A valid passport and visa are required for travel through Iran. In 2006 the rules for obtaining a tourist visa changed and it has become much easier for nationals of many countries to get in to Iran by obtaining a visa at the airport. Visa are issued at the Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports in Tehran, and also the airports at Mashad, Shiraz, Tabriz and Isfahan. The visa is valid for up to one week and costs US$50. You will receive the forms on arrival. You are advised to bring passport photos with you. However, in many cases they are not collected. Visas are only issued at the airport for holders of ordinary passports from the states below:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark,Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia,, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam.

It is generally not possible to get an extension for the one week visa. There is a large stamp on it which specifically states "non-extendable". If you wish to stay for longer than a week, or you are not resident of one of the countries listed above, you will need to apply for a Tourist Visa before you arrive in Iran. It is also not a good idea to have an Israeli stamp in your passport, as you may be refused entrance.

Extending a tourist visa is very easy and can be done in most cities. The lonely planet advices not to do this in Tehran as it is very time consuming. This is no longer the case and the process of extending a visa in Tehran can be done in just one hour (including tea offerings and being the object of curiosity in the office). Extending a visa a second time requires the passport to be sent to a department in Tehran (no matter where you extend your visa from) and thus takes longer time than doing this the first time.

Although it has become easier to get a Tourist Visa in recent years, whether the process takes one day or one month depends largely on your nationality and the staff of the embassy you are applying to. Your best bet is to apply to the Iranian embassy in your own country at least three months before your departure, but it is possible to obtain one while traveling in other countries, with varying degrees of difficulty. Women need to make sure they are wearing the Hijab or a head scarf in their submitted passport-sized photos.

US citizens can apply for a visa at the Iranian Interest Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC. However, Americans must work in advance with an Iranian travel agency to set up an guided itinerary; only then can that travel agency apply for a visa authorization number from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Once approved, the authorization number is transmitted to the interest section. At that point the applicant can then apply for the visa. Turnaround times can be as short as a week, but the interest section does not reliably answer emails or phone calls; a DC-based visa processing company can be a surer bet to expedite the process.

Transit visas are usually easier to get than tourist visas (usually for one or two weeks) and very useful for people traveling between Europe and South Asia. Various travel agents inside Iran help you obtaining visas, often through their home pages.

Chances are your bags won't be searched for salacious material, but if found, it will be confiscated and will complicate your arrival. Don't try to bring in any magazines or books that might offend strict Islamic sensibilities or criticise the government. This has become much more loose in recent years.

As a notable exception, the beach resort of Kish Island, easily accessible from Dubai, does not require advance visas for visits of up to 14 days. See the Kish Island article for details.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Iran

Visa Application Form

	The following items is required by Iranian Ministry of foreign affairs. Some items look personal, but these are information that Iran Ministry of foreign Affairs would require us to provide them with, in order to study and issue any visa.
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	Check out Iranian Embassies in the following address : http://www.letsgoiran.com/iran-embassies-iran-cunsulates
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