South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands → Iran: Short-stay tourist

Upload a JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) of the first page of your passport: 500 kB or smaller (under 10 kB is not accepted), wider than it is tall, and at least 800 × 600 pixels. Only the first page; full-length images are not accepted. The portal has an Image Tool for checking your file before you upload it.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Upload a JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) photo: 500 kB or smaller (under 10 kB is not accepted), taller than it is wide, at least 400 × 600 pixels, with your face filling about 70-80% of the photo, and taken within the last 6 months. The embassy or consulate where you apply always has the final say on whether your photo is accepted.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Iranian e-visa portal's image requirements say that when taking a photo of a baby or toddler, no other person should be in the photo, and the child should be looking at the camera with eyes open. Its tips are to lay the baby on their back on a plain white or off-white sheet, or to cover a car seat with one, and to make sure there are no shadows on the baby's face.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran: e-Visa portal, Image Requirements (photo)

The Iranian e-visa portal says that if a child under 16 has changed because of the normal ageing process, they will generally not have to provide a new photo. It adds that whether the photo is accepted is at the discretion of the Iranian embassy or consulate where you apply.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran: e-Visa portal, Image Requirements (photo)

How it works: apply online first, then collect the visa at the Iranian embassy or consulate you choose or, if your nationality is allowed, at an Iranian international airport; a few nationalities have their own rules (see the items below that open "Only if"). Apply on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-visa portal, which calls this the first step of every visa application. Answer everything in English using the English alphabet only (write "Sao Paulo", not "São Paulo"), and choose the embassy or consulate where you plan to receive your visa. Have your passport, details of any earlier Iranian visas and, if you have already booked, your travel itinerary to hand; you may also be asked for your education and work history (a résumé or CV). You are responsible for the accuracy of everything you enter, even if someone else helps you fill it in.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your actual travel date. The portal will not let you submit an application if it expires in under six months. Its visa-on-arrival page adds that all visitors to Iran must hold a passport or travel document valid for 6 months at the time of departure.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The fee depends on your nationality: the Ministry's service page says it is set by circular and by reciprocity between Iran and other countries, so it differs for each nationality. The e-visa portal doesn't publish amounts. Embassies publish their own fee tables and payment steps (Bern, for example, has one in Swiss francs and asks for the payment receipt). Visas collected at an airport are paid for at the airport's banking terminals, in euros (the portal's visa-on-arrival page).

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian service desk)

Choose "Tourist" (visa type B, for foreign citizens travelling to Iran for tourist purposes). The portal lists the visa application and a possible interview at the consulate as what it needs for this type. Foreign Muslims visiting Iran's holy places have their own type, "Pilgrimage" (C). A consular officer reviews your application and, if it is approved, determines the type of visa you are eligible for.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Ministry's tourist-visa service page (in Persian) gives one requirement for a tourist visa: your host in Iran, with their details, and where you will stay must be identified. Iran's embassy in Canberra says the e-visa form asks for the address and telephone number of your host or hotel in Iran, and an image of the host's residence or the host's national card. The Ministry's page also says you can apply through a travel agency inside Iran or yourself, using the "individual application" option.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian service desk)

Iran's embassy in Canberra says all holders of Iran travel visas must have travel insurance covering emergencies or accidents for their whole stay, and that the e-visa system lets you buy it with the visa (it quotes 18 dollars extra). The embassies in Oslo and Wellington describe the same arrangement (Oslo says foreign insurers aren't covered in Iran, so mandatory Iranian cover is built into the e-visa process, and quotes 115 NOK; Wellington quotes NZD 20), and Bern lists a copy of valid accident and health insurance among its documents. The e-visa portal itself doesn't mention insurance, so ask your embassy how to pay for it.

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Canberra

Wait for your application to be approved. The portal says to allow 10 business days for it to pass all its checks, and it emails you when the status changes (you can also check it with your tracking code). Some applicants must attend an interview with a consular officer at the embassy or consulate where they applied, and the application can't be completed until they do. The Ministry's Persian service page quotes an average of one to five working days and says some visa types need an inquiry to head office.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Once approved, take your original passport (valid for at least six months) and your e-visa confirmation to the place where you chose to receive the visa. The Ministry's service page says visas are issued electronically at Iranian embassies and consulates abroad, or at international airports inside Iran, after the mission checks the visa's details against your passport. At the border, immigration police check the visa and stamp the electronic visa sheet on entry, and again on exit.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian service desk)

The visa shows the period it is valid for; the portal says that if you don't travel to Iran within it you can't enter and have to apply again. Iran's embassy in Wellington says tourist visas are currently valid for 45 days from issue, so you must enter within 45 days, with a stay of up to 30 days after you enter. Bern says the validity of tourist and arrival visas was cut from 90 to 45 days from 1 May 2025. Embassy pages quote different maximum stays (Wellington 30 days, Oslo 45, Canberra 90) and the Ministry's Persian tourist-visa page says at most 45 days, which can vary with circumstances, so go by the dates and stay printed on your visa. That Persian page still gives 90 days' validity.

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Wellington

Iran's embassies in Oslo, Canberra and Wellington say holders of US, UK or Canadian passports are required to obtain a Visa Reference Number (visa grant notice) from Iran, which can be obtained through authorised travel agencies in Iran. Oslo and Canberra add "or their counterparts" in Norway or Australia, and extend the same requirement to anyone who isn't a resident of that country. They also say applicants who receive their approval (Visa Grant Notice) through a travel agency don't need to register an application online and only send their documents to the embassy. The e-visa form shows UK applicants a matching message: "Tourism, Pilgrimage, and Medical Visa may be applied through travel agencies. Entry Visa may be applied by the host residing in Iran."

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Oslo

If you hold a passport from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Bangladesh, Colombia or Jordan: the Ministry's airport-visa service page (in Persian) says nationals of these nine countries cannot be issued a visa at airports inside Iran. Its tourist-visa page says their visa is a sticker in the passport, stamped on entry and exit, so plan to collect it at an Iranian embassy or consulate before you travel. If you hold an Iraqi passport: the airport page says Iraqi nationals can get a visa only at Mashhad airport, and the e-visa portal lists Iraq as "subject to visa waiver rules" without publishing any terms, so confirm with an Iranian embassy whether you need a visa.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian service desk)

If you plan to get your visa at an Iranian international airport, the portal says to submit the e-visa application at least two days before you travel, to speed up issue. When it is approved you get a grant email: hand a printed copy of the Grant Notice to the visa-on-arrival counter at the airport. Visitors entitled to a visa at the border pay the fee at the airport's banking terminals, in euros. Not every nationality can get an airport visa; see "Only if your passport is on the airport-visa exclusion list".

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iran's embassy in Bern lists extra steps for tourist visas, and other embassies may differ: a passport valid for at least 6 months from the application date with at least two blank, unstamped pages; a prepaid envelope for returning your passport by registered mail; and fingerprints (it says that, under an Iranian government decision and the principle of reciprocity, all nationalities of Schengen countries must present theirs, taken at the local police office, and that holders of biometric passports must submit them too). It quotes two weeks' processing once it has every document. Anyone travelling to Iran by car or bicycle should get a reference number through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' visa department, through an invitation from a person or organisation or a travel agency specialised in trips to Iran. Iran's embassy in Canberra also tells applicants not to book a ticket before they have the visa.

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Bern

The Embassies of Iran in Oslo and Canberra say that applicants under 18 must submit these additional documents: a copy of the father's or mother's passport, the father's or mother's official consent for children travelling with them or other adults, and the child's birth certificate. They also say all visa applicants, including children, must pay the visa fee, which is not refunded. Other Iranian missions may ask for something different, so check with the one handling your application.

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Oslo

The Embassy of Iran in Wellington says applicants under 18 must provide a copy of the applicant's Shenasnameh (the Iranian birth certificate), a copy of the father's passport, and an official written consent from the father for children travelling with their mother or another adult. It also says all visa applicants, including children, must pay the visa fee and the travel insurance fee. The Oslo and Canberra embassies ask for the child's birth certificate and either parent's passport and consent instead, so check with the mission handling your application.

Source: Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Wellington

The portal warns that some visa types can be applied for by citizens of some countries only in person at an Iranian embassy, and that citizens of some countries may not be issued a visa because of political and diplomatic considerations; they should contact the relevant Iranian embassy. It doesn't name the countries. If you hold a Lebanese, Venezuelan or Malaysian passport: the portal says these nationals can obtain the necessary permits at the designated entry points on arrival, under rules and conditions it doesn't spell out, while another page on the same portal ("Businesses and Travel Agencies") describes them, with several other nationalities, as exempt from applying for a visa but required to fill in the relevant form at the entry point. Because the pages differ, confirm what you need with an Iranian embassy or consulate before you travel.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

After you submit, the portal shows an email verification page: enter the code it emails you (you can ask for it to be sent again, or correct the email address if it is wrong). If you don't finish verification within 3 days, the application expires and you have to start again. Once verified, print the confirmation page and write down the Tracking Code on it; you need it to check your application's status.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran