Visas

All foreigners require a visa for Afghanistan. Tourist visas are single entry, valid for 90 days from the date of issuance and allow a stay of up to 30 days. Some of the consulates where visas may be obtained are listed below.

For obtaining the visa, some variation of the following are requested by the consulate:

  • A form to be filled out with your personal information.
  • Two to three copies of your passport.
  • Two to three copies of the visa or entry stamp for the country you are in if it’s not your home country.
  • Two to three passport sized photographs. The exact dimensions aren't too important.
  • The visa fee which varies based on the passport. It is $100 for US and EU passports.

Peshawar - issues same day visas if you arrive early in the day. There are fixers providing visa assistance for $50, but this seems unnecessary. The consulate is open Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 4pm and Friday 9:30am to 12pm. It's closed on Saturdays and Sundays. For same day visas, it's best to arrive early on a day it's open. Location of the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar: https://goo.gl/maps/EgtspZF55ACS4JDa7.

Islamabad - issues visas too but the official turnaround time is slightly longer than Peshawar, up to 3 days. Some travelers have reported Islamabad conducts extra checks before issuing visas. There are reports from travelers who managed to obtain their visa in Islamabad on the same day by requesting this from the consulate.

Iran - visas can be obtained in Iran just as easily as in Pakistan. Usually same day or next day turnaround time.

Dubai - another place to obtain a visa, but more expensive as these are issued by the old government. The visa is recognized by the new Taliban government.

Dushanbe - some travelers have reported they obtained visas in Dushanbe, but the visas were rejected at the Afghan border and they were forced to obtain a visa on arrival. Dushanbe also seems to require a background check in addition to the normal set of documents that other consulates are asking for. It's unclear if a visa issued by the Dushanbe consulate will be accepted for entry into Afghanistan.

India - the Afghan consulates in India are no longer functional and unabe to issue visas. There were previous reports of both Indian and foreign citizens obtaining visas in various consulates in India including New Delhi and Hyderabad.

Visa on Arrival - currently only available when entering Afghanistan from Tajikistan via the Shir Khan border. The process is slightly cumbersome as it requires payment in Afghani currency which is hard to obtain outside of Afghanistan. Travelers report being allowed to enter Afghanistan, changing USD to Afghanis at a poor exchange rate near the border, then going to pay for the visa at a bank located 1.5 km from the border and returning to the border to get the visa and entry stamp. The GPS coordinates for the bank where the visa is paid for are reported to be (37.18369, 68.618965). An application form and passport photos are also required. The visa cost is reported as 6,500 AFN for Russian citizens.

Visa Extensions

An Afghan tourist visa can be extended once. Some details on this below.

  • The visa can be extended only when it's near the date of expiration.
  • To extend the visa in Kabul:
  1. Visit Afghan Tours (34.5334467, 69.1980784) and fill in a form, make payment to a local bank, and obtain an extension document from Afghan Tours.
  2. Go to the Passport Directorate (34.5002849, 69.1396317) with the extension document from the previous step, along with copies of one's passport, copies of the existing visa and some passport sized photos.
  • The cost varies based on nationality, just like the original visa.
  • The visa is extended for exactly one month. There is no other option - one cannot request more or less time.
  • Visa extensions might be possible in other locations like Kunduz too.