Gogglebox Australia: Symon Lovett reveals travel fail as he's denied a US visa

Gogglebox Australia star Symon Lovett has gotten himself into a bind after being denied an American visa in time for his scheduled flight to the USA.

Lovett, who recently announced he was quitting Gogglebox after five years, ran into some trouble when he was informed that he couldn't travel to the USA because he visited Iran two years ago.

Lovett explained the mistake on Instagram.

"Story background: In 2017 I went to Iran for a holiday. It was great, beautiful people and great scenery," he said. "But because of that trip, I now need to apply for a special visa to visit the USA. But I didn't know that until after I booked the flights."

Making matters worse, his new visa won't arrive in time for the flight he's already paid for.

He added, "The flights were non-refundable and left in one week. This visa takes a minimum three weeks [to be approved]."

When Australian citizens apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), it's typically approved within 72 hours. But if you have visited Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen, then you're required to apply for a special visa that takes longer to be approved.

An hour ago, Lovett received a message from Virgin Australia asking for his six digit booking reference code.

"OMG. This could be BIG," he posted to his Instagram Stories today.

Here's hoping that Lovett isn't forcing into cancelling all his travel arrangements. Best of luck!