical and commercial companies from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s representative office, then made available to ordinary people,” he said. “There’s no oversight of this process at all, and that has opened the door to abuse.”
This comes after the Hasht-e Subh Daily reported on June 25, 2026, based on interviews with several travel agencies, that Iranian visas were being sold on the black market at varying prices. Sources interviewed at the time said the “urgent” visa was priced at around $1,750 for a seven-day turnaround, while other types sold for $1,500 and $1,380 with a wait of seven to ten days. They added that Pakistani visas were also trading on the informal market for more than $3,000. According to these sources, prices vary depending on the type of visa, processing time, and the intermediaries involved, and in some cases cost far more than the official rates.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
محدودیت ویزای ایران؛ ویزا در بازار سیاه تا یکهزار و ۷۵۰ دالر به فروش میرسد
