The first question I asked when planning our trip to Jordan was, “Do we need a visa?” The answer was yes, but as United Kingdom passport holders, we were eligible to either purchase our visa on arrival or buy the tourist Jordan Pass beforehand.
We opted to buy the Jordan Pass, which provides access to around 40 sites in Jordan and waives visa fees if you stay in the country for a minimum of three nights.
It’s crucial to stay updated on visa requirements, as they can change. Always ensure you are aware of the current requirements before you embark on your journey.
The Ministry of Interior for Jordan website lists the countries that require prior approval, meaning those nationalities must apply for a visa. If this is the case for you, be mindful of visa processing times and allow sufficient time before your departure.
Jordan Pass or Visa on Arrival
Deciding on whether to get a Jordan Pass should come down to what you plan to do whilst in Jordan. The cost of a tourist visa is 40 JOD and a one day ticket to Petra is 50 JOD. If you plan to go to Petra, it would make sense to get the Jordan Pass, as the Jordan Wanderer, which includes one day entry to Petra, is 70 JOD so that’s a 20 JOD saving.
Important: The tourist visa fee (40 JOD) is only waived if you purchase the Jordan Pass before arrival, and stay a minimum of three nights in Jordan.
Jordan Pass Prices
| Ticket | Price | Visit Days to Petra |
| Jordan Wanderer | 70 JOD | One |
| Jordan Explorer | 75 JOD | Two |
| Jordan Expert | 80 JOD | Three |
You can buy the Jordan Pass and find out more information at the official website.
If you’re in Jordan for two nights or less, then the Jordan Pass may not be worthwhile as you will still have to pay the 40 JOD visa fee, in which case, it would make more sense to just buy the visa on arrival.
As an example, if you bought the Jordan Wanderer for 70 JOD, you would have to pay the 40 JOD visa fee as well, meaning you would pay 110 JOD. On the other hand, you could buy a one day ticket to Petra for 50 JOD, meaning, with your visa fee, your total would be 90 JOD.
I’d recommend pricing up where you want to go and see if it will work out cheaper for you to buy entrance tickets individually.
Benefits of the Jordan Pass
As already mentioned above, the Jordan Pass is a great saving even if you only plan to visit Petra. However, there are so many other sites included, if you’re staying in Jordan for the minimum of three nights, then buying the pass is a no brainer.
With all the places that we went, and the visa fee, we would have spent 130 JOD each. We went with the Jordan Explorer so we only spent 75 JOD each, that’s a total saving of 110 JOD which meant we had extra funds for souvenirs and tasty food.
Just some of the places included in the Jordan Pass are Jerash, Wadi Rum, and Petra.
eVisa or Visa
I’ll start this section with a disclaimer: as I have not been through this process, it is recommended that you carry out your own research to ensure you understand the requirements. I am including this information as a starting point.
To help create this section, I went onto the Jordan Ministry of Interior website. They have an e-services section for people to apply for eVisas.
I have also been on visa helper sites, where the application is done for you, so this is what I was asked for on one such site:
- Planned date of travel
- Given name(s)
- Surname(s)
- Date of birth
- Contact phone number
- Nationality
- Visa type
- Purpose of stay
- Do you have a Schengen or US visa?
- Do you have a GCC residence visa?
- Do you have a residence permit to any of these countries: US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, or any European country?
I said no to the last three questions out of curiosity, and there was a little pop up to say “Sorry, eVisa is not available. Please contact the nearest Jordanian embassy”.
Hopefully that’s a good starting point for those of you who require an eVisa or visa.
At The Airport
If you land in Queen Alia International Airport, there will be a queue for Visas & Jordan Pass Entrance. If you’re buying your visa on arrival, or you have a Jordan Pass, you need to join this queue.
While queueing, we had someone tell us we could skip that line and go straight to Passport Control because we already had a Jordan Pass. This is not the case. The Jordan Pass is not a valid visa document, it only waives the fee. You need to be in the visa queue so an agent can verify your pass and issue you with your Jordan visa.
We had been queuing for what felt like ages, we were fed up, and so made the mistake of listening to that random person and got out of the queue, only to learn that we did in fact need to be in that queue. So we wound up at the back of the line and waited even longer, learn from our mistakes!
Quick Summary
If you have a Jordan Pass, an agent will verify your details, and issue you with your visa.
If you are getting your visa on arrival, an agent will verify your details, take payment, and issue you with your visa.
If you have an eVisa or visa, or you are of a nationality that does not require a visa, you can go straight to Passport Control.
Round Up
Hopefully the information within this post has proved useful, but just remember to check the most up to date information from the Ministry of Interior, and you’ll have a fantastic visit to Jordan.
