If you are travelling to Afghanistan, you will need to get a visa. Afghanistan visas are usually valid for 3 months from their date of issue, and for a tourist they allow a stay of up to 30 days, single entry.
Recently it has become much harder to get a visa to travel to Afghanistan as visas issued from many diplomatic missions are no longer valid.
What has just happened with Afghanistan diplomatic missions in Europe?
On the 30 th of July 2024, the Taliban government announced that they would no longer be recognising visas issued by most of their embassies and consulates in Europe. Any visas issued before the 30 th of July would still be valid, but any visas issued since the 30 th of July would not allow the bearer to travel to Afghanistan.
This means that travellers can NO longer get their visa for Afghanistan from the respective diplomatic missions in Rome, London, Brussels, Berlin, Bonn, Geneve, Paris, Vienna, Athens, Warsaw, Stockholm, Oslo.
It is assumed that these missions will be no longer be attempting to issue visas, but if they do and you haven’t realised it is not valid, some embassies and consulates have been giving travellers refunds for their now useless visas.
Are there any other diplomatic missions whose visas are no longer valid?
The Taliban government of Afghanistan will also no longer recognise any visas issued in Australia or Canada, at the embassies in Canberra and Ottawa respectively.
Is there anywhere in Europe I can still get a visa for Afghanistan?
Yes, the Afghanistan Embassy in Madrid, Spain, is still issuing visas that are valid for travel.
Where can I get an Afghanistan visa?
Luckily it is still possible to get a visa for Afghanistan in several places in the world, however, many of the accredited diplomatic missions are in locations which aren’t convenient for travelling to Afghanistan. This is why Dubai is the most popular destination for travellers to get their Afghanistan visa, since it’s literally on the way to Kabul for most people. This is closely followed by Islamabad, which is another destination where you can easily get a visa for Afghanistan, and there are direct flights to Kabul.
These are the diplomatic missions from where you can currently receive a valid recognised Afghanistan visa:
| Dubai | Beijing | Doha | Istanbul |
| Islamabad | Moscow |
Tajikistan (on arrival at the border) |
Ankara |
| Peshawar | Delhi | Damascus | Madrid |
| Bishkek | Astana | Tehran |
|
| Ashgabat | Kuala Lumpur | Mashhad |
|
Why is Dubai the most popular destination for getting an Afghanistan visa?
Dubai is the most popular destination to get an Afghanistan visa because of ease. The Afghanistan consulate in Dubai will issue your visa the same day. All you require is a photocopy of your passport, two photos of yourself, a copy of your flight tickets, an invitation letter and then make payment.
It is also very popular to use a visa fixer in Dubai for the Afghanistan visa. In this method, someone will come to your hotel, pick up your passport and return it with the valid visa four hours later. There is an extra fee for this service of course, but you do not need to attend the embassy yourself.
There are direct flights to Kabul every day on Fly Dubai, Ariana Afghanistan Airlines and Kam Air, making Dubai was most logical choice.
Why is Islamabad another popular choice to get an Afghanistan visa?
There are also direct flights from Islamabad to Kabul, although not every day. And for the most intrepid travellers, it’s also possible to go overland into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
Islamabad is also a cheaper option than most, with a visa costing $80 for regular service or $130 for express, which is half the price of Dubai.
Many people, since they’re in the region, will also combine Pakistan and Afghanistan and they naturally fit together as they do on our regular Pakistan and Afghanistan combo tour.
If you’re travelling to Afghanistan and need help getting your visa, don’t hesitate to get in touch. While you’re at it, check out our Afghanistan tours here .
Read more about getting an Afghan visa here .
