Holders of a US, UK, EU or Canadian passport are eligible for visa on arrival for 40 JOD (56 USD). It is a very easy process that should only take a few minutes. If you hold a passport from outside these countries, please check with your embassy to see if you qualify for a visa on arrival. If you are not eligible, please contact your embassy to see how to obtain a visa.
A tourist visa is good for one month from your arrival date. Within that first month, we will take you to the appropriate ministry to get it extended to three months. This is a short, painless errand that we will coordinate. Each time you travel outside the country, the visa process starts over anew (i.e. you will have to purchase another tourist visa for 40 JOD), so do let us know if you are planning on traveling outside the country, so we can ensure that your visa is in order.
After the initial three-month extension, we also do a further three-month extension (for a total of 6 months, i.e. your visa is valid for a total of 6 months from the date of arrival) for students who have not traveled out of Jordan. This is another short errand that we will coordinate. Students from the US, UK, or EU are only required to complete a form. Students from some other countries may be required to do a medical check-up including a blood test as part of the visa extension process. There is a clinic close by in Jabal Lweibdeh and the test costs 30 JOD. We will provide you with instructions for the timelines and process when you are here.
In general, we do not recommend that people purchase their visas in advance unless they are required to, as the visa on arrival is cheaper. Multiple entry visas purchased from outside of Jordan still require visits to the police station and the appropriate ministry, and do not save you any effort. You would need to travel in and out of Jordan more than 6 times for them to be financially worth your while.
Unfortunately, we are unable to help obtain residency permits for students who intend to stay longer than 6 months. Students should plan to take a trip out of Jordan at least once every 6 months, so as to restart the visa-clock and follow the 6-month extension process as outlined above. There are many low-cost destinations nearby, and you can refer to the trips page for more ideas.